by Chris Heivly | Feb 10, 2021 | Community, My Thoughts
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, My Thoughts
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 | Nov 11, 2020 | My Thoughts, Startup Tips
Forgive me. I have listened to so many bad pitches over my years that I may have become a bit jaded. Well, maybe jaded may be too strong, what I really want to do is poke a little fun with the intent of using humor to make a very important point. Every one of us...
by Chris Heivly | Nov 19, 2019 | INC, My Thoughts, Startup Tips
Recruiting top talent is typically one of the #1 challenge for early-stage companies and herein is why bad leaders lose great people. Why? Credibility. As an early-stage company, you don’t have a compelling story that is strong enough to convince the best candidates. ...
by Chris Heivly | Oct 17, 2019 | INC, My Thoughts
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, My Thoughts
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...
