This is a pretty powerful concept! We all know that these "environmental ecosystems" are awesome creators of jobs and wealth…and as the ingredients and/or prerequisites of growing this ecosystems become obvious and understood, it stands to reason that more people and places will proactively engineer them…

that last point, that you have to sustain it, is super important Brad. like you, i'm committed to spending the remainder of my career on that stuff too

from some entrepreneurs who are young to experienced entrepreneurs, and they have to keep caring about the place they live in, their community, and the dynamics amongst them, the people in the community.”
completely agree with both of you guys here. for the emerging communities outside the valley, it may take entrepreneurs being more patient & sacrificing their development in order to become a local success story.

fortunately, i think there's a number of communities across the country that have seen dramatic growth over the last couple years, and i can't wait to see what the 2nd generation within the ecosystem will yield

These ecosystems are vital for democracy, in my view. If you think of it, a "market economy" is a very sophisticated version of Cairo's Khan al Khalili market. For this market to work, it needs products and services made by locals for locals. Modern Entrepreneurs are able to create for local and global consumption, but it is clear local economies benefits tremendously from their work. Almost all product and services we see on the market, were invented by entrepreneurs at some point.

A Kauffman Foundation paper estimates there are over 12 million nascent entrepreneurs at any given time in the US (over 10 times that amount in China and India combined), and that they spend, collectively over $70 billion trying to start their businesses. The report also notes that entrepreneurs invest not only cash, but about ten billion hours of work each year, 2 percent of the total annual hours of work for pay in the United States.

Despite such efforts, research also shows that over 75 percent of these informal, personal investments are made by those that will NOT launch a viable new firm. Having a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem will potentially steer those entrepreneurs that will likely NOT succeed in one of two directions: (a) to stop wasting time and resources and focus on getting relevant experience before starting a company or (b) to find appropriate guidance and resources to make their business a reality.

Finally, entrepreneurs, in my view, are as important as teachers, doctors, firefighters, law enforcement professionals, and all other participants critical for our society to function, because they bring fundamental element to our market-based society: products and services that solve real needs. An entrepreneur is to an economy, as a seed is to a forest. We need more entrepreneurs and we need to focus on true value creation, from all perspectives (ethical, environmental responsibility, social respect and tolerance, inspirational and legacy, etc.) to ensure a healthy society. Money alone should never be the goal, as it is a medium of exchange that enables a society to function. Money quickly becomes worthless in a weak society (see Venezuela, Zimbabwe).

If you're close to the lightrail in south Denver, the lightrail and B/BX bus usually aren't a bad option at all.

Agreed, – creating an "innovation cluster" is key to cultivating a thriving entrepreneurial community in Boulder/Denver. However, just as important as the opportunity for mentorship and building a community of like minded people with whom to share information, ideas and seek out talent is the need to access VC investment. From my observation, the VC community in this region is pretty small and many of the existing firms are struggling in the current economy. Consequently, the scenario that plays out all too often is that of an early stage company that grows to a point where they get funding from out of market VC's who then relocate the company to their local geography. As a result, many of the entrepreneurs who -with success, would be inclined to invest and mentor future companies don't stay here.

So, in the end this seems to be a bit of a chicken and egg quandry. In order to make Boulder/Denver a more vibrant entrepreneurial market what should come first, the money to keep the companies here or the entrepreneurs to stay and fund/mentor the next generation?

It's a difficult thing to listen to feedback from your initial users, the first 25,000, and do the opposite of what they recommend. You alienate your "support base" etc etc. Tough situation.