When it comes to startup community building, the debate often centers around two approaches: methodical evolution or transformative revolution. Stakeholders want big results faster. Experienced ecosystem builders understand that it is a 20 year journey. Do we nurture slow, organic growth over time, or do we push for a rapid, transformative change? As someone who’s been in the trenches of building and advising startup communities, I’ve seen the merits of both, but there’s a critical lesson we need to understand.
In my book, Build The Fort: The Startup Community Builder’s Field Guide, I outline 7 drivers for ecosystem success:
- Community Leadership
- Founder Development
- Mentor Development
- Investor Development
- University Engagement
- Corporate Engagement
- Government Engagement.
As a complex system, there is not a linear playbook to run with these 7 drivers. However, I do strongly believe that you have to have one of these in play before the others can be optimized.
Community Leadership sets the culture of how all of the members of the community will interact with each other. Get that right, and good activities that are built on top of the leadership, will follow. These hoped for catalytic moments are more apt to emerge when more of the members are aligned around the right culture of entrepreurship.
So back to the question, evolution or revolution?
If you have a culture of control, of gatekeepers creating access points to knowledge, capital and mentors – a revolution is needed to change that ASAP. Slowly evolving your misguided culture inch by inch will only demoralize the founders. I heartily support breaking the hierarchy in big ways.
If you have a supportive, collaborative, more network structure where access to mentors, capital and knowledge is obtained easily and leaders publicly live this culture, then you can apply a more evolutionary approach to the 6 other drivers. In fact you must take that mindset as we have little predictability as to what activities will work in your community.
A thriving startup community isn’t built overnight, but it also can’t afford to move at a snail’s pace. Evolution gives you depth and resilience; revolution gives you momentum and visibility.