Last week I wrote a post about opportunity culture in your community, ecosystem and city. Over the last week, I could not stop thinking about the post and how I missed something. Writing for me is a very in-the-moment thing and I trust myself to post what I am feeling at that moment. As the week dragged on, I kept returning to the idea of opportunity and that I needed to say something more or maybe say it differently.
Opportunity is a funny amorphous thing. It’s squishy. It means different things to different people at different times and contexts.
Oxford dictionary defines opportunity as, “a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something”. (I always seem to go clinical in order to set up my non-clinical point of view here, right?)
You can’t hold an opportunity in your hand or point to it on a map, but when you’re in the right place, you can feel it all around you. It’s in the air, the conversations, and the way people look at the future. That’s what makes an “opportunity culture” so special. It’s not about what a city has—it’s about what the people in that city believe they can create.
It’s about looking around and seeing not just what is, but what could be. In an opportunity culture, you start thinking, “Why not here? Why not me?” And then, before you know it, you’re diving in headfirst, surrounded by people who are doing the same.
I think the most important thing you can do as a member of the startup community as a current or future founder, an investor, supporter, vendor, economic developer, government enabler, or any other of the myriad roles you can play is this crazy, mixed up thing we call an ecosystem is this – show up as a cheerleader to the person sitting in front of you.
In the world of comedy improv, the concept of “Yes, and…” is foundational. It’s about embracing whatever is presented to you and building on it, rather than shutting it down. This approach fosters creativity, collaboration, and momentum—qualities that are also essential in an opportunity culture.
An opportunity culture opens the door to more and better startups which in turn strengthens the startup community which brings others into the mix forming an ecosystem which over time results in an innovation economy. Isn’t that what we all want?