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An essential guide to building supportive entrepreneurial communities"Startup communities" are popping up everywhere, from cities like Boulder to Boston and even in countries such as Iceland. These types of entrepreneurial ecosystems are driving innovation and small business energy. Startup Communities documents the buzz, strategy, long-term perspective, and dynamics of building communities of entrepreneurs who can feed off of each other's talent, creativity, and support.
Based on more than twenty years of Boulder-based entrepreneur turned-venture capitalist Brad Feld's experience in the field as well as contributions from other innovative startup communities this reliable resource skillfully explores what it takes to create an entrepreneurial community in any city, at any time. Along the way, it offers valuable insights into increasing the breadth and depth of the entrepreneurial ecosystem by multiplying connections among entrepreneurs and mentors, improving access to entrepreneurial education, and much more.

Details the four critical principles needed to form a sustainable startup community
Perfect for entrepreneurs and venture capitalists seeking fresh ideas and new opportunities
Written by Brad Feld, a thought-leader in this field who has been an early-stage investor and successful entrepreneur for more than twenty years

Engaging and informative, this practical guide not only shows you how startup communities work, but it also shows you how to make them work anywhere in the world.

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Customers find the book provides valuable insights and practical advice for building startup ecosystems. They describe it as an easy, enjoyable read that offers actionable tips to make startup communities come alive. The author is praised for being honest and relatable, providing clear principles of inclusion. Readers appreciate the background and story of entrepreneurship from the 1970s to today.

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85 customers mention "Information quality"85 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative and practical. They appreciate the real-world examples and frameworks it provides. The book explains challenges for starting businesses, like lack of resources. Readers find valuable insights on every page. The book provides a useful framework that can be tailored to various assets and situations. It serves as a blueprint for entrepreneurs and investors alike.

"...map for anyone participating in the startup ecosystem & is filled with practical, executable information to get things moving and grow the community...." Read more

"...They act as community catalysts, as a magnet for great entrepreneurial talent for the region, and as teachers and then a pipeline for talent back..." Read more

"...It explains challenges in regards to starting up businesses such as lack of resources. There are quite a few topics I like in this book...." Read more

"...is "the" book that anyone involved with economic development, innovation ecosystems, and fostering a startup community should read... and understand...." Read more

50 customers mention "Readability"50 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and enjoyable. They say it's well-written with firsthand examples. The book is timely and motivational, with great examples.

"...The book is a rich and detailed map for anyone participating in the startup ecosystem & is filled with practical, executable information to get..." Read more

"This is a very timely book, as it seems that entrepreneurship has increased in the past decade...." Read more

"...My initial read was quick and the book fascinating...." Read more

"It's a good book, but Mr. Feld exhibits the same confusion many other venture investors have concerning incubators and accelerators...." Read more

9 customers mention "Motivation"9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book helpful for motivating others. It provides ways to kick-start activities in their own communities and create events that engage all participants. Readers say it can provide fuel for a startup revolution and is a must-read for young startup scenes.

"...Create a cadence of well attended monthly brown bag lunch events on topcis of interest to entrepreneurs...." Read more

"...a regional community must have continual activities and events to engage all participants...." Read more

"...I highly recommend it and believe this book can provide fuel for a startup revolution... especially when explored in community." Read more

"...additional insight from other individuals with incredibly broad-based skill-sets and experiences..." Read more

7 customers mention "Actionable"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides practical advice and a game plan for startups. They appreciate the author's straightforward, actionable tips and advice.

"...or an academic treatment of what should be done but rather a pragmatic action plan based on what he accomplished as a founding father of the start-..." Read more

"...Not only does the author provide specific, actionable steps to execute on, he walks the talk by actively supporting those ready to execute - within..." Read more

"...and take notes because it is well-organized with intuitive and natural actions that just make sense...." Read more

"...They were concise, actionable, and quick reads. This book is the opposite - it was hard work to reach the end...." Read more

5 customers mention "Authenticity"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's authenticity. They find it honest, personal, and informative.

"...The guidance in the book is direct and honest. There are no minced words when it comes to what Brad feels works and doesn't work...." Read more

"...This book is personal and authentic, while being informative. It almost feels like having a series of coffee conversations with the author...." Read more

"...Brad Feld's insight, honesty, and unique approach could make robust entrepreneurial community out of just about any city in the world...." Read more

"This book was everything I hoped for. Honest. Direct. Clear. Both theory and actual examples...." Read more

4 customers mention "Pacing"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's pacing and background on entrepreneurship from the 1970s. They find it flattering to many of the people mentioned, covering the essential requirements for vibrant, cohesive, and inclusive storytelling. However, some readers mention that the book looks used.

"...First, I liked very much the background and the story of entrepreneurship from '70 to now in the US - from me it was pretty interesting...." Read more

"...This book covers, in my opinion, the essential requirements for a vibrant, cohesive, and inclusive entrepreneurship community anywhere in the world..." Read more

"Startup Communities was a fun read and very flattering to many folks who's stories were told...." Read more

"Looks used..." Read more

3 customers mention "Inclusion"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's inclusion. They say it sets clear principles of inclusion and giving before receiving from the outset.

"...my opinion, the essential requirements for a vibrant, cohesive, and inclusive entrepreneurship community anywhere in the world..." Read more

"...Stating clear principles of inclusion and giving before you get from the outset was key to setting expectations and rules of engagement...." Read more

"...play in their long term commitment to this effort, the inclusiveness required and the engagement necessary for all involved in the entrepreneurial..." Read more

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Robzarry
Startup Communities - Blueprint for the future!
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2012
Verified Purchase

I was lucky to get a personal preview of the book during a dinner & talk Brad did in Montana this summer & was incredibly excited to dig in despite the fact that the release was still a couple of months away. In the aftermath of that event & the rapid spin-up of energy and action around startups around the state I had subsequently sent him an email letting him know that I felt like Columbus without a map and he was kind enough to send me an advance copy of the book.

He nails it on the first page with, "Today, we are in the midst of a massive shift from the hierarchical society that has dominated the industrial era to a networked society that has been emergent throughout the information era." This incredible change (think disruptive innovation on a macro scale) is very cathartic as we're seeing reflected in the job and financial markets. Having spent the last 30 years in the corporate world watching it slow down and devolve due to the waste inherent in the hierarchical model and then seeing how much more could be accomplished in so little time once freed from the shackles of inefficiency I wholly subscribe to this line of thinking.

The book is a rich and detailed map for anyone participating in the startup ecosystem & is filled with practical, executable information to get things moving and grow the community. In his usual style, Brad is direct & doesn't pull any punches about who is driving the bus and who is taking the ride, a concept he calls "leaders and feeders". This is an important distinction for the leaders (as I've seen over the last few months) as everyone who is standing on the sidelines wants to get in the game. As he points out, the community needs to be inclusive (everyone gets a voice) but also cognizant of the fact that there are those who do stuff and those whose efforts support the doing.

My three biggest takeaways were: 1) Just do some stuff 2) Give before you get and 3) Don't get caught up (as I was) in worrying about funding for the nascent companies that make up the startup ecosystem. The first one seems obvious but it has been my experience that those who have lived in the hierarchical world are inculcated with the need to seek approval before acting, forget that! I've been practicing the second one with astounding results over the last few months, as far as the third one goes I believe that falls into the bucket of, "there is always money available for good ideas and teams."

There is a wealth of information in the book's 14 chapters, key points from a few chapters that resonated with me:

Chapter 3 - Principles of a Vibrant Startup Community

Led by Entrepreneurs
Has a Long Term Commitment
Fosters a Philosophy of Inclusiveness
Engages the Entire Entrepreneurial Stack

Chapter 5 - Attributes of Leadership in a Startup Communit

Be Inclusive
Play a Non Zero-Sum Game
Be Mentorship Driven
Have Porous Boundaries
Give People Assignments
Experiment and Fail Fast

Chapter 6 - Classical Problems

The Patriarch Problem
Complaining About Capital
Being Too Reliant on Government
Making Short Term Commitmens
Having a Bias Against Newcomers
Attempt by a Feeder to Control the Community
Creating Artificial Geographic Boundaries
Playing a Zero Sum Game
Having a Culture of Risk Aversion
Avoiding People Because of Past Failures

Chapter 13 - Myths about Startup Communities

We Need to be Like Silicon Valley
We Need More Local Venture Capital
Angel Investors Must Be Organized

Every other chapter in the book is filled with valuable information, I just picked the above given the stage we are at in growing the Bozeman community.

The close of the book is as good as the start - Do or Do Not, There is No Try.

"My favorite thing about startups is that they do not require anyone's permission. Great entrepreneurs just start doing things. These are the same entrepreneurs who can be leaders of their startup community."

Amen to that, now go get started!

Postscript: The above review is an edited version of a post from a month or so ago on my site StartupBozeman.com. To help you fully understand the power of this book, here's what three of us have been able to do in our community here in Bozeman over the last five months by following the map and "just doing stuff":

1) Create a cadence of well attended monthly brown bag lunch events on topcis of interest to entrepreneurs.

2) Kick off a weekly "open coffee club" that people from the entire stack attend.

3) Engage the "feeders" at the local, state and Federal government level as well as two of our universities in constructive dialog about the part they can play in helping build the ecosystem.

4) Attract a small network of angel investors ready to write checks.

5) Tie into the statewide Montana Programmers group (full disclosure, I'm a core member) to connect businesses with coding talent.

Thanks, Brad, for your constant inspiration!

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Tech Historian
Leaders and Feeders
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2012
Verified Purchase
How to build regional entrepreneurial communities has just gotten it's first "here's how to do it" book. Brad Feld's new book Startup Communities joins the two other "must reads," (Regional Advantage and Startup Nation) and one "must view" (The Secret History of Silicon Valley) for anyone trying to understand the components of a regional cluster.

There's probably no one more qualified to write this book then Brad Feld (startup founder, co founder of two VC firms - Mobius and Foundry, and founder of TechStars.)

Leaders and Feeders
Feld's thesis is that unlike the common wisdom, it is entrepreneurs that lead a startup community while everyone else feeds the community.
Feld describes the characteristics of those who want to be regional Entrepreneurial Leaders; they need to be committed to their region for the long term (20+ years), the community and its leaders must be inclusive, play a non-zero sum game, be mentorship-driven and be comfortable experimenting and failing fast.
Feeders include the government, universities, investors, mentors, service providers and large companies. He points out that some of these, government, universities and investors think of themselves as the leaders and Feld's thesis is that we've gotten it wrong for decades.
This is a huge insight, a big idea and a fresh way to view and build a regional ecosystem in the 21st century. It may even be right.

Activities and Events
One of the most surprising (to me) was the observation that a regional community must have continual activities and events to engage all participants. Using Boulder Colorado as an example, (Feld's home town) this small entrepreneurial community runs office hours, Boulder Denver Tech Meetup, Boulder Open Coffee Club, Ignite Boulder, Boulder Beta, Boulder Startup Digest, Startup Weekend events, CU New Venture Challenge, Boulder Startup Week, Young Entrepreneurs Organization and the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado. For a city of 100,000 (in a metro area of just 300,000 people) the list of activities/events in Boulder takes your breath away. They are not run by the government or any single organization. These are all grassroots efforts by entrepreneurial leaders. These events are a good proxy for the health and depth of a startup community.

Incubators and Accelerators
One of the best definitions in the book is when Feld articulates the difference between an incubator and an accelerator. An incubator provides year-round physical space, infrastructure and advice in exchange for a fee (often in equity.) They are typically non-profit, attached to a university (or in some locations a local government.) For some incubators, entrepreneurs can stay as long as they want. There is no guaranteed funding. In contrast, an accelerator has cohorts going through a program of a set length, with funding typically provided at the end.
Feld describes TechStars (founded in 2006 with David Cohen) as an example of how to build a regional accelerator. In contrast to other accelerators TechStars is mentor-driven, with a profound belief that entrepreneurs learn best from other entrepreneurs. It's a 90-day program with a clear beginning and end for each cohort. TechStars selection criteria is to first focus on picking the right team then the market. They invest $118,000 ($18k seed funding + $100K convertible note) in 10 teams per region.

Role of Universities
To the entrepreneurial community Stanford and MIT are held up as models for "outward-facing" research universities. They act as community catalysts, as a magnet for great entrepreneurial talent for the region, and as teachers and then a pipeline for talent back into the region. In addition their research offers a continual stream of new technologies to be commercialized.
Feld's observation is that that these schools are exceptions that are hard to duplicate. In most universities entrepreneurial engagement is not rewarded, there's a lack of resources for entrepreneurial programs and cross-campus collaboration is not in the DNA of most universities.
Rather than thinking of the local university as the leader, Feld posits a more effective approach is to use the local college or university as a resource and a feeder of entrepreneurial students to the local entrepreneurial community. He uses Colorado University' Boulder as an example of of a regional university being as inclusive as possible with courses, programs and activities.
Finally, he suggests engaging alumni for something other than fundraising - bringing back to the campus, having them mentor top students and celebrating their successes.

Role of Government
Feld is not a big fan of top-down government driven clusters. He contrasts the disconnect between entrepreneurs and government. Entrepreneurs are painfully self-aware but governments are chronically not self-aware. This makes government leaders out of touch on how the dynamics of startups really work. Governments have a top-down command and control hierarchy, while entrepreneurs work in a bottoms-up networked world. Governments tend to focus on macro metrics of economic development policy while entrepreneurs talk about lean, startups, people and product. Entrepreneurs talk about immediate action while government conversations about policy do not have urgency. Startups aim for immediate impact, while governments want to control. Startup communities are networked and don't lend themselves to a command and control system.

Community Culture
Feld believes that the Community Culture, how individuals interact and behave to each other, is a key part of defining and entrepreneurial community. His list of cultural attributes is an integral part of Silicon Valley. Give before you get, (in the valley we call this the "pay it forward" culture.) Everyone is a mentor, so share your knowledge and give back. Embrace weirdness, describes a community culture that accepts differences. (Starting post World War II the San Francisco bay area became a magnet for those wanting to embrace alternate lifestyles. For personal lifestyles people headed to San Francisco. For alternate business lifestyles they went 35 miles south to Silicon Valley.)
I was surprised to note that the biggest cultural meme of Silicon Valley didn't make his Community Culture chapter - failure equals experience.

Broadening the Startup Community
Feld closes by highlighting some of the issues faced by a startup community in Boulder. The one he calls Parallel Universes notes that there may be industry specific (biotech, clean tech etc.) startup communities sitting side-by-side and not interacting with each other.
He then busts the myths clusters tell themselves; "lets be like Silicon Valley" and the "there's not enough capital here."

Quibbles
There's data that that seems to indicate a few of Feld's claims about about the limited role of venture, universities and governments might be overly broad (but doesn't diminish his observation that they're feeders not leaders.) In addition, while Silicon Valley was a series of happy accidents, other national clusters have extracted its lessons and successfully engineered on top of those heuristics. And while I might have misread Feld's premise about local venture capital, but it seems to be, "if there isn't a robust venture capital in your region it's because there isn't a vibrant entrepreneurial community with great startups. As venture capital exists to service startup when great startups are built investors will show up." Wow.
Finally, local government top-down initiatives are not the only way governments can incentivize entrepreneurial efforts. Some like the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps have had a big bang for little bucks.

Summary
Entrepreneurship is rising in almost every major city and region around the world. I host at least one region a week at the ranch and each of these regions are looking for a roadmap. Startup Communities is it. It's a strategic, groundbreaking book and a major addition to what was missing in the discussion of how to build a regional cluster. I'm going to be quoting from it liberally, stealing from it often, and handing it out to my visitors.

Buy it.

Lessons Learned
- Entrepreneurs lead a startup community while everyone else feeds the community
- Feeders include the government, universities, investors, mentors, service providers and large companies
- Continual activities and events are essential to engage all participants
- Top-down government-driven clusters are an oxymoron
Building a regional entrepreneurial culture is critical

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Book Review
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2014
Verified Purchase
I am a student at the University of Baltimore and this was the book I chose to read for my Entrepreneurship 300 class.

This book is designed to give some examples of a startup community. It uses the boulder community as an example that is based in Colorado. This book shows how it evolves from the pre-internet days to present day. It tells the tale of the author’s relationship with the community and how he grew a business from it. It explains challenges in regards to starting up businesses such as lack of resources. There are quite a few topics I like in this book. I like that the author tackles issues that most startup books do not review for example avoiding people that have had past failures and being too dependent on government resources. It reviews mentorship driven businesses like in the boulder community located in Colorado. They believe “is given before you get” which is their collaboration system that requires a person to put work in then they will receive.

There are some things I dislike about the book. I dislike that it takes some time to officially get into the helping topics because there are quite a few side stories that occur. The book is also too vague as I found more insight in the bulletins opposed of the body of the book. Lastly, I disliked that the book does not review the products and services of the company’s referenced. Internet links were only referenced for these companies. If the products and services were reviewed, an entrepreneur may gain insight on how to position their products and services better. Although I did not care for the many side stories in the book, it may be useful to other students because another student may feel a connection to a story that could help them in their own business.

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Jr
Muito bom
Reviewed in Brazil on October 16, 2017
Verified Purchase

Excelente livro para quem quer colaborar e entender como criar uma comunidade de startups em sua cidade, região, estado ou país.

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Guscoronamx
Hay que comenzar.
Reviewed in Mexico on August 25, 2014
Verified Purchase
El trabajo de una comunidad emprendedora no es sencillo, pero iniciarla es un startup en sí...
Este libro más que tips provee en la lectura un catalizador para comenzar el proceso de generación de ideas pues provee muchos insights sobre el emprendimiento.

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Raúl Sánchez
Imprescindible lectura sobre ecosistemas de emprendimiento
Reviewed in Spain on November 17, 2015
Verified Purchase
Este libro integra los aspectos claves para la generación de ecosistemas de emprendimiento de forma clara y estructurada. Muy recomendable para aquellos que quieren o necesitan construir un ecosistema.

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BIRBA EMMANUEL
Magic
Reviewed in France on October 3, 2015
Verified Purchase
A deep dive into what is required to build a efficient start up community. Also a step by step framework that could be applied anywhere. Just do.

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Stefan Fritz
Startup Ökosysteme - ein Selbstversuch zur regionalen Förderung der Startup-Kultur
Reviewed in Germany on July 22, 2015
Verified Purchase
Brad Feld berichtet in „Startup Communities“ von seinen Erfahrungen, die er in seiner Wahlheimat Boulder (in der Nähe von Denver) über viele Jahre gesammelt hat, um dort als Unternehmer und Investor eine aktive Startup-Gemeinschaft auf- und auszubauen.

Hintergründe und Aufbau
Die ersten Kapitel sind zum besseren Verständnis der politischen und demografischen Besonderheiten von Boulder ganz hilfreich, erschienen mir in meiner Ungeduld aber ein wenig langatmig.

Die folgenden Kernkapitel haben es geschafft, mich an die Seiten des Buches zu fesseln:
- Prinzipien für eine lebendige Startup-Gemeinschaft
- Teilnehmer (und Rollen) einer Startup-Gemeinschaft
- die klassischen Probleme
- Aktivitäten und Veranstaltungen

Die aufgestellten Prinzipien sind Felds Quintessenz für eine fruchtbare Startup-Gemeinschaft. Da er sie an den Anfang stellt, sind sie für den Leser zunächst etwas abstrakt; durch die weiteren Erläuterungen werden die Prinzipien aber schnell klar und nachvollziehbar.

Teilnehmer, Rollenverteilung und Veranstaltungsformate
Hilfreich für alle, die sich in Deutschland mit dem Thema Gründer-Unterstützung auseinandersetzen, sind die Teilnehmer und ihre Rollenverteilung. Dabei wird deutlich, dass wir in Deutschland viel zu strukturiert, und daher mit der falschen Geisteshaltung, an die Entwicklung von Startup Ökosystemen herangehen. Schließlich handelt es sich bei Ökosystemen um etwas Lebendiges und Ausgewogenes. Da kann es nicht gutgehen, wenn sich hierarchische Organisationen wie die Wirtschaftsförderung (der Städte), Technologietransfergesellschaften, Universitäten oder auch IHKs im besten Sinne um die Führungsaufgabe in einer Gründergemeinschaft streiten. Die Anregungen von Brad Feld in diesem Kontext sind für alle Gruppen hilfreich, weil sie eine prima Basis für die große gemeinsame Aufgabe schaffen.

Sehr interessant sind auch die Beschreibung und Bewertung der vielen in Boulder ausprobierten Veranstaltungsformate. Die Entwicklung der Formate über die Zeit gibt dabei ebenfalls wertvolle Anregungen.

Brad Felds persönlicher Rat: ein Startup Ökosystem kann man nicht am Reißbrett entwerfen, sondern man muss es - genau wie das Startup selbst - als großes Experiment mit kontinuierlichen Anpassungen sehen.

Fazit
Der größte Verdienst, den dieses Buch leisten kann, ist der, eine Gruppe von Menschen in kohärente Schwingungen zu versetzen; Nach der Lektüre von Startup Communities können Gründer; Investoren und Mentoren die große Aufgabe, in ihrer Region ein lebendiges Startup Ökosystem aufzubauen, vielleicht ein wenig entspannter und freudiger angehen, weil sie auf den großen Erfahrungsschatz von Brad Feld zurückgreifen können. Die 224 Seiten lassen sich auch auf Englisch flüssig lesen und bilden mit ihrer facettenreichen Darstellung einen interessanten Gegenpol zur üblichen Silicon Valley-Fokussierung.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Startup Communities - Blueprint for the future!

5.0 out of 5 stars Leaders and Feeders

4.0 out of 5 stars Book Review

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars Muito bom

4.0 out of 5 stars Hay que comenzar.

5.0 out of 5 stars Imprescindible lectura sobre ecosistemas de emprendimiento

5.0 out of 5 stars Magic

4.0 out of 5 stars Startup Ökosysteme - ein Selbstversuch zur regionalen Förderung der Startup-Kultur

Startup Communities - Blueprint for the future!

Leaders and Feeders

Book Review

Muito bom

Hay que comenzar.

Imprescindible lectura sobre ecosistemas de emprendimiento

Magic

Startup Ökosysteme - ein Selbstversuch zur regionalen Förderung der Startup-Kultur