By RYAN FINLEY

Confession: I moved my startup to Portland in 2004 not because of its growing tech scene, but because I was drawn to the city's creative energy.

I am firmly convinced that it takes more than access to funding and well-educated workers to lure businesses to a city. Access to art is also key. Even as Portland and Oregon focus on the financial and educational components of economic development, we cannot underestimate the draw of arts and cultural energy.

Back in 2004, my brother and I were running our small start-up, SurveyMonkey, which empowers anybody to gather feedback from anyone with an internet connection. We were based in Madison, Wisconsin, but were itching to move to a bigger place with more opportunities for growth. We narrowed our choices to Austin, Seattle, Portland or San Francisco. We chose Portland because it seemed like we could enjoy the advantages of a large progressive city without many of the downsides.

I lived in the Pearl District and would walk around my neighborhood on First Thursdays, absorbing the artworks at the various galleries. For me, it was definitely a period of discovery both of art and my own tastes.

I'd also visited the famous museums in New York City for the same reason. I wanted to immerse myself in creative works and thought.

Second confession: I lived in Portland for more than three years before I set foot in the Portland Art Museum.

Sure, it's the oldest art museum on the West Coast. For me, that meant the Portland Art Museum was probably too boring, too conservative.

My opinion changed in 2007, when I was lured into the museum by an exhibit of Kehinde Wiley's paintings. Wiley grew up in South Central Los Angeles, the son of an African American mother and Nigerian father. He went on to be a well-known contemporary artist, who painted the portrait of President Barack Obama now displayed in the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery.

Once inside the Portland Art Museum, I discovered that my preconceptions were flat out wrong. Wiley opened my eyes to a place that is in many ways a foundation for the creative energy that attracted me to Portland in the first place.

Fast forward to today. SurveyMonkey has grown bigger than my brother and I could have imagined. We sold the company in 2009 and the new owners moved it to the Bay Area. But I remain on the board and I still live right here in Portland with my wife and two daughters, ages 3 and 6. We visit the Portland Art Museum on a regular basis in order to inspire and nourish their creativity. And I agreed to serve on the museum's board of trustees.

Why?

Serving as a trustee has furthered my own personal education that started while walking around in the Pearl more than a decade ago.

And

,

because without a dynamic, high-quality museum of art, Portland would stand in the shadow of Seattle and San Francisco and other major cities.

This matters both culturally and economically. In fact, recently Sebastian Smee, the Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic at The Washington Post, wrote a column pointing out that every city on the short list for Amazon's second headquarters (also known as HQ2) also has a great museum.

"Their prestige and prominence make them prime tourist destinations," Smee wrote of the museums. "Their health and quality are also tied up with civic pride with what makes a city desirable to live in."

So where does Portland stack up?

Our city didn't make Amazon's short list for HQ2 cities. In my opinion, that's probably for the best.

But I do believe we are emerging from the shadow of Seattle and San Francisco. People are talking about bringing Major League Baseball here. Outside venture capital is starting to pour into locally grown companies.

And just last year, the National Center for Arts Research ranked Portland, Oregon No. 13 among large metros for its vibrant arts community.

Now that's something we can build on. For Portland to continue its rise as a great city, we need to support the transformation of our museum to better serve our community both today and into the future. That includes supporting the museum's renovation and expansion plans to make the facility even more attractive and accessible to all.

We are no longer a little brother to Seattle or San Francisco. Whether you're thinking of launching a company or relocating your company's headquarters, you can be assured that Portland, with its art museum, galleries, and vibrant design scene offers the strong culture and creative energy that draws people and keeps them here.

Ryan Finley is the founder of SurveyMonkey and a member of the Portland Art Museum's Board of Trustees.