OC DOESN’T BOAST MANY REALLY BIG COMPANIES, AND IT’S DEBATABLE whether the county is anything special when it comes to startups.
But when it comes to in-between companies, that’s a different story.
Whenever there’s a hot company, fast-growing company, small-public company or midcap company list, OC shines.
Although OC is only 1% of the nation’s population, OC-based companies almost invariably make up 5% to 10% of these lists. No other community, not even Silicon Valley, makes such a consistently high showing.
The latest example is Fortune magazine’s annual list of the 100 Fastest-Growing Companies. OC placed six companies,Ceradyne (third), William Lyon Homes, TTM Technologies, Quality Systems, United PanAm Financial and Standard Pacific,more than any state besides California and Texas.
What’s OC got going for it? A diverse economic base, a great quality of life, seasoned entrepreneurs and creative risk takers. You can no doubt add other reasons.
Sure, OC and California have plenty of problems.
But as these ‘tweener lists keep demonstrating, the talent’s here.
,Rick Reiff
