Case Study: Tech Industry & Entrepreneurship

Tech Industry & Entrepreneurship Branding Strategy and Workforce Talent Attraction (Open Bracket Delaware)

The State of Delaware, specifically it’s largest city Wilmington, was facing a multi-pronged economic development crisis.  In 2015, the City of Wilmington had been nationally recognized , as “MurderTown USA” with the highest violent crime rates in the nation.  One of Delaware’s largest and most notable employers, DuPont, announced a major merger with Dow Chemical resulting in a significant sudden and severe loss of jobs- a significant portion of which were high wage and high skill positions. Meanwhile, Delaware’s other cornerstone employers- the banking industry- were growing their “fin-tech” businesses and had been leaning on a local non-profit startup, Zip Code Wilmington, to provide training for entry level computer programmers to enter the workforce with the basic coding experience needed.  This successful program not only helped Delaware’s major employers recruit necessary local talent; however, employers required a pipeline of talent that included experienced computer programmers. 

Delaware’s employers faced a challenge: how could they attract high-skilled computer talent to Delaware and compete with tech hubs such as Boston, New York, Silicon Valley, Seattle, and Austin?  How could Wilmington re-brand itself as a vibrant, safe community?  And how could the State diversify their economy and promote an environment the supports innovation and entrepreneurship in light of the recent layoffs of several scientists and innovators?  

Venture capitalist and local philanthropist, Ben duPont, co-founded Zip Code Wilmington.  In collaboration with other private sector leaders and philanthropists, Mr. duPont hired Sagax to execute an innovative idea that could attract high-tech talent for Delaware’s employers and rebrand the state in this vein.  Over two years, Sagax raised over half a million dollars in philanthropic funding and corporate sponsorships to support the development of the nonprofit, Open Bracket Delaware.  Each year, the nonprofit partnered with HackerRank, a Palo Alto coding competition platform with over 10,000 participants each year competing in weekend long competitions.  The top 100-200 competitors were invited to Delaware from around the country with weekend-long live competitions for $15,000 in cash prizes and interviews with Open Bracket’s sponsors.  The sponsors played a key part in the competition layout and provided them innovative technology recruiting efforts.  Further, this allowed Wilmington to showcase is thriving and growing restaurant and entertainment scene with block parties on the city’s main street full of bands, food trucks, and light shows.  

Open Bracket’s sponsors were pleased with the recruiting strategy, and the state and city received national press highlighting Delaware’s tech scene.  Both Governors Markell and Carney were involved in the events and Governor Carney sought out Open Bracket for input on his angel investment bill designed to promote entrepreneurship in Delaware.  To outsiders, this may look like a major coding competition, but the intent of the events were to promote Delaware’s economy.