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    <title>Econ Dev Show Podcast - Economic Development - Episodes Tagged with “Western New York”</title>
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    <pubDate>Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:15:00 -0500</pubDate>
    <description>Dane Carlson explores the strategies, ideas, and insights that are driving economic development forward into the future.  You'll hear new insights from passionate ED's about their successes and struggles, and you'll learn from attraction and retention experts about how to apply actionable strategies inside your EDO.  We'll help take your organization, your community, and your career to the next level.
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    <itunes:subtitle>Actionable economic development strategies and stories</itunes:subtitle>
    <itunes:author>Dane Carlson</itunes:author>
    <itunes:summary>Dane Carlson explores the strategies, ideas, and insights that are driving economic development forward into the future.  You'll hear new insights from passionate ED's about their successes and struggles, and you'll learn from attraction and retention experts about how to apply actionable strategies inside your EDO.  We'll help take your organization, your community, and your career to the next level.
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    <itunes:keywords>econ dev, economic development, ed</itunes:keywords>
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      <itunes:name>Dane Carlson</itunes:name>
      <itunes:email>show@econdevshow.com</itunes:email>
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  <title>176: From Rust Belt to Tech Hub: Buffalo's 25-Year Transformation with Tom Kucharski</title>
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  <pubDate>Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:15:00 -0500</pubDate>
  <author>Dane Carlson</author>
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  <itunes:episode>176</itunes:episode>
  <itunes:title>From Rust Belt to Tech Hub: Buffalo's 25-Year Transformation with Tom Kucharski</itunes:title>
  <itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType>
  <itunes:author>Dane Carlson</itunes:author>
  <itunes:subtitle>Tom Kucharski, President and CEO of Invest Buffalo Niagara, discusses how Western New York transformed from industrial decline to becoming the nation's only semiconductor tech hub, achieving its first population growth in decades while leveraging abundant clean energy and a $1 million startup competition.</itunes:subtitle>
  <itunes:duration>32:29</itunes:duration>
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  <description>In this episode of the Econ Dev Show, host Dane Carlson sits down with Tom Kucharski, President and CEO of Invest Buffalo Niagara, who has led the organization's transformation efforts for 25 years. Kucharski shares how Buffalo evolved from being the 8th largest U.S. city in 1960 to experiencing devastating industrial decline, and then orchestrating a remarkable comeback that includes the first population growth in decades. 
He discusses the region's competitive advantages including clean hydroelectric power from Niagara Falls, the 43 North business plan competition (the largest in the country with $1 million prizes), and securing the nation's only semiconductor tech hub designation. The conversation covers Buffalo's evolution into a hub for manufacturing, life sciences, and technology, while addressing new challenges like housing shortages that come with rapid growth and success.
Like this show? Please leave us a review here (https://econdevshow.com/rate-this-podcast/) — even one sentence helps!  Special Guest: Tom Kucharski.
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  <itunes:keywords>econdev, economic development, eco devo, Buffalo, semiconductor tech hub, clean energy, 43 North, population growth, economic development, Western New York, manufacturing, regionalism, startup competition</itunes:keywords>
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    <![CDATA[<p>In this episode of the Econ Dev Show, host Dane Carlson sits down with Tom Kucharski, President and CEO of Invest Buffalo Niagara, who has led the organization&#39;s transformation efforts for 25 years. Kucharski shares how Buffalo evolved from being the 8th largest U.S. city in 1960 to experiencing devastating industrial decline, and then orchestrating a remarkable comeback that includes the first population growth in decades. </p>

<p>He discusses the region&#39;s competitive advantages including clean hydroelectric power from Niagara Falls, the 43 North business plan competition (the largest in the country with $1 million prizes), and securing the nation&#39;s only semiconductor tech hub designation. The conversation covers Buffalo&#39;s evolution into a hub for manufacturing, life sciences, and technology, while addressing new challenges like housing shortages that come with rapid growth and success.</p>

<p><a href="https://econdevshow.com/rate-this-podcast/" rel="nofollow">Like this show? Please leave us a review here</a> — even one sentence helps! </p><p>Special Guest: Tom Kucharski.</p><p>Sponsored By:</p><ul><li><a rel="nofollow" href="https://sitehunt.io">Sitehunt</a>: <a rel="nofollow" href="https://sitehunt.io">If your property data is scattered or out of date, you're losing projects.

Sitehunt gives economic developers an AI-powered property database and instant RFI responses.

Schedule a demo today!</a></li></ul><p>Links:</p><ul><li><a title="Tom Kucharski | LinkedIn" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-kucharski-9632775/">Tom Kucharski | LinkedIn</a></li><li><a title="Invest Buffalo Niagara | Grow your Business in Buffalo Niagara" rel="nofollow" href="https://buffaloniagara.org/">Invest Buffalo Niagara | Grow your Business in Buffalo Niagara</a></li><li><a title="Why Move to Buffalo? Hear from Those Who Have! - YouTube" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9zrDtOMxX0&amp;t=3s">Why Move to Buffalo? Hear from Those Who Have! - YouTube</a></li><li><a title="3/22: Tom Kucharski - HUNT Real Estate Corporation Blog" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.huntrealestate.com/blog/2025/03/3-22-tom-kucharski/">3/22: Tom Kucharski - HUNT Real Estate Corporation Blog</a></li></ul>]]>
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  <itunes:summary>
    <![CDATA[<p>In this episode of the Econ Dev Show, host Dane Carlson sits down with Tom Kucharski, President and CEO of Invest Buffalo Niagara, who has led the organization&#39;s transformation efforts for 25 years. Kucharski shares how Buffalo evolved from being the 8th largest U.S. city in 1960 to experiencing devastating industrial decline, and then orchestrating a remarkable comeback that includes the first population growth in decades. </p>

<p>He discusses the region&#39;s competitive advantages including clean hydroelectric power from Niagara Falls, the 43 North business plan competition (the largest in the country with $1 million prizes), and securing the nation&#39;s only semiconductor tech hub designation. The conversation covers Buffalo&#39;s evolution into a hub for manufacturing, life sciences, and technology, while addressing new challenges like housing shortages that come with rapid growth and success.</p>

<p><a href="https://econdevshow.com/rate-this-podcast/" rel="nofollow">Like this show? Please leave us a review here</a> — even one sentence helps! </p><p>Special Guest: Tom Kucharski.</p><p>Sponsored By:</p><ul><li><a rel="nofollow" href="https://sitehunt.io">Sitehunt</a>: <a rel="nofollow" href="https://sitehunt.io">If your property data is scattered or out of date, you're losing projects.

Sitehunt gives economic developers an AI-powered property database and instant RFI responses.

Schedule a demo today!</a></li></ul><p>Links:</p><ul><li><a title="Tom Kucharski | LinkedIn" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-kucharski-9632775/">Tom Kucharski | LinkedIn</a></li><li><a title="Invest Buffalo Niagara | Grow your Business in Buffalo Niagara" rel="nofollow" href="https://buffaloniagara.org/">Invest Buffalo Niagara | Grow your Business in Buffalo Niagara</a></li><li><a title="Why Move to Buffalo? Hear from Those Who Have! - YouTube" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9zrDtOMxX0&amp;t=3s">Why Move to Buffalo? Hear from Those Who Have! - YouTube</a></li><li><a title="3/22: Tom Kucharski - HUNT Real Estate Corporation Blog" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.huntrealestate.com/blog/2025/03/3-22-tom-kucharski/">3/22: Tom Kucharski - HUNT Real Estate Corporation Blog</a></li></ul>]]>
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