If a startup community grows and there’s no one around to tell the story of that community, is it really a viable startup community? Stories are important. As is promotion. So it’s always nice to see second tier startup cities taking the time to highlight all of the amazing entrepreneurial activity in their midst.
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I know that most of the stuff I vomit onto the Internet on a regular basis is, at best, pithy. And, at worst, is just the worst. And that a great deal of that regurgitation is replicating something that someone else has written. Or directing you to someone else’s thoughts. And that’s by design. But I do actually think about stuff. From time to time. No really. And every once in a while, I write something that contains actual thought. Or at least some semblance thereof.
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Startup communities can be a bit chaotic and nebulous at times. But there are certain driving factors that can put a startup community on a path for potential success. For nearly a decade, one of the the leading books to document these factors has remained Startup Communities by Brad Feld. Tomorrow, the update to that book is being released. But today? Brad Feld’s coauthor, Ian Hathaway, will be joining Stephen Green today for a conversation about the book, startup communities, and more.
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I don’t know about you, but I have a number of books that I revisit on a regular basis. And every time I do, I take away something new and different. One of those books is Startup Communities by Brad Feld, in which he describes his “Boulder Thesis” around how startup communities are built. I reread it about every six months or so. And now, there’s a new book from Brad that will likely get added to the reread list: The Startup Community Way.
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Every year I look forward to the results of the Portland Women In Tech (PDXWIT) State of the Community survey results. Not because the results are easy to hear. Or even stomach. Far from it. But they’re a clear indicator of where our community is broken. And where work can be done.
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Community thrives on connections. Creating those connections can always be challenging. But they’re definitely something that can be even harder to come by these days. That’s why PIE has started a series of livestream conversations to keep the community connecting and conversing. Up next? PIE will be chatting with Shelly Bell of Black Girl Ventures.
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Near the beginning of the shelter in place order — what seems like years ago at this point — one of the first virtual events in which I had the honor of participating was the Skoll World Forum, an annual global gathering that had pivoted into a virtual event. During our panel, I had the opportunity to learn from startup ecosystem builders around the world. Here are some of the insights on how startup communities were dealing with COVID-19 at the time.
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Strange times. I don’t have any better insights than you do. But I’m trying to make sense of it. Of this weirdness. Of this new abnormal. And trying to find threads or themes or paths that will help us move forward. That will give startups opportunities. And that will give all of us some strange semblance of a light at the end of the tunnel.
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When the pandemic isolation began, many tried and true ways of building connection and community — most notably, meeting face to face with people — disappeared, instantaneously. But the need for community didn’t. If anything, in fact, that need increased. Exponentially. But how are we to maintain and strengthen community in this new normal of self distancing?
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Happy hours. They’re a thing. For real. And not so long ago, there was a community happy hour that grew into a really, really big thing. And an important and formative thing. But it didn’t start that way.
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