When you think of innovation hubs, perhaps the San Francisco Bay Area and New York spring to mind, or maybe a global city such as London or Shanghai. You might not immediately think of Rhode Island, but we’re aiming to change that perception.
Little Rhody is doing some very big things.
Of course, Rhode Island boasts an Ivy League school – Brown University – along with nearly a dozen other significant and world-renowned academic institutions, including the Rhode Island School of Design, the University of Rhode Island, and Johnson & Wales University. These and its many other excellent colleges and universities offer a deep talent pool of potential employees.
The Ocean State also has a burgeoning tech and startup scene. The R.I. Commerce Corp. is creating a startup-friendly environment that’s resulted in a concentration of medtech and biotech firms in the area around Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School in Providence. And while not yet a fintech hub per se, Providence’s proximity to Boston – and to a lesser extent New York – allows it to attract talent, as well as forge partnerships in these traditional hubs of financial services and fintech.
Proximity is one reason why Virgin Pulse CEO David Osborne recently referred to Rhode Island as “Silicon Valley at $21 a square foot,” while also touting the state’s business and innovation potential. Additionally, Worth Magazine recently named Providence one of its 10 cities to watch in 2020, alongside major urban areas such as Philadelphia and Charlotte, N.C.
This local outreach provides us with a steady stream of incredibly talented interns.
It’s also why we at Marstone Inc. decided to put down roots here in addition to our New York office. Our Rhode Island space is located in the heart of Providence’s innovation district, which grows more vibrant by the day with new companies moving into the recently opened District Hall business incubator.
Participating in local tech meetups, and meeting with students from the state’s 11 colleges and universities, drives our own creativity and passion for what we do. I’ve led two workshops at the Brown Entrepreneurship Program and met future world-changers. This local outreach provides us with a steady stream of incredibly talented interns and potential employees.
We care greatly about giving back to the local community and helping people through improving their financial literacy. Rhode Island is a surprisingly diverse place, and Providence is in many ways a microcosm of larger urban areas. Regardless of their age, affluence or education, most people do not understand investments and financial literacy rates are low.
Humanizing finance for a broad range of people, and boosting financial literacy, are central to Marstone’s mission. That’s a key reason why we chose to locate in Rhode Island: so that we could develop and test our products in a diverse environment, helping make a difference in the community.
As it happens, boosting financial literacy is also a key initiative of the R.I. General Treasurer’s office, which organizes an annual “Job Shadow Day” to show students the career opportunities that exist in the financial services sector. Marstone is proud to participate for the first time in this event in February.
If you are someone who thrives in a collaborative, innovative environment and has a passion to make a difference, we’d love to hear from you.
Margaret Hartigan is CEO and founder of Marstone Inc., a digital wealth-management platform. The company has offices on Chestnut Street in Providence.
