This fall, I went “back to school”, too. Since we’ve chosen to be in the business of strengthening the connective tissue in local entrepreneurial ecosystems, I’ve been diving into how they actually work. There’s a lot I’ve learned as a business reporter or experienced in my own self-employment, but now it’s time to get nerdy.
That includes reading books like “The Startup Community Way: Evolving an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem” by Brad Feld. I’ve been surprised and delighted to hear the importance of storytelling explicitly encouraged by people working and thinking deeply on this topic, but I love the way Feld puts it.
In particular, I was thrilled when, after calling storytelling a “powerful accelerant in startup communities,” he says stories “shouldn’t be limited only to successful outcomes, as there is a preponderance of failure in the continuous evolution of a startup community. In fact, more is often learned from failures than from success. Lean into that discomfort… Go far beyond cheerleading with a focus on learning.”
No worries, Charleston. We got you. Keep reading for a healthy mix of triumph and tragedy this founder community needs to hear.