First published in 2012, Startup Communities became a blueprint for what it takes to build a supportive entrepreneurial community. Now regarded as a classic, the "Boulder Thesis" created and popularized by Feld within the book generated enormous media attention nearly a decade ago.
At that time, Boulder was an emerging startup laboratory - a hub of innovation building new tech businesses. It quickly accelerated into a world class ecosystem for entrepreneurs. Boulder's entrepreneurial density, combined with the geographic concentration of entrepreneurial activity around the Boulder downtown core, made it a hotbed of startup activity. Feld was and is still there, as a keen observer and one of its leaders. As he notes simply in the new edition, humans are wired to start things.
In a sense, that short Feld-ism accurately describes the startup revolution still taking hold throughout the world. Boulder is proof that innovation can happen anywhere, in any city. Thanks in part to the book, what happens in Boulder now leaves Boulder. Rapidly growing startup communities in Atlanta, Detroit, Denver, Kansas City, Nashville, and Indianapolis are just a few examples. Over the last decade, Feld has dispelled the myth that startups can only thrive in Silicon Valley.
Startup communities continue to pop up across the U.S. and around the world, prompting fresh new revelations and stories from Feld about what's happened over the last decade. Startup Communities 2e describes what makes a startup community ecosystem first click, then hum, and in time, excel. From Boulder to Beijing and beyond, entrepreneurial ecosystems are driving innovation. Startup Communities 2e discusses and the necessary dynamics and pre-conditions of building communities of entrepreneurs who can feed off each other's talent, creativity, and support.
In Startup Communities 2e, Feld will help you understand:
- The core principles of a vibrant startup community, re-examining his Boulder Thesis and exploring other historical frameworks.
- The attributes of leadership in a startup community that can help it thrive along with the classical problems any community will face during development.
- The importance of a university in a startup community, and how large companies can engage effectively with entrepreneurs.
- The importance of continuous improvement so growth does not stagnate.
- The common myths about startup communities.
- The opportunities to build startup communities in non-urban, or rural, places that are much less populated.
Table of Contents
Foreword xiii
Introduction to the Second Edition xvii
Preface xxi
Chapter One Introduction 1
The Example of Boulder 2
How This Book Works 3
Chapter Two The Boulder Startup Community 5
Boulder as a Laboratory 6
Before the Internet (1970-1994) 7
Pre-Internet Bubble (1995-2000) 9
The Collapse of the Internet Bubble (2001-2002) 11
The Beginning of the Next Wave (2003-2011) 14
An Outsider’s View of Boulder in 2012 16
The Next Wave (2012-2020) 19
Chapter Three Principles of a Vibrant Startup Community 21
Historical Frameworks 21
The Boulder Thesis 25
Led by Entrepreneurs 25
Long-Term Commitment 26
Foster a Philosophy of Inclusiveness 27
Engage the Entire Entrepreneurial Stack 28
Chapter Four Participants in a Startup Community 31
Entrepreneurs 34
Government 36
Universities 38
Investors 42
Mentors 43
Service Providers 45
Large Companies 46
The Importance of Leaders, Feeders, and Instigators 47
Chapter Five Attributes of Leadership in a Startup Community 49
Be Inclusive 49
Play a Non-Zero-Sum or Positive-Sum Game 51
Be Mentorship Driven 52
Have Porous Boundaries 55
Give People Assignments 56
Experiment and Fail Fast 58
Chapter Six Classical Problems 61
The Patriarch Problem 61
Complaining About Capital 63
Being Too Reliant on Government 66
Making Short-Term Commitments 67
Having a Bias Against Newcomers 68
Attempt by a Feeder to Control the Community 69
Creating Artificial Geographic Boundaries 71
Playing a Zero-Sum Game 72
Having a Culture of Risk Aversion 73
Avoiding People Because of Past Failures 74
Chapter Seven Activities and Events 77
Young Entrepreneurs Organization 78
Office Hours 80
Boulder Denver New Tech Meetup 82
Boulder Open Coffee Club 87
Startup Weekend 90
Ignite Boulder 92
Boulder Beta 95
Boulder Startup Digest 97
CU New Venture Challenge 100
Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado 103
Chapter Eight The Power of Accelerators 107
The Spread of Techstars to Boston and Seattle 109
Techstars Expands to New York 111
Techstars Today 113
Accelerators Are Different than Incubators 114
University Accelerators 115
Chapter Nine University Involvement 119
Silicon Flatirons’ Networked Approach 120
Organizing the Components of University Entrepreneurship 124
Other Campus Initiatives That Affect Startup Communities 126
The Real Value - Fresh Blood into the System 129
Challenges and Responses for University
Entrepreneurship Programs 137
The Power of Alumni 141
Chapter Ten Contrasts between Entrepreneurs and Government 143
Self-Aware versus Not Self-Aware 144
Bottom Up versus Top Down 145
Micro versus Macro 146
Action versus Policy 147
Impact versus Control 147
Chapter Eleven How Large Corporations Can Help 149
Start by Linking to Corporate Innovation Initiatives 150
Support, Convene, Consume, and Engage 151
Self-interest is Good 153
Think About Talent Appropriately 154
Reinvestment in Your Community 155
Chapter Twelve The Power of the Community 161
Give Before You Get (#GiveFirst) 161
Everyone is a Mentor 163
Embrace Weirdness 163
Be Open to Any Idea 164
Be Honest 164
Go for a Walk 166
The Value and Cost of an After-Party 168
Chapter Thirteen Broadening a Successful Startup Community 171
Parallel Universes 171
Integration with the Rest of Colorado 173
Lack of Diversity 175
Physical Space 179
Chapter Fourteen Rural Startup Communities 181
Definition of a Rural Startup Community 182
A Broader Definition of Entrepreneurship 183
Entrepreneurs Before Capital 184
Beyond Traditional Capital Models 186
Rural + Urban, Not Rural versus Urban 188
Chapter Fifteen Myths about Startup Communities 191
We Need to Be Like Silicon Valley 192
We Need More Local Venture Capital 193
Angel Investors Must Be Organized 195
Chapter Sixteen Getting Started 199
Getting Startup Iceland Started 199
Big Omaha 203
Startup America Partnership 204
Do or Do Not, There is No Try 209
About the author 211
Acknowledgments 213
Foreword - First edition (2012) 217
Index 219
