Community tools for more effective entrepreneurship support programs - created by westartup
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Community tools for more effective entrepreneurship support programs Leo Exter
description
westartup is a set of tools designed to supercharge local efforts for building entrepreneurial communities. Some of my thinking on the subject can be found in an article I wrote for the Whiteboard magazine (How to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem in 4 steps http://bit.ly/XwH0bS) and another for DataNews (Entrepreneurship: we're teaching it wrong http://bit.ly/1bDhZyZ). If you would like to discus - or evaluate the tools for your own region - please contact me at [email protected].
Transcript of Community tools for more effective entrepreneurship support programs - created by westartup
Community toolsfor more effective
entrepreneurship support programs
Leo Exter
We help to answer a fundamental challenge:
getting more peopleto interact more often,
to learn more from each other… with low extra cost.
Focus for most existing programs
westartup focus
Basic Training
Discovery
Incubation
Acceleration
Use community power to - find
- motivate- educate
future entrepreneurs.
Community site + real-world eventshelp you build large, effective local (globally connected)entrepreneurial community.
+
Community site brings in new people for your community: entrepreneurs, mentors and investors.
Community site improves projects through feedback(comments) from fellow entrepreneurs.
Community site helps to find co-founders, create stronger (cross-functional) teams.
Individual involvement
Online community, events like Startup Weekend
Introductory group sessions
In-depth group workshops
€ 20
€ 50
€ 500
Equity stake
Acceleration program
Incubation program
Combine site with events to identify and strengthen best teams
Th
resh
old
(E
xa
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le)
Startups need time (and knowledge) to build their success stories.
Mentors from the community happily share their knowledgeat events –if you only need to ask.
Does it work?
Hell, yeah!* * This is how Davy would say it.
Davy Kestens, 25.
Asked questions, joined workshops, got crowd feedback… and stopped his first business.
Then created amuch better one.
Sparkcentralsells to Delta and Brussels Airlines.
20+ employees in Hasselt (BE) and San Francisco.
Raised over
$ 17.6 MLN.
Building community is hard work: minimum 1/5 FTE
better yet a full-time person:superconnector.
We provide the tools
• Customized website: your branding, your language, your community
• Six proven event formats
Example from Lithuania:
- Lithuanian-language site
- Own branding
Over 760 members today.
Example of a “vertical” site:
- Focus on digital health startups
- Own branding
Over 1200 members today.
Stay in touch with your entire community with automated emails, invite them to your events.
Keep track of interactions, measure success.
Our simple, low-cost event formats:
- Pitch Night- Startup
BarCamp- Topical
workshops- Member Nights- Circle of Growth- Investor Match
