Question:

In Austin, our ecosystem is so large!. There are dozens of incubators, accelerators, community lenders, co-working spaces, mentor networks, meetup groups... . This makes it difficult to navigate

Mo: Having so many ecosystem resources is great (!) but you are right, it can be overwhelming to our entrepreneurs, especially startups. We hear this a lot in urban centers like Phoenix and San Jose. USSourcelink at the University of Missouri, Kansas City has a popular online solution to creating order: they map complicated ecosystem resources, then offer entrepreneurs an easy search tool to find the right resource at the right time.

I think no matter the size of your community, intimate connection is important. Some communities organize human ecosystem navigators or concierge services. These volunteers connect entrepreneurs to resources and organizations on the ground. They attend events, distribute their contact info (text Sidney anytime for help…) etc. They can be online too, through embedded livechat software on service partner websites. I am talking human livechats though, not chatbots.

I think too, ecosystem navigation is another reason 1M Cups is a powerful event for newcomers. When meeting with a new entrepreneur, the very first place I recommend they go is 1M Cups. The weekly, non-competitive gathering of entrepreneurs at all stages of business startup/scaleup provides newcomers a friendly gateway to find like-minded individuals and resources within an ecosystem.