Fungus Corners is what my southern California cousins called my home, Seattle, long ago as a youth. What could ever happen in a place so remote, over 700 miles from the next major US city (sorry Portlandia!).
Everything cool happens in California, right?
We've grown up to be one of the most creative cities in the world with extraordinary companies – Boeing, Microsoft, Nordstrom, Amazon, Starbucks, Costco, and so many more in biotech, software, manufacturing, clothing, shipbuilding, wood products, and agriculture. And, don't forget our music!
I've always thought that one of the reasons for our success is that we were remote, with a can-do, I-will-show-you, self-sufficiency. Being remote, you're often able to develop an idea outside the mainstream of competition. Further, when you're in a small market, from the very beginning you have to think about how to sell globally in order to grow.
As an example, in the early days of Corum, we sold many Canadian firms who had developed their technology "hiding behind the Maple Leaf." What that meant is that they were able to develop a technology in Canada where traditional US suppliers had not penetrated. Without the major competitors, they were able to prove their technology locally before heading south to the bigger market.
Corum today sells software and related technology companies in every corner of the globe. Attendees at our educational conferences (over 150 a year) are often surprised that such creative companies were spawned in such remote places, not Silicon Valley.
Coming from Fungus Corners, I'm not surprised at all!