Who are Ecosystem Builders?

Ecosystem builders are people who are collaborative by nature and who are systems thinkers. SCN members are ecosystem builders who create long-term economic opportunity in communities by ensuring that people and resources are connected and working together to develop new approaches and solutions for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurial ecosystem builders come from a variety of backgrounds and expertise, including entrepreneurs, government officials, economic developers, grassroots community leaders, university leaders, academics, philanthropists, corporate leaders, and media.  

OUR MEMBERS ARE:

SCN was built by ecosystem builders who are the pioneers in this work, who advance a collaborative approach to increasing entrepreneurship. Today we have over 150 members in 40 states, and growing. Members come from a variety of backgrounds, including entrepreneurs, leaders of accelerators, people who run coworking spaces, mentors, government officials, economic developers, grassroots community leaders, and university leaders. We represent cities that often lie beyond traditional startup hubs like Silicon Valley and are located in major markets as well as rural areas and smaller metros.

How We Help

• Build the Network: Connect and foster relationships among innovation ecosystem builders.

• Activate & Level Up Ecosystem Builders: Gather, develop and distribute best-in-class practices in ecosystem building to 1) help established builders level up and 2) on-board new generations of ecosystem builders.

• Elevate Local Startups: Methodically collaborate to connect and elevate high-performing startups from champions’ local regions to help them access the national network of resources and people they need to succeed.

• Track Ecosystem Growth: Develop and track a common set of innovation ecosystem health metrics to help local regions benchmark their progress and create a collective data resource that measures the size and strength of the national innovation ecosystem over time.

• Celebrate: Champion, share and cheer on the great success and growth in entrepreneurship happening all over the country.

WHAT WE OFFER

• People who understand your work. We celebrate and elevate those deep in the work of building their ecosystem and help them get better at it.

• Access to the national startup network. We are and know the leaders and connectors of major innovation hubs and national resource organizations. This organization connects many grassroots builders to national resources who otherwise don’t have access.

• Best practices for innovation ecosystem building. Our members, each a best-in-class ecosystem builder in their own right, meet with, learn from, and share with each other what’s working to make the most impact.

• Live case studies of other innovation ecosystems. Our bi-annual summits give builders a behind-the-scenes tour of other members’ ecosystems to see, help with, and learn from the good, bad and ugly of other communities working toward similar goals.

• Help elevating your best startups to the national level. Our members work together to help each others’ best startups get access to resources, opportunities, and connections around the nation increasing their chance for success.

• Data to benchmark your ecosystem’s health. Nothing legitimizes an ecosystem builder’s work like good old fashioned metrics of success. Our straight-forward collection process and ability to compile data across the network, and therefore the nation, gives ecosystem builders the tools to prove to themselves, their funders and their partners that they are indeed making an impact.

Want to learn more?