Startup Communities: Hyper-local & Hyper-global networks

June 24, 2016

Startup communities must find a balance between providing density and connecting globally. This point was stressed throughout #1776Challenge and 1776’s Startup Communities & Investment Forum.

“Ecosystems of the future are both virtual and physical; hyper-local and hyper-global.”

. Startup communities must have density and connectivity to be successful.

Density

The Innovation That Matters report says the following about density:

Innovation economies require a critical mass of people working together in close proximity where they can easily and regularly interact with each other. It is no coincidence that the next generation of startup communities are sprouting up not in isolated suburban areas, but rather small, dense neighborhoods such as Kendall Square in Boston and South of Market in San Francisco.

How is density defined?

A critical mass of startups.
A critical mass of next wave startups. (Read more about the next wave in our prior post Tomorrow’s Winning Cities)
A critical mass of young people moving into the urban core.
A perception of local entrepereneurs that the current density can help them grow their business.

A similar call for density is also made by The Brookings Institution’s in The Rise of Innovation Districts.

Density in Dayton

The clearest example of density in our community is centered between Tech Town and the Oregon District. Check out our map to see for yourself.

Part of this density can be attributed to organizations like The Entrepreneurs Center and Nucleus CoShare which provide space for entrepreneurs and startups to work from. Both organizations have space which allow a startup to pay daily or via a short term lease, giving them flexibility, access to services, and proximity to other companies at the same stage.

Connectivity

Not so long ago, a tech entrepreneur needed to move to Silicon Valley to get access to the best mentors, capital sources, or talent. The digital revolution has changed that. A startup can skype with a mentor in Silicon Valley, find funding in D.C., and build development teams with employees all over the world.

The next wave of startup communities will be bound digitally, not geographically, allowing entrepreneurs to access all #1776Challenge

— Dayton Tech Guide (@DaytonTechGuide) June 10, 2016

How is connectivity defined?

The Innovation That Matters report says the following about density:

It’s not enough to have strong talent, capital, and density in your city. You need to make sure people are actually working with each other in meaningful ways that are helping new businesses to succeed. The connectivity score looks at eight key actors: universities; mentors and advisors; professional services firms such as legal, accounting and office space; investors; corporations; cheerleaders such as event organizers, tech media and industry associations; civic institutions such as public schools, hospitals and government agencies; and local citizen advocacy groups.

Connectivity in Dayton

Events like the 1776 Startup Community and Investment Forum allow opportunities to network with leaders in other communities. At the event, Dayton Tech Guide met Gordon Daugherty, founder of Shockwave Innovations and Managing Director for Austin’s Capital Factory startup accelerator.

Austin is a city that’s entrepreneurial community started taking off when Dell employees started cashing out their stocks and options. These “Dellionaires” retired from Dell and started their own companies or became angel investors. This influx is one of the reasons Gordon Daugherty has seen over 1,000 pitches, advised more than 200 entrepreneurs, and has been involved in raising over $40M in growth and venture capital.

Connectivity to other ecosystems allows Dayton to take advantage of contacts like Gordon to accelerate the growth of our ecosystem. His knowledge is available to anyone via his blog https://www.shockwaveinnovations.com/blog or the Founders Academy video library (for a fee).

Not sure where to start? Gordon shared his top 10 most read posts:

Dayton Tech Guide will continue to share relevant content from Gordon and build connections with other communities.

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