by Chris Heivly | Mar 30, 2023 | Community
Are you concerned that copycat companies imply an immature ecosystem? Is your international-based startup community and your respective founders focused on replicating other successful ideas? The Fandango of Lima, Peru. The Yelp of Almaty, Kazakhstan. The Lime bikes...
by Chris Heivly | Mar 22, 2023 | Community
Are you a government leader asking yourself this question? Every government entity today is wondering how they can best help accelerate the startup activities in their local area. In fact, I get asked that question just about every day here at the fort. Building or...
by Chris Heivly | Feb 10, 2021 | Community
There are short-term startup community goals and there are — and should be — long-term startup community goals and both of them require a resilient mindset. Many of us put our heads down under the “get stuff done now” mantra, and of course that has real value. But, as...
by Chris Heivly | Jan 25, 2021 | Community
Entrepreneurial ecosystems are made up of people, and the success of every entrepreneurial ecosystem depends on the level of people’s connectivity to each other. That is the fundamental principle at the core of our Ecosystem Development practice at Techstars. But why...
by Chris Heivly | Oct 17, 2019 | Community, INC
I was lucky enough to be asked to judge an annual pitch competition in Buffalo that an organization called 43North operate every year. The 43 North program is pretty simple; startups from around the world compete for the opportunity to win close to $5M divided into...
by Chris Heivly | Oct 15, 2019 | Community, INC
Like startup companies, startup ecosystems invariably get stuck. This can be frustrating to both the community leaders (those who are working tirelessly usually without pay to stand up those events) as well as the entrepreneurs who need access to resources to grow...