Building a startup community is not a zero-sum game in which there are winners and losers: if everyone engages, they and the entire community can all be winners.
Brad FeldRead
For a long time, I've ranted against naming your startup community 'Silicon Whatever.' Instead, I believe every startup community already has a name. The Boulder startup community is called Boulder. The L.A. startup community is called L.A. The Washington D.C. startup community is called Washington D.C.
Interpretation
Every startup community should embrace its unique identity rather than adopting generic names.
In this quote, Brad Feld emphasizes the importance of local identity for startup communities. He suggests that each community has its own inherent characteristics and culture that can be better represented by its local name rather than opting for a broad or generic title like 'Silicon Valley.' This focus on specificity fosters a sense of belonging and pride within the community, ultimately leading to more tailored support for local startups.
In practice
A local entrepreneur uses this quote during a pitch to highlight the uniqueness of their business network.
Building a startup community is not a zero-sum game in which there are winners and losers: if everyone engages, they and the entire community can all be winners.
To be an inventor, you have to be willing to live with a sense of uncertainty, to work in this darkness and grope towards an answer, to put up with anxiety about whether there is an answer.
The culture is what creates the foundation for all future innovation. If you break the culture, you break the machine that creates your products.
I think frugality drives innovation, just like other constraints do. One of the only ways to get out of a tight box is to invent your way out.
Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.
There's a silly notion that failure's not an option at NASA. Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.
Predicting innovation is something of a self-canceling exercise: the most probable innovations are probably the least innovative.
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