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Atlanta, GA | Posted: October 11, 2013
Kelly Billings
Recruitment & Retention Advisor
Summary Sentence:
No summary sentence submitted.Full Summary:
Third year Economics student Michael de la Guardia recently had an article published in The Tower, the undergraduate research journal at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His article was entitled “ An Analysis of Georgia’s Venture Capital Exodus and Related Legislative Efforts.”
Michael de la GuardiaThird year Economics student Michael de la Guardia recently had an article published in The Tower, the undergraduate research journal at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His article was entitled “ An Analysis of Georgia’s Venture Capital Exodus and Related Legislative Efforts.”
The Tower is an interdisciplinary research journal for students at Georgia Tech and aims to showcase undergraduate achievements in research, inspire academic inquiry, and promote Georgia Tech’s commitment to undergraduate research endeavors.
Always having been interested in the areas of economic policy, de la Guardia hopes to pursue a career in a related field. During his time at Tech, he has worked on a presidential campaign and two congressional campaigns. Last spring he worked as an intern in the House Majority caucus Office at the State Capitol and will be a legislative aide at the Capitol in spring 2014.
Although busy with academics and an impressive work experiences, he still finds time to volunteer. De la Guardia is a Young Life leader at Whitfield Academy, Chairman of the College Republicans at Georgia Tech and chairs the alumni fundraising efforts at Mt. Pisgah Christian School. Young Life is a high school ministry and mentorship program.
Why did you choose to focus on this area of research?
During my internship at the State Capitol, many interesting bills came through the Majority Office. One of the most important was a bill originally carried by Rep. Peake, the Invest Georgia Fund. It attempted to address a huge problem in Georgia, our inability to attract venture capital dollars and keep start-ups in the state. I view this as one of the key issues concerning the continued growth of Atlanta. I decided to research more on the background of this bill and look at why Georgia was and continues to lose so many start-ups to other states.
How was the research experience?
It was a great learning experience. I received a great deal of help and gained a lot of knowledge from the members of the House Majority Office, Georgia Tech’s Department of Government and Community Relations and a number of lobbyists at the capitol.
What are some of your findings?
I found that Georgia has indeed experienced an exodus of companies receiving venture capital, primarily start-ups and high tech firms. Firms like these represent well over $1 billion of VC investment moving out of the state in the past decade. I also learned a key factor leading to this problem in a lack of a high tech cluster or what I deemed a lack of a “start-up ecosystem” in the state. Unlike many other states, most start-ups in Georgia are not embedded in the community and have no ties to the larger high-tech corporations through board members and other networks. This makes it much more likely for them to leave the state.
What is significant about this project?
This project deals with one of the major problems facing Georgia’s high-tech industry today. It also concerns itself with an important piece of legislation that just passed through the State Capitol.
How might your findings be used?
I hope these findings can be used to promote more legislation like the Invest Georgia Fund and draw attention to some already successful programs like Georgia Tech’s ATDC.
How do you think this experience will help you in your future career?
This experience allowed me to gain a greater depth of knowledge about venture capital and public policy, which I can use in my future career.
