In January we covered Europe’s top 10 entrepreneurial friendly cities, today we hop across the Atlantic and visit America, and while Silicon Valley, Boston and New York may all pop into mind as the de-facto places to start, we have some very interesting revelations. Sit back, and enjoy.

Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina

Say what? Yes. North Carolina, not only is there plenty of activity in the technology scene here but there is also a local push from government, and universities to foster entrepreneurship in NC.

Pros: The NC Research Triangle is a hub of activity for Linux, SAS, IBM among other initiatives.
Cons: People may make fun of you when you tell them you live in one of the Carolinas.
Strange Fact: Chances are you may find more native New Yorkers in NC, than in NYC.

Boston, Massachusetts

Will refrain from making any Boston accent jokes here, but Boston is undoubtedly a hub for entrepreneurial activity. With MIT and Harvard both being in earshot of each other, and entrepreneurship activity coming in from a multitude or sectors, you can rest assured that Boston is not a place to start your company, be it biotech, or software.

Pros: Wealth of activity in research coupled with a multitude of initiatives makes Boston a great location to start a business.
Cons: Strange accents, and clicky locals. It’s been said that making local friends in Boston is not the easiest thing in the world.
Strange Fact: Whatever you do, don’t wear a Yankees shirt/hat to a Boston outing or bar. We warned you.

San Francisco Bay Area, California

Like Boston, this place has got it all, Universities, Research, Software, Biotechnology, Venture Capital, the whole 9 yards and a great healthy lifestyle to boot.

Pros: With all the activity in Silicon Valley it’s no surprise that the world looks at this little piece of California for inspiration, it’s the place European Startups go to when Europe fails its leading innovators.
Cons: SV is not the epicenter that it once was, other hubs have popped up around the U.S. which offer entrepreneurs and more mature companies the same or very similar benefits as SV
Strange Fact: If you lose a prototype product in a bar, chances are you’ll wind up swimming with the fishes. Collective Intelligence is very very very important here.

New York, New York

The concrete jungle where dreams are made of has its ups and downs. Typically a financial and media hub, NY has made strides in the past few years to become more appealing to entrepreneurs, and even boasts some great entrepreneurship initiatives from the city gov, i.e. all the stuff at the Levin Institute.

Pros: There is a lot of money, there are a lot of unemployed execs and financiers who can help get your startup to where it needs to be. Networking is great here.
Cons: Let’s face it, New York is not a cheap place to live, and the locals (at least those who haven’t moved to N.C) may be hard to come by.
Strange Fact: New York loves media, be they newspapers, new channels, blogs, what have you some of the nations biggest media companies are based here. If your startup is media focused. Well….

Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, Minnesota

Makes up one of the leading medical device clusters in the U.S. and rank in the top 10 biotechnology centers in the U.S.A.

Pros: Cost of living is relatively cheap compared to the other cities on this list, which as a startup you know is a key factor to keeping you going when in the early stages.
Cons: Unless you’re focused on the biotech market, not much here in the way of media, web/mobile, clean tech space, and it’s cold.
Strange Fact: When a man meets a cow in Minnesota, he is required by law to remove his hat. Seriously.

Tomorrow we round out the 10 places to start your company in the U.S. – so be sure to check back.

“Xavier Flores (ESADE MBA, ‘09) is one of the founders and the Managing Partner for Latin America and Europe for The XV Global Development Group, a Barcelona-based company that develops strategies and provides support, investment and fund-raising for the international growth of Spanish SMEs through our global network of trustworthy collaborations and strategic alliances”

For many, business school provide knowledge and experiences that go beyond books and lectures, for others who have no interest in business school this knowledge can be hard to attain, and often results in years of on the job learning. However, that’s not to say that when winding down after a long work session you can’t hone your skills in some of the more vital business material that can help you better manage your startup.

Although the recommendations here do not cover all possible subjects included in most MBA programs, they do complement many of the topics learned in Business Schools around the world. Here is a brief description of some film-supported teachings that every budding entrepreneur should learn.

Subject: Entrepreneurship

Startup.com: (2001; Directed by Chris Hegedus and Jehane Noujaim; Kaleil Isaza Tuzman, Tom Herman, Kenneth Austin, et al) Topics covered: Finance for entrepreneurs, capital raising, growth management, entrepreneurship skills, team building, management skills…

Catch Me If You Can
(2002; Directed by Steven Spielberg; Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks) Topics covered: Entrepreneurship skills, creativity and innovation, perseverance, business vision, personal sales techniques, entrepreneurial funding sources…

Lord Of War
(2005; Directed by Andrew Niccol; Nicolas Cage, Bridget Moynahan, Jared Leto, et al) Topics covered: Entrepreneurship skills, emerging markets, creative problem solving, crisis management, negotiation techniques, building customer loyalty, competitive strategies, geopolitics…

Subject: Finance

Wall Street
(1987; Directed by Oliver Stone; Charlie Sheen, Michael Douglas, et al). Topics covered: Corporate finance, portfolio management, capital markets, investment law principles, mergers and acquisitions, company valuations, business ethics…

Rogue Trader
(1999; Directed by James Dearden; Ewan McGregor, Anna Friel, Yves Beneyton) Topics covered: Derivatives, corporate valuation, financial reporting, capital markets, emerging markets, business ethics…

Subject: Human Resources Management

The Office – v.UK
(2001; Directed by Rick Gervais and Stephen Merchant; Rick Gervais, Martin Freeman, Mackenzie Crook, et al). Topics covered: Personnel management, recruitment, crisis management, empowerment and delegation, employee appraisals, corporate culture, multi-team integration, sexual harassment, non-discrimination policies, conflict resolution, negotiations skills…

Twelve Angry Men
(1957; Directed by Sidney Lumet; Henry Fonda, Edward Binns, Lee J. Cobb, et al) Topics covered: Negotiations techniques, persuasion methods, conflict resolution, consensus building…

Office Space
(1999; Directed by Mike Judge; Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, David Herman, Gary Cole, et al) Topics covered: Corporate culture, mentoring, career development, leadership, work-life balance, personnel retention, team-building techniques, management of information technology…

Subject: Corporate Strategy

The Godfather Trilogy
(1972, 1974 & 1990; Directed by Francis Ford Coppola; Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Rober deNiro, et al). Topics covered: Competitive strategies, key personnel retention, corporate take-overs (friendly and hostile), alliances, mergers and acquisitions, corporate succession, long-term corporate diversification…

The Usual Suspects
(1995; Directed by Bryan Singer; Stephen Baldwin, Benicio Del Toro, Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, et al) Topics covered: Leadership consolidation, power and influence, long-term business strategy, collaboration, risk-and-reward compensation, entrepreneurial skills, innovation and creativity, consolidation of branding, marketing, operations and logistic planning and execution…

Subject: Accounting and Financial Reporting

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
(2005; Directed by Alex Elkind; Peter Coyote as Narrator) Topics covered: Accounting reporting (basic, advanced and innovative), consolidation of reports, off-shore diversification, off-balance sheet accounting, agency problem, business ethics…

Subject: Marketing and Sales

How To Get Ahead In Advertising
(1989; Directed by Bruce Robinson; Richard Wilson, Rachel Ward, et al) Topics covered: Marketing strategy, advertising know-how, market segmentation, branding…

The Devil Wears Prada
(2006; Directed by David Frankel; Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, et al) Topics covered: Branding, sales techniques, importance of print media, career development…

Thank You For Smoking
(2005; Directed by Jason Reitman; Aaron Eckhart, J.K. Simmons, Robert Duvall, et al) Topics covered: Public relations, marketing and advertising campaigns, crisis management, corporate communications, effective negotiations skills…

Glengarry Glen Ross
(1992; Directed by James Foley; Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Spacey, et al) Topics covered: Sales techniques, customer relationship management, negotiations and deal closings…

Subject: Law

The Merchant of Venice
(2004; Directed by Michael Radford; Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, et al) Topics covered: Contract negotiations, mercantile law, risk assessment, business law principles…

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
(1964; Directed by Stanley Kibrick; Peter Sellers, Geroge C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, et al) Topics covered: International relations, geopolitics, influence and leadership…

Subject: Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics

Erin Brockovich
(2000; Directed by Steven Soderbergh; Julia Roberts, David Brisbin, et al) Topics covered: Social responsibility, sustainable business models…

Rainmaker
(1997; Directed by Francis Ford Coppola; Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, et al) Topics covered: Social responsibility, business ethics, business law…

Think there’s something vital missing? Let us know.