Lessons in entrepreneurship communities in 20+ different countries

1. Entrepreneurshipand
Troubleshooting
Ecosystems:Lessons
from20+countries
Scotland Can Do SCALE, Glasgow
April 10 2019
N A T A L I E N O V I C K

2. Outline
TODAY' S AGENDA
Introduction
What is an ecosystem and why should we care
Why everyone needs to be an ecosystem builder
Even if you're a global company, why it still pays to
invest locally
Why entrepreneurial ecosystems don't work as well as
they should
Institutional failures of ecosystems
What founders can do
Best practices
Workshop & Pitch
@nnovick

3. @nnovick
WhoamIand
whyshouldwe
careabout
ecosystems?

4. @nnovick

5. @nnovick
Key
takeaways
Each founder and each company has different needs. There is no perfect
destination or ecosystem suitable for everyone, nor are there perfect policies
that should be adopted everywhere.
O N E S I Z E D O E S N O T F I T A L L
But that doesn't mean that you can't make it a great place for entrepreneurship.
Great companies and success stories can come from anywhere. However, your
strategies for doing so will be different based on local resources.
L O C A L E C O S Y S T E M S A R E W I L D L Y U N E Q U A L
You are a part of your ecosystem's success. What you invest in it's success, you
will reap. Don't rely on external actors to build what you would like to see.
E A C H C O M M U N I T Y M E M B E R I S A S T A K E H O L D E R
Your local community is the place to learn, share, and teach as well as to build
trust, get feedback and iterate faster. For companies with global ambitions, you
must bridge local activities with wider ones.
E C O S Y S T E M S S U P P O R T E N T R E P R E N E U R I A L P R A C T I C E

6. Building blocks of an ecosystem
INSTITUTIONS CAPITAL
PRACTICE MINDSET

7. @nnovick
A Short Clip
ANCHOR
INSTITUTIONS,
UNIVERSITY
CORPORATES
GOVERNMENT
PUBLIC
POLICY
FUNDING,
LOCAL MARKET
SOCIAL CAPITAL
THIRD
SECTOR
COMMUNITY
ORGANIZATIONS

8. Ecosystem

9. @nnovick
A Short Clip
ANCHOR
INSTITUTION
UNIVERSITY
CORPORATES
GOVERNMENT
PUBLIC
POLICY
FUNDING
SOCIAL CAPITAL
THIRD
SECTOR
COMMUNITY
ORGANIZATIONS

10. Yourecosystemis
boundedonlyby
yourambition.

11. But, even if you have a global
company, you are a
shareholder in your local
entrepreneurship
community.

12. Why it makes sense to invest locally
Finding Your Creative Niche | CHC 2020
E A S E I N H I R I N G
Participation in the local
ecosystem helps raise awareness
and visibility in you, your
company, and your product.
Demonstrates commitment to
others and community spirit.
V I S I B I L I T Y A N D T R U S T
Local participation helps you to
hone your message and core
values. It creates a deeper
digital footprint, helping build
more trust, and others to do due
dilligence.
F A S T E R T O G E T H E R
A strong ecosystem can allow
you to iterate and build faster—
and leapfrog what it would take
to do on your own by supporting
the practices of learning, sharing
and teaching.

13. Why it makes sense to invest locally
Finding Your Creative Niche | CHC 2020

14. Unfortunately, founders often
find their own communities
lacking.
When they do not recieve the
support they need, they are less
likely to locally invest.

15. @nnovick
A Short Clip
ANCHOR
INSTITUTION
UNIVERSITY
CORPORATES
GOVERNMENT
PUBLIC
POLICY
FUNDING
SOCIAL CAPITAL
THIRD
SECTOR
COMMUNITY
ORGANIZATIONS
STARTUPS

16. Why local ecosystems don't always work as they
should
The tools we use and
the way we do
business today has
changed. Policy and
original institutions
can be slow to adapt.
It takes many different
kinds of people in
entrepreneurship.
They have different
needs, and alignment
between people can
be difficult without
established practices
or trust.
Lack of perspective
when operating inside
the "bubble". Few
have the opportunity
to explore
alternatives, and good
practices can be slow
to develop
Barriers exist within
the startup community
that are vestiges of
previous forms of
business life
@nnovick

17. Whythese
challenges
manifest
STRUCTURAL FAILURES
@nnovick
Stakeholders act rationally (self
interested), and few mechanisms
exist to build trust. Pioneers must
take the initiative to build them.
This can be difficult to do if those
active have never done so
before.
D I F F I C U L T Y T O B U I L D N E W
C O N N E C T I O N S
A lack of existing institutions
make exchange between
emerging and existing players
inefficient.
This is a new space. The startup
landscape is (largely) less than
20 years old. Existing institutions
built to support traditional
entrepreneurship is not well
suited to startup needs.
L A C K O F E X I S T I N G
I N S T I T U T I O N S
Communities are propelled by
individuals and organizations.
Smaller ecosystems with fewer
support organizations place
higher demands on individual
actors and community
participants.
Smaller ecosystems must use
their resources more efficiently,
and burden sharing is higher.
Individual actions are more
visible.
L I M I T E D R E S O U R C E S

18. @nnovick
Silos between nodes in a network
Vested interests depend on profits over community
Protectionism and competition over limited resources
Few opportunities to get feedback, and weigh in from diverse voices
Lack of initiative to start new things, pioneers must set behavior
Disconnect between entrepreneurial ecosystem and government
Same voices elevated continually, enfranchising survivorship bias
Mixed messaging contributes to confusion and lack of awareness
Exclusivity, lack of inclusion, high barriers to entry
Negativeexternalities

19. "The exciting thing is, all you need are
the people."
Paul Graham,
from How to be Silicon Valley

20. @nnovick
Whatcan
foundersdo?
Develop a culture of generosity and giving back within your entrepreneurship
community. Take time to help bring other founders along, and promote the
importance of diversity and inclusion. Identify barriers to entry, and work to
eliminate them.
P R O M O T E P O S I T I V E E C O S Y S T E M V A L U E S
Work to build your ecosystem's transparency and spread the word about what
you are great at. Be public and transparent about what you are doing. What
does our ecosystem want to be known for, or to promote around the world?
Reach out to others locally to connect messages, and amplify their reach.
I N C R E A S E T R A N S P A R E N C Y A N D H O N E M E S S A G I N G
The easiest way of making your local ecosystem more efficient is to make it
larger. Work to connect your ecosystem outside its local boundaries, and use
online tools to help bring more inside, digitally. Lower existing barriers to entry
and within your community to allow the greatest amount can take part.
B E M A G N A N A M O U S

21. Some examples from around
Europe

22. Bestpractices#1:BridgeSocialMedia
witha"flag"
TYLER CROWLEY (@STEEPDECLINE) BROUGHT THE HASHTAG
"FLAG" FROM LOS ANGELES TO EUROPE AND ITS A GREAT
WAY TO BRIDGE SOCIAL MEDIA AND ALIGN INTERESTS.
#STHLMTECH
#CPHFTW
#AARSOME
#HELYES
#OMGKRK
#THISISMINE
@nnovick

23. Bestpractices#2:PromoteCommon
Values
BEING TRANSPARENT ABOUT YOUR COMMUNITY VALUES
REMOVES AMBIGUITY, HELPS BUILD TRUST, AND PROMOTE
GOOD PRACTICES THAT CAN BECOME ENDURING.
PIRATE GLOBAL, #GIVEGIVEGIVEASK
TECHSTARS, #GIVEFIRST
BERLIN CODE OF CONDUCT
#COPENHAGENCATALOG
@nnovick

24. @nnovick

25. Bestpractices#3:Bringeveryone
together
CREATE A COMMON GROUND THOUGH ACTIVITIES THAT
ARE INCLUSIVE TO ALL, HAVE A LOW BARRIER TO ENTRY,
AND CAN PUT LOTS OF PEOPLE TOGETHER.
PURSUE SPONSORSHIP OVER ADMISSION FEES.
SPONSORSHIP REQUIRES YOU TO COMMUNICATE YOUR
VALUE TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY AND GET SUPPORT.
OPEN COFFEE ATHENS, COPENHAGEN TOWN HALL
@nnovick

26. Bestpractices#5:EncourageSharing
ITS NOT ENOUGH TO JUST GET PEOPLE IN THE SAME ROOM
AS ONE ANOTHER..THEY HAVE TO SHARE!
SET AN EXAMPLE BY MAKING CONNECTIONS WITH WHO
YOU THINK MIGHT BE IMPORTANT TO CONNECT WITH
12 MIN ME IGNITE TALKS
PITCH DON'T KILL MY VIBE
@nnovick

27. Bestpractices#6:BuildCoalitions
HARNESS THE POWER OF YOUR COMMUNITY TO MAKE
POSITIVE CHANGE. A MEMBERS ORGANIZATION HAS THE
OPPORTUNITY TO CROWDSOURCE BEST PRACTICES AND
ELEVATE THEM
LATVIAN STARTUP ASSOCIATION
@nnovick

28. Troubleshootsolutions:Nowit's
yourturn
1 0 M I N S : W O R K I N G W I T H Y O U R G R O U P , W H A T I S T H E B I G G E S T
C H A L L E N G E Y O U A R E F A C I N G I N Y O U R L O C A L E C O S Y S T E M ? I F
Y O U C A N ' T D E C I D E , I C A N S U G G E S T S O M E
2 0 M I N S : D E S I G N C H A L L E N G E . W H A T A R E S O M E W A Y S Y O U
C O U L D F I X I T ?
P R E S E N T Y O U R G R O U P ' S W O R K

29. Presentationand
feedbacktime

30. Thankyou!
@nnovick
startupcity.co
Scotland Can Do SCALE, Glasgow
April 10 2019
N A T A L I E N O V I C K
Thankyou!
@nnovick
startupcity.co
Scotland Can Do SCALE, Glasgow
April 10 2019
N A T A L I E N O V I C K
Thankyou!
@nnovick
startupcity.co
Scotland Can Do SCALE, Glasgow
April 10 2019
N A T A L I E N O V I C K