Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City

PREFACE

In the fall of 2008 the world financial markets were rocked in an unprecedented way. The global financial crisis that ensued created massive uncertainty across our society and resulted in extraordinary actions by governments and companies throughout the world.

In a parallel universe, something else was happening. Entrepreneurial companies such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Zynga were growing at an equally unprecedented rate. While these companies, and many others, were emerging from Silicon Valley, communities across the country were brimming with startup activity. My hometown of Boulder had become known throughout the world as a great startup community, but cities like New York, Boston, Seattle, Portland, Chicago, and Austin were also seen as nexuses of startup activity.

As the macroeconomic impact of the financial crisis was felt throughout 2009 and 2010 and society tried to readjust to the new economic reality and constraints generated by the collapse of many traditional and well-established institutions, the startups kept being born, growing, and adding jobs.

In early 2011 the world started to notice. On January 31, President Obama acknowledged the importance of entrepreneurship to our global economy through the launch of Startup America. He stated:

Entrepreneurs embody the promise of America: the idea that if you have a good idea and are willing to work hard and see it through, you can succeed in this country. And in fulfilling this promise, entrepreneurs ...