🔵#2 — Startup Communities & Ecosystems - is there any difference?

A complex topic about two complex systems. We can do this fellow community padawans!

This post takes ~ 6min to read

Welcome Back!

It is good to see you again here at Connect Dots.

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You know already that finding a definition for Startups Communities was not easy, right? Well, today we’re going to complicate things a bit more by looking for the difference between startup communities and startup ecosystems (also known for entrepreneurial ecosystems).

If in the beginning we think that being a community builder or creating communities is easy, experience will tell you that it is something complex (but, for sure, very rewarding).

Take a deep breath (I got your back), focus and let's go!

Your Community Padawan ⚔️

Francisco

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🟠-🟡 Ready to find the answer? Let’s connect dots.

At first glance, there are no major differences between both concepts, as we are talking about complex systems focused on collaboration and interaction between different players, such as, entrepreneurs, companies, investors, universities, accelerators, incubators & cowork spaces, media and government.

Both, have a common goal of helping startups and founders to be successfull (led by entrepreneurs, this is actually the main goal of a startup community). Moreover, the quality of both systems needs to be (not only) measured by the quality of interactions among every player involved.

👌OK! There are many similarities that we could list. But let’s get down to business.

🎯 Yes, an entrepreneurial ecosystem is different than a startup community. 

When we talk about startup ecosystems, we are talking about a wider concept with a more economical and political approach. Being associated with a specific territory and led, mostly, by the government, of course, one of the goals is, just like we mentioned already, help startups and founders to succeed, but there is more.

What are the other main goals of a Startup Ecosystem?

• Create the best conditions to attract, retain and educate talent;

• Create conditions to attract attract and retain startups & companies;

• Build programs and resources to promote an entrepreneurial momentum and mindset throughtout the ecosystem;

• Promote opportunities to maxime interactions among all players;

• Marketing the city as a startup-friendly location.

🇫🇷 In the middle of the pandemic, there was an entrepreneurial ecosystem that stood out, the Frech Tech Ecosystem 🥐

Here is an amazing presentation by Alexandre Dewez (from Overlooked), about the State of the Frech Tech Ecosystem and a really interesting analysis on this topic by Gonz, from SeedTable.

Goals may vary depending on the scale of the ecosystem, which may range from a national, regional or local scale. Talking about scales, who makes part of an entrepreneurial ecosystem? Going from micro to macro:

1. Founders, Business Angels…

2. Companies, Universities…

3. Startup Communities (#1 and #2 don’t need to be part of a specific Startup Community)

4. Startup Ecosystems

You may be used to listen that city X wishes to be the next “Y Valley” or the next Tech Hub. They are talking about creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem.

And, yes, we are talking about a complex and dynamic system, full of infinite interactions, of which startup communities are part.

What makes a successfull startup ecosystem?

According to Startup Genome, when building all their reports, startup ecosystems are ranked (1 - 10) according to the following factors:

• Performance: actual leading, current, and lagging indicators of ecosystem performance;

• Funding: Quantifies funding metrics important to the success of early-stage startups;

• Market Reach: Measures early-stage startup access to customers allowing them to scale and “Go-Global”;

• Connectedness: how connected the ecosystem is to the global fabric of knowledge;

• Experience & Talent: talent early-stage startups have access to;

• Knowledge: patents and research.

Q: What do you think about these factors? 

In 2020, the top 5 Startup Ecosystems were:

The best South-American startup ecosystem is São Paulo (30th place). In what regards runner-ups, Amsterdam and Stockholm are considered “Riser Ecosystems”.

🌍 Not optional, a project focused on making Europe an attractive Startup Ecosystem, created a different methodology, based on the access to stock options by startup employees. And, according to their campaing, Latvia is considered the most startup-friendly country in the world, followed by Estonia, Lithuania and Israel.

Is it clear now the difference between the two concepts?

This is such an interesting topic that I am really honored to get to know more and learn while I share with you the best content possible.

To conclude, we can say that a startup ecosystem, is a BIG community, resulting from the interaction from different communities. And, don’t forget, a community is:

A place where the feeling is: “If we work together, we will win together”.

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At Connect Dots, like we mentioned on our first post, the goal is to be your go-to place with lots of actionable insights to help you manage your startup community and your community-driven startup. That’s why we decided to start the “Community" School” segment for all the practical tips, tricks, strategies and food for thought.

⛔ DON’TS

#1 🎉 Party Effect - to be a community builder is the best job in the world and is becoming a big trend. But, please, don’t do it like me when I was building the Portuguese Travel Tech Community, don’t make it like it was organizing a party where you invite everyone right from the start 🙅‍♂️ Party is about Party. In a community, you really need to understand the WHY behind it, the value of it.

Community building is all about valuable interactions and authenticity so, if you invite everyone to the same space from the beggining, they won’t be able to connect with each other in a way that will trust each other.

↪️ Find your persona, build an audience with some awesome content and, again, please, start small (with a clear purpose) and focus on the 1-on-1.

• Here is your “HomeWork”! An incredible guide on How to build a community online, by Jay Clouse. Jay, based on his experience, shares great insights with real examples, on why to build communities, tools and platforms that you can use;

Note: Jay just launched a new newsletter on online community building, Communal. ❗ A must-follow

• ANTLER also shared a list of books that every entrepreneur should read in 2021

⭕ Circle: Jay Clouse’s favorite platform, considered to be the modern community platform for creators You should talk to Sid, to know more.

👋 Hi Right Now: Empowering online communities to form meaningful connections, one 1:1 video chat at a time. Talk to Stephen to know more.

🔗 Invision: Helping you reduce support costs, engage fans and build trust. Matt is your guy if you want to know more.

📛Bevy: Virtual & in-person community events software platform. Need more info? Talk with David.

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That’s it for this week’s Connect Dots.

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