Building a startup ecosystem: 7 books you should read and other resources
People around the globe are trying to build a vibrant startup community in their city. It is of utmost importance as a strong ecosystem is key to startup success and therefore the economic health in the future.
Luckily, there is now a good amount of literature that provide guidance and examples to help those ecosystem builders. I already wrote on the needed elements of a successful ecosystem.
Here, you will find the best books on the subject and some additional resources. Some authors describe the journey their city took while, some are giving advice and some are building a theoretical framework to think about ecosystem building. All those viewpoints are complementary and mind opening.
Happy reading!
Startup Communities (Brad Feld)
If you should start with one, Startup Communities from Brad Feld, is obviously a safe choice. You will begin with the story of the emergence of the startup ecosystem of Boulder which is now know worldwide.
The book is built around what is called 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.
Very easy to read and much inspiring.
Find it on Amazon US
Find it on Amazon FR
The Rainforest: The Secret to Building the Next Silicon Valley (Victor W. Hwang, Greg Horowitt)
Now that you are inspired to foster your startup ecosystem, launching some meetups and gathering entrepreneurs for a beer, you might wonder why is this so important?
The authors of The Rainforest have some deep thought on what makes the Silicon Valley so powerful and what should be your focus for your own ecosystem. You will go through biology, the American frontier and some mushroom stuff.
To keep it short, the key is to establish a normative culture that enable connectivity, serendipity and trust.
Find it on Amazon US
Find it on Amazon FR
The Organic Entrepreneur Economy (Seth Meinzen, Steve Meinzen)
The Organic Entrepreneur Economy is providing a framework on how to grow an entrepreneur economy.
It emphases on how to grow the community (non entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs) as a key condition to a sustained economy.
The book study the mindset of all players in order to provide effective actions to leverage the community and accelerate the creation and growth of the entrepreneurial ventures
Find it on Amazon US
Find it on Amazon FR
Building Startup Ecosystems: Introducing The Vibrancy Rating (David Michael Shelters)
Building Startup Ecosystem is mixing the story of the development of the entrepreneurial community of Thailand and structuring a new scale for ecosystem evaluation (the Vibrancy Rating).
It was wonderful to read how close the Thai development was with my own city (Strasbourg, France), despite being on the other side of the world. It gives a step by step way to build an ecosystem that worked.
Read it on Amazon US
Read it on Amazon FR
Tech and the City: The Making of New York’s Startup Community (Maria Teresa Cometto, Alessandro Piol)
Did you know that New York just started focusing on their startup ecosystem after the subprime crisis? Quite odd given the importance of the city. Indeed, the DotCom experiment was maybe too extreme in NYC (We live in Public to see one of the figures of the times).
Nevertheless, NYC has an interesting story to tell, or more precisely, many stories to tell. There is a great number of sub-ecosystems that have their own story to tell.
The government implication is also quite interesting with the strong involvement of the mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The book read itself like a tale and is very inspiring.
Read it on Amazon US
Read it on Amazon FR
Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle (Dan Senor, Saul Singer)
How can a small country in the desert have become such a center for startups? It is the story of Start-up Nation and it is quite peculiar.
It is the will of a nation to attract international capital, like the Yozma program that launched the VC industry in Israel in almost no time.
While difficult to replicate, it is still interesting to see the Israel way for startups.
Read it on Amazon US
Read it on Amazon FR
Beyond Silicon Valley : How One Online Course Helped Support Global Entrepreneurs (Michael E. Goldberg)
We were glad to have Michael Goldberg in one of our meetup in Strasbourg last year giving us invaluable advices.
There are some elements needed for a vibrant ecosystem ( Government, Philanthropy, Intermediary Organizations, Anchors Institutions, Capital and Mentoring). The book give exemples of challenges and successes around the globe.
Most importantly, the book shows that anyone can participate in fostering entrepreneurship. Whoever you are, you can relate to one or more stories and find inspiration to help !
Other goods reading
Startup ecosystems examples
Analysis
- Elements of a successful startup ecosystem
- Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Momentum and Maturity
- Guidelines for Local and State Governments to Promote Entrepreneurship
- Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2017
- 12 Tips To Building A Successful Startup Community Where You Live
- How to Make Pittsburgh a Startup Hub by Paul Graham
