Today, I’m in Pittsburgh—a city with a long and storied tradition of innovation. For many, Pittsburgh is most closely associated with a time gone by—the industrial revolution and related businesses that got their start near the turn of the last century, names and brands such as Carnegie, Mellon, Westinghouse, ALCOA and more. Following the rise and dominance of many companies in this sector, as the 20th century drew to a close, Pittsburgh came to represent the fall of a once powerful industry. Indeed, as a result of the decline in the steel industry and the downturn in the national economy, many once-prosperous Pittsburgh communities turned into the picture of urban blight. Until now.
