A visible, collaborative entrepreneurial ecosystem is key to a successful ecosystem

John Machacek
Nov 5 · 1 min read

With my job being an “entrepreneur supporter” in the Fargo Moorhead area, I pretty much get daily reminders of how friendly and collaborative our regional ecosystem is. Some examples from just this past week include:
- Participating in an Emerging Prairie focus group to discuss the very topic of helping all of our area activators and meetup participants better connect.
- Judging at NDSU’s Innovation Challenge where us judges were not only hearing from a new crop of passionate entrepreneurs, but we also offered them advice and connections. Kudos to the NDSU Research & Tech Park for running this program each year to foster innovation.
- Reading the latest issue of Fargo Inc magazine, which was their “startup” edition. With Nick Horob’s “Story of a Startup” and “The Power of the First Customer” primarily featuring Laney’s giving OmniByte Technology a shot as an early, crucial first customer. These are great examples of our ecosystem being visible and helpful.

Photo credit M.Schleif Photography 2018

I delved into this further in a recent blog post on our Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corporation website, which references a Kauffman Foundation Uncommon Voices column and my experiences of visiting with local entrepreneurs. You may find that blog post here.

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