How strongly I recommend it: 7/10
(See my list of book notes, for more.)
Go to the Amazon page for details and reviews.
Entrepreneurship is hard. And it’s often hard to relate with others because the problems are unique. Typically, only other entrepreneurs understand.
A community of entrepreneurs to lean on, vent to, and ask for help is a godsend. Shegun Otulana, founder of TheraNest and Therapy Brands detailed how pivotal the community at the Innovation Depot was to his early success with TheraNest.
Brad Feld gives you the building blocks required to launch, build, and maintain a successful startup community. The book reads like a novel with stories and anecdotes from entrepreneurs. But it’s more of a cookbook with a recipe to build a thriving startup community in your town or city.
My notes
The Boulder Thesis
- Entrepreneurs must lead the startup community
- The leaders must have a long-term commitment
- The startup community must be inclusive of anyone who wants to participate in it
- The startup community must have continual activities that engage the entire entrepreneurial stack
“Great entrepreneurial companies, such as Apple, Genetech, Microsoft, and Intel, were started during down economic cycles.”
🔑 Brad often received emails from people eager to get involved. Brad assigned the person a task and timeline. If the person completed it, great. If not, Brad saved himself time because the person was not truly interested. Brad writes “my approach is to give the person an assignment.”
Ryan Holiday did something similar with his current research assistant, Billy Oppenheimer. Billy shares the exchange on his about page.
Become a hub
As soon as Brad learned someone was coming to Boulder to visit, he would immediately line up people for them to meet.
Connect communities
“…take a network approach and connect your startup community with neighboring ones.” Other communities are growth channels. And they extend your message and mission.
Regular events
Schedule recurring events on the same day of the week or month at the same time and at the same location. This builds a habit within your community. It makes it easy for your members to bring new people and not feel too guilty if they have a life event pop up.
Teach something
Events need to be worth everyone’s time. People will vote with their feet. Events that add zero value will cease to exist. Ask yourself what would someone in a startup need or want to know about.
This is also not your burden to carry. Ask your community about their problems. You’ve likely already heard several organically throughout conversations. Use your community to attract speakers you would struggle to get by yourself. Many successful entrepreneurs crave to pay it forward. Either because they had a glowing community or they wished they had one.
Go to the Amazon page for details and reviews. See my list of book notes, for more.