I’ve learned some hard lessons in my two decades of working with innovators and high-impact entrepreneurs, including what not to do when building a thriving startup ecosystem. Some were learned firsthand from our failures here in the Upstate. Some were gleaned from watching other communities struggle. Here are the top four things communities should not do if they’re serious about fostering high-impact entrepreneurship.
- Plan and manage the startup support effort using a centralized, command and control approach. Startup communities are complex, always-evolving networks that operate informally and quickly. This is in stark contrast to traditional, top-down structures that centrally plan and dictate activities. To be effective, efforts for supporting entrepreneurs must be fluid and decentralized, much more so than traditional community structures.
- Seek entrepreneur input occasionally. No! Entrepreneur input should be sought daily with entrepreneurs actually leading the overall community effort. Their voices should always be the loudest in the room and their input should be foundational for any startup ecosystem issue, program or organization.
- Focus on recruiting new entrepreneurs more than supporting existing ones. This is Economic Development 101 but, for some strange reason, attracting new ventures is typically emphasized ahead of supporting those we already have. If we do a great job helping existing entrepreneurs succeed, we’ll have no trouble attracting more.
- Assume this work will only take a few years. For communities with nascent startup scenes like the Upstate, the effort to build a world-class startup community and supportive ecosystem will be counted in decades, not years. This requires a long, consistent effort in order to succeed. As the Chinese proverb says, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now.”
Sometimes, knowing what not to do is as important as knowing what to do. This holds true for building entrepreneurial communities. The list above is a good starting point for knowing critical mistakes to avoid. While removing these from our approach doesn’t guarantee success, it greatly reduces the risk of failure and maximizes our attempt to make the Upstate a global destination for high-impact entrepreneurs.
John Moore is a principal with Momenteum Strategies, an Upstate-based consulting firm specializing in helping communities and their economic development organizations build thriving, impactful innovation ecosystems.
