Who Will Save the Ecosystem Builders?

Many ecosystem builders are on the brink and ecosystem building as a field is perilously close to going off the rails if we don’t get support.

Photo by Bart Christiaanse on Unsplash

If you don’t follow the Ecosystem Building Twitterverse you may have missed an important sub-current that rose to the surface the last few days regarding the health and sustainability of ecosystem builders. It started with a tweet from Joe Maruschak referencing a recent article he wrote on Medium.

“After 3 decades in Eugene, and the last decade plus spent helping to grow the startup community, it is time for me to move on.”

In his Medium article, Joe tells the grim reality of many ecosystem builders. “After 11 years of working to help grow the startup community in Eugene, Oregon, I have gotten to the point where although I love the work, it is not sustainable personally.”

Joe probably didn’t realize it at the time, but his article and tweet
set off storm of commiseration and despair from fellow ecosystem builders on Twitter.

Rick Turoczy, a fellow Oregonian of Joe’s, weighed in with a post on his Silicon Florist blog.

“Not a day goes by that another passionate community builder or manager doesn’t bemoan the unsustainable nature of the work. Or the misunderstanding of what the work is. Or the absolutely debilitating mental and emotional anguish of feeling like your work isn’t valued,” wrote Rick.

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Rick continued, “So this departure isn’t unexpected or surprising. It’s been a long time coming. And it’s a trend that’s likely to continue as this generation of startup community builders come to the end of their proverbial ropes.”

Back over on Twitter, other ecosystem builders began to weigh in. “This will gut the engine of entrepreneurship in the US if this problem is not solved,” wrote Martin Montero.

One of the most heartfelt responses came from @PDXMitch, Mitch Daugherty, in a 15 tweet thread.

“I’ve spent over a decade (!) working in & around entrepreneurship. And through all those years, thousands of hours, launching of programs and events, etc I have — if I think about it — probably been compensated all together for one of the years. So the idea of ‘effectively compensated’ is such a stretch for my mind."

That lack of compensation that Mitch references is all too familiar. While I know many great ecosystem builders who are employed by organizations to do the work they do, too many of us do it as small non-profits or individuals, without the support or safety net of a steady paycheck. It’s simply not sustainable and something we can’t continue to do indefinitely.

Continuing the thread on his blog and Twitter, Rick wrote, “In his seminal work, Startup Communities, @bfeld encouraged folks to take a decade long view on #community. Today, many startup community builders are reaching the end of that first decade of — often purely volunteer — efforts. And the end of their ropes.”

These conversations aren’t just happening on Twitter. As Rick points out, they’re taking place email chains, texts, Slack channels and more. “Just beginning to scratch the surface here, folks. If my backchannel conversations with startup community builders around the world are any indication, the wheels are coming off. And the portended trainwrecks in any number of communities are imminent — if not already in progress,” said Rick.

While I’m sure the outpouring of support that I’ve seen is well-intended, let me be blunt. Lip service and best wishes are not enough. The ecosystem building world is messed up and is in desperate need of disruption.

As Joe says, “The reality is that we need more people who fuck shit up. We need to innovate the process of innovation, as the current system we have in the USA has become an entrenched ecosystem of public money grant getting — and employs the safe, sane, predictable and well credentialed.”

Riffing on Joe’s remark, Martin Montero continued, “This is VITAL for the future of #entrepreneurship & #innovation in the US. If you actually care about #startup #EcosystemBuilding listen to Joe! We need a serious rethinking in how we support & develop entrepreneurial communities & the professionals who nurture them.”

I hope those who believe in the power and potential of entrepreneurial ecosystem building who have the power and the money to make an impact are listening. Those who claim to believe that entrepreneurship is vital for a healthy economy and that ecosystem builders are vital for entrepreneurs to succeed—are you willing to step up and save ecosystem builders?

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