"The Startup Community Way is a sequel to Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City. It pciks up where Startup Communities left off, looking at why makes startup communties thrive -- anywhere. The Startup Community Way advances the practice of startup community building in several key ways: Establishes the very notion of a startup community. Provides an intro to relevant historical frameworks: agglomeration, networks, creative class Establishes the Boulder Thesis: a governing philosophy for startup communitie. Discusses the role of key stakeholders (leaders and feeders), what can go wrong (Classical Problems and Myths), why a community matters (Power of Community and Broadening), and why leaders are the key to bringing it all together (Attributes of Leadership). Offers a ton of practical advice along the way, aimed primarily at entrepreneur community builders. Expands the Boulder Thesis to benefit nascent startup communities or those in an international context. Discusses es the role of government (national, regional, local, international) in startup communities -- they can and do play a big role, particularly outside of the United States. Provides a framework or model for assessing and measuring the "maturity" of a particular startup community--"Where are we?" and "How do we get where we need to go?" Shares lessons that will be more generalizable across geographies and will tell lots of stories from around the United States and other countries. ?SCW will go deeper on other universities, other non-tech stuff, and structural dynamics (like technology transfer, patents, rules of engagement for students). It ill also develop a more robust framework for assessing and measuring a startup community (ranges from quality and types of stakeholders and assets to improving linkages and changing culture). ?Having the benefit of 6+ years to look back upon, SCW will have examples to draw upon from cities around the world -- a look back at what we have learned in the last half decade.In that regard, we'll have many more outside voices (contributors) in this book compared with SC1. ?The main new intellectual contribution of SCW is the introduction and application of "complex systems" theory into the practice of startup community building. SC1 is steeped in complexity theory, though does not go deep on explaining the implications of complex systems and how that justifies our recommendations (which differ widely from more traditional approaches). ?SCW will have a more robust/concisepractitioners guide at the end"--
The Way Forward for Entrepreneurship Around the World
We are in the midst of a startup revolution. The growth and proliferation of innovation-driven startup activity is profound, unprecedented, and global in scope. Today, it is understood that communities of support and knowledge-sharing go along with other resources. The importance of collaboration and a long-term commitment has gained wider acceptance. These principles are adopted in many startup communities throughout the world.
And yet, much more work is needed. Startup activity is highly concentrated in large cities. Governments and other actors such as large corporations and universities are not collaborating with each other nor with entrepreneurs as well as they could. Too often, these actors try to control activity or impose their view from the top-down, rather than supporting an environment that is led from the bottom-up. We continue to see a disconnect between an entrepreneurial mindset and that of many actors who wish to engage with and support entrepreneurship. There are structural reasons for this, but we can overcome many of these obstacles with appropriate focus and sustained practice.
No one tells this story better than Brad Feld and Ian Hathaway. The Startup Community Way: Evolving an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem explores what makes startup communities thrive and how to improve collaboration in these rapidly evolving, complex environments.
The Startup Community Way is an explanatory guide for startup communities. Rooted in the theory of complex systems, this book establishes the systemic properties of entrepreneurial ecosystems and explains why their complex nature leads people to make predictable mistakes. As complex systems, value creation occurs in startup communities primarily through the interaction of the "parts" - the people, organizations, resources, and conditions involved - not the parts themselves. This continual process of bottom-up interactions unfolds naturally, producing value in novel and unexpected ways. Through these complex, emergent processes, the whole becomes greater and substantially different than what the parts alone could produce.
Because of this, participants must take a fundamentally different approach than is common in much of our civic and professional lives. Participants must take a whole-system view, rather than simply trying to optimize their individual part. They must prioritize experimentation and learning over planning and execution. Complex systems are uncertain and unpredictable. They cannot be controlled, only guided and influenced. Each startup community is unique. Replication is enticing but impossible. The race to become "The Next Silicon Valley" is futile - even Silicon Valley couldn't recreate itself.
This book:
- Offers practical advice for entrepreneurs, community builders, government officials, and other stakeholders who want to harness the power of entrepreneurship in their city
- Describes the core components of startup communities and entrepreneurial ecosystems, as well as an explanation of the differences between these two related, but distinct concepts
- Advances a new framework for effective startup community building based on the theory of complex systems and insights from systems thinking
- Includes contributions from leading entrepreneurial voices
- Is a must-have resource for entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, executives, business and community leaders, economic development authorities, policymakers, university officials, and anyone wishing to understand how startup communities work anywhere in the world
