Ecosystem building work is often thankless, tiring, and even demoralizing at times. How do ecosystem builders stay motivated to keep doing the work? What specific practices do ecosystem builders use for self-care, to keep going, and avoid burning out? This was the question I put to a group of participating…

Leaders Across Thirty Plus National Entrepreneurship Support Organizations Come Together to Advance the Field of Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Building An initiative has launched to advance the entrepreneurship ecosystem building field of practice, hosted by the International Business Innovation Associate (InBIA), with funding and support by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The…

The challenges of life and years of toiling as an ecosystem builder take their toll. — Ecosystem building is challenging on many levels. As ecosystem builders, we’re essentially trying to change an entrenched system and grow a community. Many of us do this while also trying to run a sustainable business — to make enough money to eat and put a roof over our heads. The…

Join a collaborative effort to design, create, and validate the advancement of the entrepreneurship ecosystem building field of practice. — A small, but growing number of people are turning to entrepreneurial ecosystem building as a strategy to build more inclusive and resilient economies. For years, the leading standard bearer in this nascent movement was the Kauffman Foundation. Their annual ESHIP Summit was created with the mission to “advance ecosystem building…

Prioritizing the management of vulnerability and exposure to extreme weather events — The deadly flooding, heat waves, wildfires, droughts, tornados, and other extreme weather events of 2021 have underscored the real life current threats that we now face due to climate change. The denial, resistance, and obstructionism from the fossil fuel industry and politicians in taking climate action have dramatically increased our…

The innovation skills of startups funded by growing investments from VCs is fueling hope in addressing climate change. — Recent extreme weather events have dramatically demonstrated what we can expect from a warming planet and reiterated the need to accelerate our actions to address climate change. The massive heat dome that shattered high temperature records in the Pacific Northwest, devastating drought throughout the western U.S., deadly floods in Germany…

Humans have the most advanced brains on the planet—we should learn to use our capacity for logical, rational thought. — Society has become incredibly contentious and polarized. Opposing pundits and experts bombard us with opinions. Every day we face a deluge of misinformation and lies, masquerading as facts and truth. Who can you believe? Too many people choose to blindly follow their pundit, news source, or influencer of choice like…

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. — 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.

How ecosystem builders are working to promote entrepreneurship as an economic imperative. — “Communities seeking to grow their economy need to understand the impact entrepreneurship and small business play in economic growth.” — Grow Your Own: Entrepreneurship-based Economic Development for Local Communities, Dell Gines, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Ecosystem builders know that entrepreneurship and startups are critical for a healthy economy…