Who doesn’t want a thriving startup ecosystem in their community? You better be willing to work for it, because they don’t happen by osmosis. How are they created, you ask? Some ecosystems have been developed organically with minimal baby-sitting, typically taking years to come to fruition — one successful venture at a time.
Others have been growth-hacked and crafted more expeditiously using a step-by-step game plan created by stakeholders who know what it takes and are willing to actively collaborate.
You see, while there are several vital components necessary for the creation of a sustainable startup ecosystem, many believe the most critical and expeditious (yet sadly, often the most overlooked) is collaboration.
Move out of your default mode
Unfortunately, the “old school” default approach is to not collaborate, but rather to assume everyone out there is a serious threat — plotting your downfall at every turn. This ill-conceived approach typically creates an unhealthy environment of fear and defensiveness whenever something or someone new comes along.
As a result, true innovation and forward progress tend to come to a crawl, in lieu of the implementation of antiquated tactics such as dismissing or even trashing everything and everyone around you.
This knee-jerk reaction and bad habit is not only short-sided but may ultimately kill your business — not to mention the fact that it reeks of insecurity. Most people, in particular millennials, despise it and find it terribly unattractive. Living instead by a hater-free, let’s work together code.
Improve the ecosystem as a whole
The good news is that bad habits can be unlearned. The wise are open-minded and always look for ways to collaborate — and at multiple levels.
Columbus serial entrepreneur David Hunegnaw agrees, saying, “In order to push a startup ecosystem forward and create success, collaboration between stakeholders is critically important — and that goes beyond the startups and the investors that fund them. It includes large corporations, local government and even local real estate investors; they all play an important role in creating success within a startup community.”
The size and capacity of the stakeholder’s role in this collaboration will vary. What’s important is that the stakeholders are engaged and contributing in some meaningful way, which benefits the ecosystem as a whole.
When this happens, and all stakeholders are rowing in the same direction, entrepreneurs get the resources and guidance they need, resulting in a dramatic increase in the probability for entrepreneur wins.
When entrepreneurs succeed, they create revenue, which leads to massive job creation.
Entrepreneur wins also attract more capital into the ecosystem. An influx of capital helps companies rapidly scale and continue to innovate. This leads to the migration of more talent into your ecosystem that perpetuates the cycle forward.
It’s a proven formula currently in use by the nation’s most successful startup ecosystems. No need to reinvent the wheel.
Bottom line, when you play well in the sandbox with others and actively collaborate, good things happen — in business and in life.
Luke Westerman is the chairman and CEO of Solomon Global Holdings. Luke is a Wall Street investor turned venture capitalist and entrepreneur. He actively invests in and advises dynamic startups through his companies Solomon Global Holdings and Endeavor Forward.
