Entrepreneurship Ecosystems: Design & build an "ecosystem-in-a-box"
- 1. ENTREPRENEURSHIP ECOSYSTEMS Laura IH Bennett lauraihbennett.com TechTown, Tallinn, Estonia 4th May 2017
- 2. @lauraihbennet t SCHEDULE 10:00 – 10:05 Introduction from Tracey and Toby 10:05 – 10:25 Alison: reflections on yesterday 10:25 – 10:30 Tracey: refresher on vision & problem statement 10:30 – 11:00 Laura: an overview of entrepreneurship ecosystems 11:00 – 11:30 Ecosystem-in-a-box: design your perfect ecosystem! 11:30 – 11:50 Present your next steps and actions to take forward 1 TechTown, Tallinn, Estonia 04.05.2017
- 3. @lauraihbennet t AIMS OF THIS SESSION 1. To consolidate your vision for your ecosystem 2. To come away with actionable steps forward to help realise your vision … Not forgetting the Tech Town themes: Understanding the digital economy Building a community The role of startups The role of places & spaces 2 TechTown, Tallinn, Estonia 04.05.2017
- 4. @lauraihbennet t ENTREPRENEURSHIP ECOSYSTEMS A strong ecosystem can help more businesses grow by… Creating the conditions for more startups Helping existing companies to scale Increase the perception of what’s possible (create aspiration) Attracting investment to a cluster 3 TechTown, Tallinn, Estonia 04.05.2017
- 5. @lauraihbennet t ENTREPRENEURSHIP ECOSYSTEMS A strong ecosystem can help more businesses grow by… Creating the conditions for more startups Helping existing companies to scale Increase the perception of what’s possible (create aspiration) Attracting investment to a cluster Who are the actors, and what does growth look like to them? Entrepreneurs: investment, exporting… Educators: Higher rates of employment… Investors: More & better returns… City policy-makers: inward investment, branding, profile… 4 TechTown, Tallinn, Estonia 04.05.2017
- 6. @lauraihbennet t VISION & IMPACT As policy-makers, what is your vision for your ecosystem? What do you want your town / cluster to look like in 3 - 5 years time? What role will YOU play in making that vision come to life? Driven by PLACE more than by entrepreneurs’ individual aims “Our city will be better because of XYZ” 5 TechTown, Tallinn, Estonia 04.05.2017
- 7. @lauraihbennet t VISION & IMPACT As policy-makers, what is your vision for your ecosystem? What do you want your town / cluster to look like in 3 - 5 years time? What role will YOU play in making that vision come to life? Driven by PLACE more than by entrepreneurs’ individual aims “Our city will be better because of XYZ” How do you assess if you’re going in the right direction? Impact measurement: where are you starting from? Some outcomes take 5+ years to achieve Avoid “ownership” of success: not a zero-sum game Theory of Change: qualitative & quantitative 6 TechTown, Tallinn, Estonia 04.05.2017
- 8. @lauraihbennet t COMMUNICATING SUCCESS Celebrate the “quick wins” often and early Homegrown success stories on repeat Inspirational success stories from nearby larger clusters Legitimise success and increase people’s ambitions Increase pride in your local cluster How are you communicating this? Simple, visual communication Landing page, slide decks, infographics Clear & easy to understand vision 7 TechTown, Tallinn, Estonia 04.05.2017
- 10. @lauraihbennet t GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP ECOSYSTEMS The important principles to remember: Controlled by: everyone (and no one) Owned by: everyone (and no one) Self-perpetuating without constantly requiring new inputs Self-sustaining in the right conditions / culture Hardware within an ecosystem: Accelerators, incubators, startup weekends, financial incentives etc. Software within an ecosystem: leadership, dialogue, discussion, peer-to-peer support, celebrating etc. 9 TechTown, Tallinn, Estonia 04.05.2017
- 11. @lauraihbennet t ECOSYSTEM MAP Professor Daniel J. Isenberg Babson College, Boston Babson Entrepreneurship & Ecosystem Project ”An ecosystem influences the flow of resources available to businesses. Ideally you want high potential ventures to be able to quickly access the right resources for them, and for those resources to be high quality and appropriate.” 10 TechTown, Tallinn, Estonia 04.05.2017
- 12. @lauraihbennet t MARKETS e.g. early adopters for prototypes, referring customers, supply chains, internationalisation Ease of exporting? Local / regional markets? CULTURE e.g. tolerance of risk and mistakes, positive social status of entrepreneur Meetups? Role of media? Opinion leaders? SUPPORTS e.g. legal / accounting advisers, telecommunications / transportation infrastructure, entrepreneurship orgs Incubators? Accelerators? Business programmes? HUMAN CAPITAL e.g. skilled and unskilled labour, serial entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship training programmes Universities? Internships? Apprenticeships? FINANCE e.g. business angels, venture capital, micro loans, banking, High Net Worth Individuals, public grants Bank loans? VC availability? Public grants? POLICY e.g. regulatory framework incentives, existence of public research institutes, taxes National / local public sector engagement? 11 TechTown, Tallinn, Estonia 04.05.2017
- 13. @lauraihbennet t ECOSYSTEM-IN-A-BOX 1. What is your problem statement? 2. Get creative! 1. What does your ideal ecosystem look like? 2. Who are the main actors? 3. What does growth look like to them? 4. How do they interact? 5. What are their needs / ambitions? 3. How will YOU act to help you move closer to your ideal ecosystem? 4. Present back to the room, using whatever props you like! Your on-hand experts… - Toby: policy, ecosystems, acceleration, investment. - Tracey: place-making, policy, incubation, co-working. - Alison: incubation, acceleration, policy, partnerships. - Laura: community building, ecosystems, startup support. 12 TechTown, Tallinn, Estonia 04.05.2017
- 14. @lauraihbennet t CLOSING REMARKS Build on unique assets available in your local cluster Celebrate successes and communicate them relentlessly Get quick wins to help change the dialogue Foster the involvement of all stakeholders (does the ecosystem help them?) Look at examples of best practice from elsewhere and import what works Have a vision of what an ideal ecosystem looks like, communicate that clearly, and show how your initiatives, programmes and policies will help move your cluster in the right direction. 13 TechTown, Tallinn, Estonia 04.05.2017
- 15. THANK YOU! @lauraihbennett TechTown, Tallinn, Estonia 04.05.2017
Editor's Notes
- #3: 10:00 – 10:05 Tracey intro 10:05 – 10:25 Alison reflections 10:25 – 10:30 Tracey vision & problem statement 10:30 – 11:00 Laura ecosystem talk 11:00 – 11:30 Ecosystem in a box 11:30 – 11:50 Present back to the room 11:50 – 12:00 Wrap up
- #5: Startup weekends, incubtaion, co-working Specific support, policy interventions, trade missions, export Investment, whether financial or infrastructure
- #6: Spend some time thinking about specific actors in your clusters and what their aims are (5 mins) and share back with the group (5 mins)
- #9: We won’t do any specific work on this today, but keep it in mind…
- #11: Are you a catalyst or an actor?
- #13: Have these on flipchart paper around the room