Starting a business is a long road. Through the numerous iterations of validating your idea, tweaking your prototype and all the other building blocks a successful start-up needs surmount it can often feel like you’re alone in this endeavor. But having a solid start-up ecosystem can help alleviate some of those daily concerns. At a micro scale a ‘hub’ means having others around to bounce ideas off of; to challenge your assumptions; and to celebrate your successes big and small. At a more macro scale, a ‘hub’ means a city of region that is inviting to entrepreneurs, one that is open to trying new innovations, and one that has the expertise within to support these start-ups.
In the book Startup Communities by Brad Feld, he highlights the community must-haves if it is to be considered attractive for entrepreneurs. A couple that really stood out for me include the ‘everyone is a mentor’ point, and the ‘play a non-zero-sum game.’
Mentorship is crucial to a start-up, at all phases. Just having the ability to learn from someone who has been there can be the difference maker in big decisions. But instead of (or, in addition to ) having one mentor all the way from ideation to growth, greater success comes from having multiple mentors who are able to offer advice and be a sounding board for a variety of topics. While a peer group is great, and plays a vital role, it’s often more informal; a mentor – mentee relationship can often be most fulfilling with a more rigid schedule with accountable milestones. This way mentors know their time is being used wisely, and mentees gain knowledge from subject experts who are able to follow their specific challenges, and delve deeper. When everyone takes on a mentor role for the cohort below them it benefits the ecosystem by opening up the pool to a wider array of mentors, some seasoned, some may have just dealt with such a challenge that you are experiencing.
Secondly, it is important for a start-up ecosystem to move past the idea that all their collective efforts boil down to a zero-sum game. From the outside, it can be easy to say that those working in start-ups could instead be helping fill the talent gap for the more experienced business. This, of course, couldn’t be further from the truth. Entrepreneurs are creative by nature, and the personality traits that encouraged them to start something on their own, are maybe a good indication that they would actually be unhappy and not-as-productive if they were working for something. Start-up communities are ones that encourage innovation, as the players understand this is how NEW wealth is brought into the community.
There are several more great takeaways from Feld’s book, and I encourage all aspiring entrepreneurs to have a read.