Jeff Amerine
Techpreneurship, with Jeff Amerine
Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?
Those of you with kids would probably like to have that phrase criminalized.
Yet I find myself thinking about the concept of “getting there” all the time when I consider Arkansas’s steady journey toward creating a healthy tech-venture ecosystem.
As I think about what I see these days from Arkansas techpreneurs, angel investors, venture capital, the universities, the state, regional and local support structures, I am encouraged. I am optimistic. And I am enjoying the journey.
Yet, this journey never really ends. No region, state or nation ever quite “gets there.” The venture ecosystem nirvana we seek has three intersecting spheres of equal size and gravitational pull. The three venture ecosystem spheres consist of a can-do entrepreneurial culture, a robust university innovation engine and ample early-stage capital.
The intersection region is where the magic happens. The bigger the spheres are, the larger the intersection area, and thus the greater the economic benefits for all.
Arkansas’s three venture ecosystem spheres have grown from nanoscale a decade ago to nearly visible by the naked eye. However, we need our venture ecosystem to be planetary in scale. If you want to see more about my thoughts on the subject, check out the linked presentation, The Innovation Race.
Rather than blathering on about all the specific recent goodness in our journey, I am issuing a challenge to you all.
Tell me what we need to do to engage the warp drive. I am looking for the wisdom of the Arkansas techpreneurial crowd to provide inspiration and acceleration.
Shoot me your list of the three most important things we need to do to get to light-speed in our journey toward our ideal venture ecosystem.
Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?
Not yet and not soon, but if we work together we can certainly accelerate the journey. After all, who really aspires for Arkansas to be just another zombified, also-ran, driving 53 mph in the left lane towards average?
Not me… What about you, techpreneurs?
(Jeff Amerine is an IA advisor, entrepreneurship educator, and officer with the University of Arkansas Technology Licensing Office. Every Thursday, or whenever the spirit moves him, his Techpreneurship blog will appear in INOV8. Drop him a line in comments.)
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Nice article Jeff.
Can-do entrepreneurial culture… Definitely not there yet. I think it starts even earlier than college. The idea that you go to college just “to get a good job” when you get out has to be pulled at the root. The Journal had a nice article a while back exploring student debt as a major reason why people don’t look to create ventures when they graduate.
It is always an against the grain fight… I would say there are many people in Arkansas who would love graduates to be zombified and run the system.
My other aspiration is for Arkansas to have a can-do culture of travel. I firmly believe that getting out and discovering the world can greatly contribute to the can-do entrepreneurial culture here at home.
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Troy
Your points are right on. I talk a great deal to my entrepreneurship class about the fact that they have to view themselves as “the CEO of their own career” because no job in a large organization of any ilk ensures security. With that fundamental understanding, the risk of starting something new, especially when you’re young without many attachments can be kept in perspective. All that’s required is a belief that it can be done and an understanding that failure is just a stepping stone toward ultimate success. Most serial entrepreneurs pick up a ton of scars along the way, and were made better by the process.
Even though the entrepreneurial culture in Arkansas has a ways to go, we have some incredible examples of individuals that built great enterprises with no help whatsoever against a strong running stream of low expectations. We need to build on that.
Regarding the travel piece, I couldn’t agree more. We need our next generation entrepreneurs to be as worldly as any competition they will face and moreover we need to attract many of those who have left to do great things to come back.
Thanks for the thoughtful contribution. I appreciate it.
Jeff
Jeff,
Thank you for asking for our input. Please forgive me if what I’ve written is complete nonsense! ~laugh~ I enjoy the conversation and hopefully can offer a view that will make the right choice that much clearer.
I see this as having 4 steps. The exact order of these steps can be debated. It must be entirely funded by a single group so that the vision is not warped.
How to create a ecosystem.
1.
The first thing we must do is define what players make up this ecosystem. In the world of fashion you have the talent, casting agents, the clothiers, the photographers, the ad agencies, and the publishers/producers. These groups abound in New York and LA. The established players won’t come here (why would they?) so you must replicate what they are doing here on a small scale. Perhaps only one person per engine. Mimic the people, the cash movements, and production, and finally their product delivery. You build all of these out of thin air. It is a mock up, don’t worry about getting people with PhDs. Get actors. You find people who may not be very good, it does not matter, just build the chain literally.
2.
Once this circle/chain has all of its links (actors for now) in place, you give it fake or perhaps real work to do. Let it start to spin. Let it produce at least one thing. It does not matter what it is, just get everything spinning. Let it produce something that has already been done, don’t try to create something new. It is only an exercise so that every link knows how to move and respond. If you don’t come up with something to show, repeat step 2. When you’ve created something worth showing, proceed to stage 3.
3.
Create a message (to be marketed to your new target, that is, every replacement link for the chain you created) that clearly defines how you want to help in a safe way. Keep in mind that this is stage three, you won’t get who you want. You must seek locally only. Find a person, who has knowledge, and have them physically seek, call, and email entities to get linked with this chain. You must seek and find these links yourself, they will not come of their own accord. These real links will play along side your actors. The actors are maturing, the real links are getting cash flow that you’re funding. Think “The Apprentice”.
4.
Now you have a chain with links made up of actors and real people. Now you proceed to play into the public sector. The real links will benefit or they will leave. When every actor has been replaced with a real link (or turned into one), and every real link is getting real cash flow, you will have your ecosystem.
As always Jeff, I enjoy the article and look forward to the next.
I really think that looking at what Jason has laid out, we are beginning to do this. While we have resources at hand, I think that many find them unapproachable.
In just the past 6 months, we have noticed a growing number of people joining the Northwest Arkansas Entrepreneurship Alliance. Programs like Innovate Arkansas and ASBTDC are great resources but I feel are intimidating or even not so beneficial for all of those aspiring entrepreneurs who are “on the fence” or in that weird in between that many of us stay in for perhaps, ever.
I think if we begin to attack that “middle ground,” we will begin to build the market for a more attractable venture ecosystem.
My point is: Arkansas has an entrepreneur community that is showing signs of growing, but it is not all that big as of yet, relatively speaking. To attract and build the kind of Venture EcoSystem needed or wanted here, the entrepreneur community must grow, and grow with quality. The more entrepreneurs, the more opportunity, the more investors, the more capital.
We are on our way. In just the past year it seems like it has came a long way.
Check out this Mashable Op-ED on the entrepreneurship race:
http://mashable.com/2011/02/01/entrepreneurial-race/
It seems everyone is waking up to the idea that new business creation especially new tech business creation is critical to economic growth.
Well, it’s about time.
Jeff