Ecosystems For Change

In today’s episode, we’re headed to Puerto Rico to talk with Denisse Rodríguez. Denisse left her high-flying career on Wall Street to return to her home country where she’s now dedicated to making entrepreneurship more accessible for founders all across the island.

Against the background of the bustling streets of San Juan, Denisse shares which champions helped her launch an island-wide ecosystem and she talks about the opportunities that come with a population of three million, and a diaspora of 5 million Puerto Ricans around the world.

Denisse has a big vision for making this US territory not just a place from which top talent graduates, but a place where top talent stays to build and work at startups that have the potential to transform the island state.

Denisse Rodríguez is an ecosystem builder and social entrepreneur working at the intersection of economic and community development. As Executive Director at the Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust, she founded and leads Colmena66, an award-winning program which makes entrepreneurship easier by connecting entrepreneurs with the vital, just-in-time, on-the-ground resources they need to accelerate their ideas and turn those into sustainable businesses that create jobs. Through entrepreneur-led economic development strategies, Denisse works to strengthen a cohesive and vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in Puerto Rico.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• Why buy-in and support from individual players is key to building an ecosystem
• How Denisse and Colemena66 are bridging the gap between entrepreneurs and support organizations in Puerto Rico
• The challenges of tracking data on entrepreneurship in Puerto Rico and how that has a ripple effect on grants and lending
• How a strong team helps Denisse stave off burnout

Learn more about Denisse Rodríguez:

• Colmena66
• Facebook: @Colmena66
• Instagram: @Colmena66
• Colmena66 Impact Report

Learn More About Anika Horn:

• Website: www.socialventurers.com
• Instagram: SocialVenturers
• Newsletter: Sign up for Impact Curator
• Ecosystem Building 101 Masterclass

Resources:

• Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
• Kiva
• Global Shapers Community
• Startup Champions Network
• Sofia Stolberg, Piloto 151
• Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building Playbook 3.0

In today's episode, I’m sharing a conversation I had with Charlton Cunningham during his recent visit to Mexico City. Charlton used to be based in Atlanta, GA, but has been living a nomad life since the pandemic began.

In our conversation, Charlton talks about how to build trust in an ecosystem. He also shares some insights into the role that Venture Capitalists can play in an ecosystem and why community can be so relevant within a VC firm when it’s built and nurtured the right way.

Find out how Charlton builds networks in different parts of the US and beyond and how–as a traveling nomad–he manages to stay grounded.

Charlton Cunningham is a failed architect who jumped into the startup space by creating an intentional community for aspiring entrepreneurs called, HiveATL. As a military brat growing up he learned to make friends quickly out of necessity and grew to appreciate how it helps in his work today, developing relationships with a variety of stakeholders. He is a community builder and connector at heart, with a strong passion for serving entrepreneurs at the earliest stages and founders growing their business. Charlton's experience includes roles across non-profit, venture capital, co-working spaces, and accelerator programs.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How the iterative process of developing physical architecture informs Charlton’s community building
• How to build trust with organizations within your ecosystem through direct contact and volunteering resources
• Why Venture Capitalists have to think become connectors in order to be good actors within ecosystems
• How small rituals keep Charlton grounded as he travels

Learn more about Charlton Cunningham:

• CharltonCunningham.com
• Twitter: @Charlton_87
• The Keystone Podcast

Learn More About Anika Horn:

• Website: www.socialventurers.com
• Instagram: SocialVenturers
• Newsletter: Sign up for Impact Curator
• Ecosystem Building 101 Masterclass

Resources:

• Startup Champions Summit
• D:Hive
• Venture Atlanta
• QueensBridge Venture Partners
• Get Together: How to build a community with your people, Bailey Richardson, Kevin Huynh, Kai Elmer Sotto
• The Business of Belonging: How to Make Community Your Competitive Advantage, David Spinks
• The Startup Community Way: Evolving an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, Brad Feld and Ian Hathaway
• Allie Felix, Embarc Collective
• People and Company

In today’s episode, we’re headed to Staunton, VA, to talk with Debbie Irwin about how she became an entrepreneurial ecosystem builder.

With her background in digital marketing and a deep-seated passion for rural communities, Debbie became Executive Director of Shenandoah Community Capital Fund in 2019. As you’ll learn in this episode, the term “community capital” is about a lot more than investing money.

In our conversation, we talked about how important it is to fully see people when building an ecosystem. We talked about how to be a convener in an ecosystem without becoming a bottleneck and who took Debbie under their wings when she first started out as an ecosystem builder.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How we can amplify community capital and how we build on-ramps for other supporters, without being the ecosystem leader
• Why collaboration and coalition-building among organizations requires a mindset shift out of scarcity thinking
• Why it’s important to build WITH, not FOR our communities
• Why Debbie and SCCF undertook listening tours around the region and how they implemented them to make communities feel seen and heard
• Who you need in your corner to weather tough times

Learn more about Debbie Irwin:

• Shenandoah Community Capital Fund
• Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn
• Facebook: @SCCFVA
• Twitter: @debirwineship

Learn More About Anika Horn:

• Website: www.socialventurers.com
• Instagram: SocialVenturers
• Newsletter: Sign up for Impact Curator
• Ecosystem Building 101 Masterclass

Resources:

• Startup Champions Network
• Center on Rural Innovation
• Tom Tom Festival

Over the last three years, I’ve talked to more than one hundred and fifty champions, cheerleaders and advocates for entrepreneurs in their communities.

Some of them work at startup accelerators and small business incubators. Others operate coworking spaces. Yet others are economic developers, investors, community builders, policymakers, academics, mentors, advisors, and service providers to emerging small business and startup founders.

While they work in different official capacities, they all have one thing in common: they want to see their communities thrive, and they believe that entrepreneurship is one viable vehicle to achieve that.

In those conversations, we talked about the mindsets and professional skills we need to be effective in our efforts. With many of them, I’ve talked at length about the personal and emotional toll that this work takes.

Many of them admitted that they had brushed shoulders with burnout and came close to quitting. Some of them did.

What is it about this kind of work that makes it so hard and yet so rewarding?

If ecosystem builders lose steam and burn out because they’re unsupported and exhausted, then who’s going to support the changemakers at the front line?

Who is going to help us tilt the playing field in favor of ALL entrepreneurs and who will continue to work behind the scenes to re-envision our future, and actively work towards it?

In this first episode, I want to share with you how I transformed from social enterprise enthusiast to ecosystem builder. Join me as we zoom out of your role as a lone wolf and together, take a systems view of supporting entrepreneurs of ALL backgrounds.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How the nonprofit and social enterprise worlds silo information to the detriment of their stated missions
• How the dominant scarcity mindset pits do-good organizations against each other
• The trip that made me realize that scarcity thinking and lack of collaboration were a systemic issue
• The power we unleash when breaking silos and focusing on the needs of entrepreneurs
• What ecosystem building looks like in practice

Fellow Ecosystem Builders:

• Debbie Irwin, Shenandoah Community Capital Fund
• Grace Belangia, Make Startups
• Jay Cooper, Freelance Media Producer
• Rob Williams, SourceLink
• Eric Parker, Make Startups
• Cecilia Wessinger
• Mark Lawrence, Inncuvate
• Tom Chapman, Chapman & Co.
• Michelle Parvinrouh
• Steven Rodriguez, 1863 Ventures & Suego

Learn More About Anika Horn:

• Website: www.socialventurers.com
• Instagram: SocialVenturers
• Newsletter: Sign up for Impact Curator
• Ecosystem Building 101 Masterclass

Changing the world is hard work. And if world-changing is in your job description, it’s easy to get burnt out. Ecosystem-building is all about gathering the support you need to make your job more sustainable and maybe even easier, too. Instead of exhausted and overworked, you’re supported and well-resourced. Ecosystems For Change is the podcast about caring for yourself as you care for others and your community. Together with Social Venturers founder Anika Horn, you’ll explore building supportive ecosystems, learn how to make your work more sustainable, and impact that world in powerful ways. Our first season is all about what ecosystem-building is and how it's used in the field.

Learn More About Anika Horn:

• Website: www.socialventurers.com 
• Instagram: SocialVenturers
• Newsletter: Sign up for Impact Curator
• Ecosystem Building 101 Masterclass