The Startup Champions Network (SCN) met in-person for the first time since March 2020, and nothing notable has happened since then.
All jokes aside, there was a palpable feeling of excitement in the air as SCN convened again in a post-pandemic world, after just sneaking the last San Antonio-based Summit in under the wire March ’12 last Spring. So much of the work that ecosystem builders do depend on human connections, something we’ve all come to realize just doesn’t translate the same way via Zoom.
Ecosystem builders, Geoff said, are inherently bridges.
Bridges to resources. Bridges to people. Bridges to entire communities.
Our primary purpose as ecosystem builders is to help those cross over the troubled waters of venture building and reach the other side. Although bridges alone do not drive an entire ecosystem, they are the infrastructure that enable its entrepreneurs to reach their desired destinations.
This flag really connects with many city residents, perhaps none more than the Des Moines natives in the room who played a big role in bringing the SCN Summit to their city. Accordingly, Geoff showed off the Des Moines flag tattoo that covers his inner arm during the Summit Kickoff.
He is one of the supportive bridges in the Des Moines ecosystem, after all.
The Story of Des Moines
As someone who had never the pleasure of visiting Des Moines before, I have to admit I was pretty clueless about the city’s history. I really thought of the two Big C’s: corn & caucuses. But the SCN Fall 2021 Summit did a fantastic job at letting Iowans tell the story of Des Moines’ development of its entrepreneurial ecosystem over the past couple of decades and arts scene over the past couple of decades.
From there, once these soon-to-be ecosystem builders finally started to gather in the same spaces, the greater Iowa ecosystem began to boom.
Geoff built Gravitate Coworking as a physical representation of the ecosystem.
Eric laid the foundation for NewBoCo to become a force across all stages and ages in Iowa.
And Tej Dhawan co-founded the Plains Angels network to invest in early stage companies in the region.
And The Greater Des Moines Partnership (aka. The Partnership) became a hub to unite the corporate, startup, small business, and artist communities in the city.
Iowa identified two cornerstone industries. AgTech + InsuranceTech: and developed a ton of industry-specific resources to build them up. So now organizations like AgVentures Alliance, Ag Startup Engine, BrokerTech Ventures, and the Global Insurance Accelerator serve as the backbone to clusters of these ventures. Iowa Startup Accelerator and Techstars Iowa Accelerator
https://twitter.com/anikahorn/status/1448297060437041159
Of course there are too many catalysts to properly name/cite here: so apologies in advance if someone is reading this and their contributions are not properly mentioned: but that’s the beauty of an ecosystem that’s rapidly catalyzing. At a certain point, the output becomes much greater than the sum of its parts. That’s where Des Moines’ entrepreneurial ecosystem resides right now.
People Make the Place
Finally, I would be remiss to not touch on the wonderful people that make up the Startup Champions Network community.
Anika Horn: ecosystem builder extraordinaire: set the tone early by getting all the attendees in the mindset of sharing both what they can offer and what they are looking for in one-minute “speed dates”. Once these conversations started to flow, they were hard to stop.
One of the true pleasures of the Des Moines conference was having the opportunity to connect in both formal and casual settings to discuss the work that we do.
For example, after Day 1’s structured programming at Gravitate wrapped up, we each split into smaller groups for Dinner with Locals. This was an incredible opportunity to get a key player in the Des Moines entrepreneurial ecosystem over a meal. I had the pleasure of breaking bread with Craig Ibsen, a Managing Partner for Next Level Ventures, one of Iowa’s (and the region’s) largest venture firms.
https://twitter.com/startupchamps/status/1448095662160154626
Afterwards the good times continued to roll with a visit to Teehee’s Comedy Clubwhere club Co-Owner Sid Juwarker told the story of Des Moines’ developing comedy ecosystem, and emphasized the importance of supporting our own independent arts scene, no matter where we’re from. Otherwise, those artists might just move to Iowa.
https://twitter.com/startupchamps/status/1448099759122788358
The next morning we kicked off the day by attending Des Moines’ local 1 Million Cups (1MC) chapter: a Kauffman Foundation-enabled networking event that occurs in over 160 communities around the country every Wednesday morning. With the Iowa Cubs baseball stadium as a backdrop, we had the opportunity to learn from Iowa’s accelerator leaders about the role their programs play in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. And while this info was incredibly valuable, so was the opportunity to chat with and learn from the 100+ attendees in the more casual setting that it provided.
https://twitter.com/startupchamps/status/1448280913289302028
Last, but certainly not least, we ended Wednesday evening with a session called Roses & Thorns. This was an opportunity to break into smaller roundtables to have open and honest dialogue about our careers in ecosystem building. After all of the interpersonal interactions over the last two days, I came into this session truthfully not knowing what I would get out of it. I mean, hadn’t we already spoken about this at length? But I cannot adequately describe how impactful it was to have a venue to speak from the heart about what it’s like to work in this space.
https://twitter.com/startupchamps/status/1448491328296398854
The space created by our facilitator (shoutout to Fay Horwitt) set a vulnerable tone which led conversations to a place not possible in a larger group setting. I left that room feeling like I got out of a therapy session, feeling understood, rejuvenated, and even more passionate about the work I have ahead of me.
What’s Next?
A common theme of the sessions is that we were finally among the people that understand all of the crazy work that we do. While our day-to-days may be different, the shared motivations and challenges served as a uniting force between us all.
https://twitter.com/startupchamps/status/1449052392952053768
So my appeal to any ecosystem builder reading this. please join us next Spring in Durham, NC March 1 -3, 2022 for what is sure to be another cathartic conference. The fantastic Fay Horwitt, CEO & President of Forward Cities, will be serving as the next Summit host.
My main takeaway from SCN Fall 2021?
Ecosystem building work is hard, but it’s even harder without a supportive community that is going through those same struggles.
SCN offers that community and enables you to be the best bridge you can be.