The Community Canvas — You, Us and the Journey Ahead for Seoul Startups
If anyone has approached a small surf shop in Yangyang, on an early summer night - you might have seen a group of reasonably young people having a heated discussion about network engagement, conversion rates and membership rules…as you would on a summer night in Yangyang. 🌌
What may have seemed like a humble nerd convention in one of Korea’s most picturesque seaside villages, was a Seoul Startups Community Leaders’ workshop — focused on building the first version of its Community Canvas.
The workshop was conducted based on the Community Canvas framework, a framework which offers comprehensive guidelines for rebuilding the operations and strategy of different forms of communities.
To introduce the methodology, mainly the new (or not-so-new) framework of Seoul Startups, and to make sure we’re all on the same page of what a Seoul Startups community means to us — here are some of the main points the team had came up that one starry night in Yangyang.
This is where you can get involved
But first: a recap of where we came from.
Sometime circa spring 2017, Seoul Startups began in a bar, on a napkin; when a couple of ex-pats were sharing their pain points on the lack of ‘globalness’ or ‘community’ within the Korean startup scene.
Inspired not only by alcohol oozing through their veins, but also the motto of ‘less talk, more action’ — they opened a Slack group, where people from the Korean startup scene could get involved by sharing content, asking questions and getting advice; generally mingling within the online safety bubble the internet provided.
Fast-forward 3 years — and Seoul Startups has exceeded 1,300 online members, providing a series of offline events and hackathons (before COVID-19 struck), organized online webinars, and has been focused on creating a sustainable stream of content; with the sole goal of establishing Korea as a real international startup community in Korea.
Up until now, Seoul Startups has been growing organically, without the concrete direction or structure it deserves. However, as members’ ranks grow parallel to its recognition on the domestic and international startup scene — the Community Leaders have come to the sound conclusion that perhaps even the wildest dreams need some taming once in a while.
Introducing the Community Canvas
Community Canvas is the result of collaboration and joint experiences of entrepreneurs, community leaders and society experts. The concept of ‘community’ is as old as time and has been thoroughly studied through and through. Though digitalization and the rise of an entrepreneurial approach, however, there has been more push for new approaches towards frame-working communities.
The Community Canvas ultimately aims to overcome disconnections in modern societies, weaving meaningful and impactful relationships within societies and beyond.
The goal of undertaking the Community Canvas workshop was to create a framework that would be revised in the next iteration, based on community experiences, reflections, needs and wants — to name a few.
The Canvas consists of 3 main themes: Identity, Experience and Structure. Let us dive into what these mean for the community.
Identity — Who are we and what do we believe in?
Community is this funny type of organization that, above all things, owes it to its members to feel like they belong. It really starts with the fundamental question — what is the purpose of the community? What does the community want to achieve, and how does it want to change the world?
For the Seoul Startups community — the drive is to become a hub that connects the Korean startup ecosystem with the global scene and vice versa; while fostering a safe, inclusive space for a diverse generation of entrepreneurs to develop, connect and grow.
Which brings us onto the next point — what would the community be without an identity? Who is this community for and how can one become a member of it?
As the community is primarily run in English, it’s members are expats within the Korean startup scene, foreigners looking to tap into Korea, or even Korean entrepreneurs willing to be a part of the global entrepreneurship network.
Since Seoul Startups prides itself on inclusivity, any hustling digital community warrior can join, simply by becoming a member on its Slack group.
Values define what principles are most important to the community.
For Seoul Startups:
#givefirst — be ready to give and share with other founders, the community, and society on a whole.
#persistence — paraphrasing the famous Korean proverb “failure is not the result, it’s a process”
#unicornready — be prepared not to take the world too seriously and have fun on this crazy adventure called ‘entrepreneurship’
Finally, unlike conventional businesses, an important part of identity is the definition of success. For the next year Seoul Startups aims to achieve the following:
- Community activation — growing the number of active and returning members, and offline event participants
- Financial stability — while it’s all fun and games, the basic rule of economy101 is that ‘there’s no free lunch’. So the more Seoul Startups wants to offer to its members, the more vital it becomes to have a steady source of financial support.
- Community Successes — we want to celebrate our members’ new investments, entry into new markets, developments of new products. If Seoul Startups can contribute to a startup’s win, then it’s a win for the whole community. ❤
Experience — what happens in the community, and how does that create value for its members?
A great community is not one that is static and lethargic, but one that moves and springs with enthusiasm- bringing thrill and excitement to its members. Nothing creates stronger bonds, in turn, shared values and beliefs than shared experiences within the community.
What is an ‘experience’ according to Community Canvas? It’s something that happens in the community regularly, that helps it achieve its goals and express its values in action. A very important part of this is ‘onboarding’ — the initiation of a new member of the community on a joint journey.
For Seoul Startups, experiences are a mixture of events, rituals and interactions that solidify the bonds between its Community Leaders, members and stakeholders. Some of which include:
- Introduction Video *— aired right before joining the Slack group, introducing the Seoul Startups community, explanation of its Code of Conduct and standard net-tiquette.
- Welcome Message — personalized direct messages for each member, welcoming them into the community.
- Monthly onboarding AMA session* — online live webinars with a Community Leader, explaining the ins & outs of the community and answering questions from the members
- Founder Growth Group* | Mentoring | Office Hours* | Expert panel discussions — tapping into the shared knowledge and skills of the community and sharing them with its members
- ‘Open Mic’ Type Networking Events — offering community interaction and connection, while maintaining the nonchalant joie-de-vivre atmosphere of Seoul Startups
- Blog | Industry Insights | Expert Spotlights— creating easily accessible online content to do with the Korean startup scene
- Community Retreats* — (in post-COVID times) intimate semi-short trips, offering outdoorsy activities -intertwined with community-building activities and entrepreneurship knowledge creation
- Hackathons — both online and offline. These forms of intensive boot camps, while allowing prospective entrepreneurs to build, validate and pivot an idea -they most importantly help entrepreneurs find a strong team.
*Currently a work in progress
Roles members can play in the community primarily define their engagement and enthusiasm for the growth of the organization.
Members can choose to contribute as blog writers, event volunteers and, if ready for the time commitment, Community Leaders — community organizers that serve with their time, expertise and fun-lovin’. Other roles include mentors, experts and sponsors.
Although Seoul Startups may pride itself in its egalitarian approach and openness, there are certain rules and guidelines, which define the behaviors of its members:
- ‘Don’t be an asshole’ — respect other members as you would like to be respected yourself.
- ‘Slack user netiquette’
- ‘Code of Conduct’ — both being currently drafted here, with the input of the community, have a goal of building a safe and accessible space for all interested in the Korean startup scene.
Structure — what gives the community stability in the long-run?
The structure is like the skeleton of the community — although not as visible, it’s what makes the community stand and work.
Governance — defining how decisions are made and by whom. In Seoul Startups — Community Leaders, the most active members of the community, use discussion and mediating as a form of decision making, with the final call taken by the leader of the given project.
Because of its current, transitional legal form (individual business ownership), before evolving into a mature version of a non-profit organization, legal and admin decisions are taken by the legal business proprietor, Marta Allina. In the future, this would be replaced by an advisory board.
How does Seoul Startups communicate with its members and Community Leaders? At its heart lies the Slack group, where all content is shared both by the CLs and the members. Secondary channels include the SNS and monthly newsletter. Additionally, Community Leaders are obliged to join the weekly call-in, to discuss on-going projects and strategic decisions.
Reflections.
The Seoul Startups’ Community Canvas is an ever-growing work-in-progress. It may always be an evolving, open-source document that reflects Seoul Startups position in the Korean startup scene. It needs more definition of its ‘uniqueness’, may it be its global-based value proposition, fun-loving atmosphere or inclusivity.
Will this give Seoul Startups the foundations to achieve its goals in years? Only time will tell. In the meantime, we will always have Yangyang. 🌅
