Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City

First published in 2012, Startup Communities became a blueprint for what it takes to build a supportive entrepreneurial community. Now regarded as a classic, the "Boulder Thesis" created and popularized by Feld within the book generated enormous media attention nearly a decade ago. At that time, Boulder was an emerging startup laboratory—a hub of innovation building new tech businesses. It quickly accelerated into a world class ecosystem for entrepreneurs. Boulder's entrepreneurial density, combined with the geographic concentration of entrepreneurial activity around the Boulder downtown core, made it a hotbed of startup activity. Feld was and is still there, as a keen observer and one of its leaders. As he notes simply in the new edition, humans are wired to start things. In a sense, that short Feld-ism accurately describes the startup revolution still taking hold throughout the world. Boulder is proof that innovation can happen anywhere, in any city. Thanks in part to the book, what happens in Boulder now leaves Boulder. Rapidly growing startup communities in Atlanta, Detroit, Denver, Kansas City, Nashville, and Indianapolis are just a few examples. Over the last decade, Feld has dispelled the myth that startups can only thrive in Silicon Valley. Startup communities continue to pop up across the U.S. and around the world, prompting fresh new revelations and stories from Feld about what's happened over the last decade. Startup Communities 2e describes what makes a startup community ecosystem first click, then hum, and in time, excel. From Boulder to Beijing and beyond, entrepreneurial ecosystems are driving innovation. Startup Communities 2e discusses and the necessary dynamics and pre-conditions of building communities of entrepreneurs who can feed off each other's talent, creativity, and support. In Startup Communities 2e, Feld will help you understand: The core principles of a vibrant startup community, re-examining his Boulder Thesis and exploring other historical frameworks. The attributes of leadership in a startup community that can help it thrive along with the classical problems any community will face during development. The importance of a university in a startup community, and how large companies can engage effectively with entrepreneurs. The importance of continuous improvement so growth does not stagnate. The common myths about startup communities. The opportunities to build startup communities in non-urban, or rural, places that are much less populated.

Table of Contents:
Foreword xiii Introduction to the Second Edition xvii Preface xxi Chapter One Introduction 1 The Example of Boulder 2 How This Book Works 3 Chapter Two The Boulder Startup Community 5 Boulder as a Laboratory 6 Before the Internet (1970–1994) 7 Pre-Internet Bubble (1995–2000) 9 The Collapse of the Internet Bubble (2001–2002) 11 The Beginning of the Next Wave (2003–2011) 14 An Outsider’s View of Boulder in 2012 16 The Next Wave (2012–2020) 19 Chapter Three Principles of a Vibrant Startup Community 21 Historical Frameworks 21 The Boulder Thesis 25 Led by Entrepreneurs 25 Long-Term Commitment 26 Foster a Philosophy of Inclusiveness 27 Engage the Entire Entrepreneurial Stack 28 Chapter Four Participants in a Startup Community 31 Entrepreneurs 34 Government 36 Universities 38 Investors 42 Mentors 43 Service Providers 45 Large Companies 46 The Importance of Leaders, Feeders, and Instigators 47 Chapter Five Attributes of Leadership in a Startup Community 49 Be Inclusive 49 Play a Non-Zero-Sum or Positive-Sum Game 51 Be Mentorship Driven 52 Have Porous Boundaries 55 Give People Assignments 56 Experiment and Fail Fast 58 Chapter Six Classical Problems 61 The Patriarch Problem 61 Complaining About Capital 63 Being Too Reliant on Government 66 Making Short-Term Commitments 67 Having a Bias Against Newcomers 68 Attempt by a Feeder to Control the Community 69 Creating Artificial Geographic Boundaries 71 Playing a Zero-Sum Game 72 Having a Culture of Risk Aversion 73 Avoiding People Because of Past Failures 74 Chapter Seven Activities and Events 77 Young Entrepreneurs Organization 78 Office Hours 80 Boulder Denver New Tech Meetup 82 Boulder Open Coffee Club 87 Startup Weekend 90 Ignite Boulder 92 Boulder Beta 95 Boulder Startup Digest 97 CU New Venture Challenge 100 Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado 103 Chapter Eight The Power of Accelerators 107 The Spread of Techstars to Boston and Seattle 109 Techstars Expands to New York 111 Techstars Today 113 Accelerators Are Different than Incubators 114 University Accelerators 115 Chapter Nine University Involvement 119 Silicon Flatirons’ Networked Approach 120 Organizing the Components of University Entrepreneurship 124 Other Campus Initiatives That Affect Startup Communities 126 The Real Value—Fresh Blood into the System 129 Challenges and Responses for University Entrepreneurship Programs 137 The Power of Alumni 141 Chapter Ten Contrasts between Entrepreneurs and Government 143 Self-Aware versus Not Self-Aware 144 Bottom Up versus Top Down 145 Micro versus Macro 146 Action versus Policy 147 Impact versus Control 147 Chapter Eleven How Large Corporations Can Help 149 Start by Linking to Corporate Innovation Initiatives 150 Support, Convene, Consume, and Engage 151 Self-interest is Good 153 Think About Talent Appropriately 154 Reinvestment in Your Community 155 Chapter Twelve The Power of the Community 161 Give Before You Get (#GiveFirst) 161 Everyone is a Mentor 163 Embrace Weirdness 163 Be Open to Any Idea 164 Be Honest 164 Go for a Walk 166 The Value and Cost of an After-Party 168 Chapter Thirteen Broadening a Successful Startup Community 171 Parallel Universes 171 Integration with the Rest of Colorado 173 Lack of Diversity 175 Physical Space 179 Chapter Fourteen Rural Startup Communities 181 Definition of a Rural Startup Community 182 A Broader Definition of Entrepreneurship 183 Entrepreneurs Before Capital 184 Beyond Traditional Capital Models 186 Rural + Urban, Not Rural versus Urban 188 Chapter Fifteen Myths about Startup Communities 191 We Need to Be Like Silicon Valley 192 We Need More Local Venture Capital 193 Angel Investors Must Be Organized 195 Chapter Sixteen Getting Started 199 Getting Startup Iceland Started 199 Big Omaha 203 Startup America Partnership 204 Do or Do Not, There is No Try 209 About the author 211 Acknowledgments 213 Foreword—First edition (2012) 217 Index 219

About the Author :
BRAD FELD has been an early-stage investor and entrepreneur for over 30 years. He is currently a partner at Foundry Group and is a co-founder of Techstars. In addition to his investing efforts, Brad runs the Anchor Point Foundation with his wife Amy Batchelor. Brad is a nationally recognized speaker on the topics of venture capital investing and entrepreneurship.