Growing Buffalo’s Startup Community from 300 to 5,000 Members in 18 Months.

Each startup community is unique. ��Replication is enticing but impossible. ��The race to become ‘The Next Silicon Valley’ is futile - even Silicon Valley couldn't recreate itself.

BRAD FELD

IAN HATHAWAY

http://bit.ly/brad-ian

Key Takeaways:

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1. One-to-one human connections act as the fulcrum that gives you leverage to change the culture of community.

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2. When in doubt, meet with founders and then introduce them to at least two people.

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3. Creating a physical commons creates energy, creating a virtual commons converts that energy into momentum.

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Cultural Problems�

1. Due to Blue Collar manufacturing culture and economic decline -- Indigenous Risk Aversion is High �
2. Buffalo is within a 3 hour flight to 50% of the population of the United States, but we operate as if we’re on an island. This includes connections to Rochester (60 miles away) and Toronto (90 miles away)�
3. NYS spent $100MM trying to build the community by creating structured programs run by academics and bureaucrats without any Founders involved (sans EIRs). This took the onus of building the startup community away from the Founder. But lead to a disintegration of the fledgling ecosystem as the grass roots organizers were trampled. �
4. Lack of experienced successful founders. So companies are dependent on peer mentorship and outside help.
1. Post Series C raise -- Jack Greco.
2. 3+ from Idea to Series A -- Clark Dever. �
5. 7th most segregated city in the United States, by race -- but also by culture.

The Boulder Thesis

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Entrepreneurs must lead the startup community.

The leaders must have a long-term commitment.

The startup community must be inclusive

The startup community must continued activities that engage the entire entrepreneurial stack

Activities

Key Takeaway:

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Make friends

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Convince them that your strategies will benefit them

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and the community.

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Activities

Key Takeaway:

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Make friends by helping people.

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Don’t actually want to do work?

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Introduce them to someone else.

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Better Yet - Two People!

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Activities

Key Takeaway:

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Get everyone in to a room.

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Oh, there’s a pandemic going on?

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Then get everyone in to a virtual commons.

Activities

2019 - 2020 Aggregation and Activation

Buffalo Bridge Mailing List

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Community Slack

Mentoring

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1,517�Slack Community Members

5,991

Buffalo Bridge Subscribers

610�Incidents of Mentoring Community Members

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Startups

312�Startups in 90 mile radius

Key Takeaways:

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1. Build relationships with individuals.

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2. Create relationships between people.

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3. Get people together, so they can build relationships.

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Ecosystems are composed of the externalities generated by the relationships in a community.

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