There’s no magic recipe to making an online community succeed, but there are plenty of ways to kick-start, fix, or grow your city’s startup technology scene no matter what the geography. How do culture, philosophy, mentorship, education, government, universities, and events play a role in which communities thrive and which fail?
At the 2012 South by Southwest Interactive Festival, “How to Build Entrepreneurship Communities” helped shed light on the key ingredients needed to establish a successful community. Thanks to insight from folks like President and CEO of Venture for America Andrew Yang and Managing Director of Foundry Group Brad Feld key parts of the talk are available here!
How do you build a community? Give more than you take!
- There is a big difference between one who can be successful and someone who can help others be a success
- Communities scale via content and community
- People are either sharing knowledge or bringing people together
- Creating entrepreneurship communities is not about the “I” and “me” of the leaders
Entrepreneurship is about ideas, energy, hustle, and passion
- Make sure your ecosystem has a platform to get the word out
- Great entrepreneurship communities usually start with entrepreneurs trying to solve their own problems
- Most community leaders didn’t dream about becoming organizers: They wanted to make things happen
- You’ve succeeded when you start having people come to events who don’t know who you are
- Don’t let entrepreneurship community leaders start building walls to preserve self interest & exclude others
- Call out the haters, then call a meeting and demand they get involved
When change comes, find the right person to fill your shoes
- Sustainability is a big part and challenge in keeping the community strong
- It’s a lot of work to run a community so it’s important to take your time and be thorough
- To find your successor: Look for the person who keeps coming back when you say you don’t need help
- Embrace the help of volunteers if you can
- Make sure to keep the community sustainable: Limit responsibilities for the leaders and make events repeatable
Special thanks for the content contributions from @MaxGdj, @mpd, @girlmobile, @timjeby, @marcnager, @paigecraig, @nickseguin, @alenarg, and @markpeterdavis !