Startup hubs seem to be appearing all across the world but what is making some cities produce more successful startups. Ecosystems, successful startup ecosystems can make or break a business no matter how good an idea may be. You may have heard the saying that it takes a village to raise a child well in a lot of ways your startup is just like your child. You watch it grow from a tiny little thing, that learns from the world around it, spends a lot of your money, needs frequent attention but if raised correctly it will grow and be successful and if you’re really lucky you may get a financial return. There are a fair few ingredients that are required to create a successful ecosystem for a startup, here are ones that successful cities have had.
1. Ideas!
Entrepreneurs are nothing without their ideas, it is their launching point for their startups. So, for a successful ecosystem, the people in must be rich with ideas!! These are often found near universities so a city with prestigious universities never hurts. Ideas come from knowledge, so being close to universities allows access to a wealth of knowledge through students, professor and the research that goes on within its walls.
2. Access to talent
Whether you’re all about the big city or love the small-town life, for a successful startup there must be people around who are hardworking, knowledgeable and most importantly accessible. Successful startups need good people who are happy to lend a helping hand. These people will also have probably walked a similar path and they can help you to prevent making the same mistakes.
3. Moolah!
When deciding to start a business most people have ambitions of changing the world and revolutionising their chosen field. Whether you are only creating a startup to make money or not the reality is that you will need capital to get it off the ground. If an area has access to angel investors and corporations who are willing to help out the little guy an area will flourish!
4. Government policies
These are often the defining features for whether or not a city becomes a successful ecosystem startup. In some country’s entrepreneurs have to go through a paper maze to get their business off of the ground. In other countries however governments provide funding and support to help get startups off the ground with minimal paperwork. One way for startups to overcome this though is to fork out the money and get yourself an accountant to navigate the challenges for you.
5. Passionate People
This is the most important ingredient for any startup ecosystem! The people involved need to be passionate about what they do, passionate about helping others and create a culture of breaking the standard business model. If a startup has a passionate mentor, it is far more likely to be successful. If people in an area share the same ideals and willingness to work together will lift each other up and grow together.
5 Ingredients for a Successful Startup Ecosystem
