The most important breakthroughs in innovation communities begin long before the public hears about them.
They start when someone identifies a need or opportunity and begins incubating solutions. Without fanfare, ideas are researched, leadership recruited and support assembled. Whether the need is capital, specialized space or something else, the launch is the final step of a much longer process.
Our region offers several useful examples.
In 2007, Greenville’s entrepreneurial community identified the lack of organized risk capital as a weakness. NEXT, the Greenville Chamber’s entrepreneurship program, sought expert training on launching an angel network, recruited leaders and hosted investor breakfasts to test the concept and build support. That incubation produced the Upstate Carolina Angel Network (UCAN), the region’s first organized angel investor group, which grew under strong leadership into VentureSouth, now a six-state network of over 500 investors that has invested over $100 million in early-stage companies.
That same year, another important need emerged for office space designed for entrepreneurs. The idea of a “NEXT Neighborhood” was tested with founders, then shared with developers to assess interest and identify a path forward. That deliberate process of validating the need, refining the idea and building the right coalition ultimately produced the award-winning NEXT Innovation Center, the region’s first facility for innovation-based entrepreneurs.
These stories matter far beyond Greenville because they reveal the process behind meaningful ecosystem progress. Communities that understand how needs are identified and big ideas are incubated can apply those lessons to current challenges. Someone must have the responsibility, resources and time to assess the need, build support and incubate a credible solution long before there is anything to announce. This unheralded work is where important ecosystem assets begin.
Without that patient work, there will be no press release, fanfare or ribbon cutting. The next ecosystem win will begin with someone developing a solution to an important need and doing the quiet work required to create lasting impact.
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.
