Why would this campus offer a better environment for innovators?

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/innovation/article.jsp?content=20071001_198706_198706

"If there is a ground zero for entrepreneurship in Canada, it may well be Larry Smith’s office. It might just be the academic sanctum of an adjunct associate professor of economics at the University of Waterloo, but its modesty belies Smith’s real influence. For 25 years, Smith has often been the first adviser and confidant to scores of students intent on launching a new business. In the safe and secretive confines of his small office, he grills would-be entrepreneurs — some of them just barely old enough to drink and vote — on all the basics: market research, strategic competitive analysis, attaining legal advice. “They’re not theoretical; this isn’t kicking-tires conversation,” Smith says. "