I feel the startup community in Toronto could be stronger and more cohesive.
The book centers around what Brad calls The Boulder Thesis.
“The community is defined by a strong sense of collaboration and philosophy of giving before you get. If you contribute you are rewarded, often in unexpected ways. At the same time and since it is a small community, it is particularly intolerant of bad actors. If you aren’t sincere, constructive and collaborative, the community behaves accordingly.”
Brad moved there after selling his first company, and he was instrumental in building it into a vibrant startup ecosystem through an approach that, by now, can be replicated anywhere in the world, hence the name “The Boulder Thesis”.
I’ve interviewed Brad about what it is like to live in Boulder. You can read that story if you’re interested.
We already have a startup community here in Toronto; but it could be amplified if we applied the Boulder Thesis to it in earnest.
Anyone, of course, can join the Meetup group. But I’m taking it a step further. I’m also creating an ‘inner circle” called, “The Entrepreneurials Backchannel”. (An “Entrepreneurial” is the name I’ve assigned to a member of the meetup.)
The Backchannel is an exclusive Google group. Access shall be granted only to those who have somehow gotten a copy of Brad’s book and made the effort of reading it (or listening to it in the case of an Audible purchase), thereby making clear their intent to foster a tight-knit and supportive startup community in Toronto based on the idea of “Giving before Getting”.
All one has to do to be accepted into the Backchannel is to submit proof (a picture or a screenshot from your phone) that you have a copy a Brad Feld book’s, “Startup Communities”, along with a short essay of what you got out of it which proves that you’ve studied it. Please send your submissions to [themariocantinproject at gmail dot com].
It may sound corny. Whatever… The fact is we must agree to the same ideology if we are to collaborate well, and so I believe it makes sense when considered from this angle.
7) Creating an environment in which service providers benefit back from also giving before they get.
Members of the community will be interacting in meetups, or by conducting conversations on the Backchannel. They can also come to this blog and comment here. We’ll eventually get to know one another and communicate by SMS and email.
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