Startup Communities by Brad Feld

Author:Brad Feld
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Published: 2012-08-30T16:00:00+00:00

In May 2012, the 18th Ignite Boulder (http://startuprev.com/l2) was held. It was Ef’s last, as he’s moved to Amsterdam, but he’ll be back, at least in spirit, for Ignite 19.

BOULDER BETA

Great startup communities are inclusive—anyone can take initiative and create something new. Tim Falls exemplifies this, as you’ll see from his story about the creation of Boulder Beta (http://startuprev.com/d3).

When I moved from Bloomington, Indiana, to Boulder four years ago, I quickly realized I didn’t need go far or wait long to find a gathering of startup enthusiasts. The options were endless: walk down Pearl Street Mall any given day, attend one of the focused Meetups held weekly, get caffeinated with fellow techies at Boulder Open Coffee Club every other Tuesday morning, check out the freshest startups at the Boulder Denver New Tech Meetup on CU’s campus each month, enjoy a geeky chuckle at Ignite Boulder each quarter, meet the newest batch of TechStars during the summer, or hang out each spring for a week for the startup festival known as Boulder Startup Week.

Upon a bit of self-reflection, I realized how much my peers had done for me since welcoming me to Boulder four years earlier. I went from knowing no one to knowing everyone, in a matter of months. I could call on the pillars of the Boulder tech community to help me with any request; and believe me, I requested. I felt a need to give back. I wanted to play a significant role in sustaining Boulder’s awesomeness and taking our community to the next level.

So, I asked myself, “What does the Boulder startup community need that it doesn’t currently have?” I recently discovered an event called SF Beta (http://startuprev.com/o0)—a gathering of the coolest young companies and smartest community members of Silicon Valley. The event created a fun, social environment that fosters rich interaction among entrepreneurs, investors, students, and curious minds, in an informal, social environment. Nothing like this existed in Boulder at the time. Maybe Boulder needed its own Beta?

In order to answer these questions, I began calling on my support network for advice and input. I explained the concept of SF Beta and solicited their opinion on how that model might fit within our existing ecosystem. Although many pointed out the challenges of introducing yet another event, they also acknowledged that our community wasn’t perfect and that there’s always room for more great things.

I arranged a meeting over coffee with a select number of the smartest Boulderites I knew to get feedback and shamelessly ask for sponsorship money. To my delight, I secured funding immediately thanks to a Googler named Alex, who worked at their local office. I then reached out to the founder and organizer of SF Beta, a complete stranger, and I sold him on the opportunity of expanding his model to our unique community. Within a few months of hustling, Boulder Beta was born.

In February 2011, we launched with our first event. We featured 10 local startups at a bar downtown. Four hundred people

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