Robert Litan, Steve Witherspoon and Tonya Witherspoon: Wichita can thrive in new digital economy

Many Wichitans are fully aware of the seminal contributions of Wichita’s aircraft, oil producers and franchisers – and more recently, the explosive growth of Koch Industries, and others, to our city’s success. But less well-known are the earlier wave of entrepreneurs who helped build this city and the new wave of tech entrepreneurs poised to change our city again.

Wichita was originally a “cattle town,” where legends such as Jesse Chisholm and J.R. Mead first established trading posts in the 19th century. The Delano district is their legacy.

Cattle trading attracted the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, which followed the Chisholm Trail. The railroad mechanized the horse and made the transportation of cattle and other materials in and out of the city much more efficient.

Wichita boomed in the 20th century largely because of railroad’s successor: the airplane. Cowboys were succeeded by engineers and riveters who designed and built the airplanes that put Wichita on the nation’s map.

The nation’s economic fate, and that of our own, in the 21st century will be very much tied to the digital revolution, and a new generation of software and hardware engineers. What many may not realize is that Wichita is well-positioned to pivot again and to thrive in this new digital economy.

With our abundance of engineering talent, our relatively low real-estate prices, and the ability to communicate immediately with anyone anywhere via the Internet, Wichita can be both a launching pad for new tech companies and a powerful magnet for tech companies started elsewhere to relocate here.

One prime example is the movement by tech entrepreneur and Kansas native Kevin Owens of his SNT Media team from Silicon Valley to downtown Wichita. Since April of last year, SNT has taken on more than 60 new employees, with plans for more hiring. SNT is finding that our local engineers can be quickly taught the same skills as the software engineers in the Valley, but at much lower cost given our much lower cost of living.

A homegrown example is Cybertron, founded by Ahmed Aziz and Shadi Marcos. It builds custom computers and storage servers and has earned the distinction of being the 15th largest system builder in the United States.

Wichita State University’s new coding academy, Shocker Code, which is launching its first classes in early 2016, will expand our tech talent base. Soon people of all ages will be able in just a few weeks to learn the basics of software coding – enough to teach themselves – so that they can staff startups and more established companies in desperate need of their skills.

Networking and mentoring also will play a critical role. Beginning Feb. 10 in Old Town, the Kauffman Foundation’s One Million Cups Wichita (1millioncups.com/wichita) will be hosting Wednesday morning programs for entrepreneurs and those interested in learning about them and helping them.

Wichita’s economic fortunes have changed with the times: from cowboys to railroads to airplanes, and most recently to tech. Wichita’s economy will continue to evolve, as it has in its past, around some of the technologies that have powered our national economy.

This story was originally published January 16, 2016 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Robert Litan, Steve Witherspoon and Tonya Witherspoon: Wichita can thrive in new digital economy."