Small Cities Weekly | 08.11.2023
Wilmington NC, The Silicon Valley Small Business, & Going Green
As part of the work we are doing on the Small City Segment, we send out a brief weekly post of thoughts and links that reflect the week’s work. I’d love to hear from you if you have any thoughts, questions, disagreements, or things to add! And please forward this on to people you think might enjoy reading it.
Thoughts
I’ve been thinking a lot about the process of building entrepreneurial “ecosystems”. I’m not sure that I always understand what is meant by the word “ecosystem”, nor am I convinced that you can build one. It seems to be something that emerges from a certain set of conditions - much like the way Brad Feld and Ian Hathaway talk about in Startup Communities.
If that’s the case, it seems instead of focusing on outcomes (e.g., a certain number of startups created per year) we should focus on creating initial conditions. Instead of treating it like manufacturing, treat it more like a chemical reaction. Our job is to mix interesting ingredients, see what naturally emerges, and then double down on what is interesting.
I’m still not sure exactly what that means, but I think there is a lot to explore that could give small cities a more viable path to creating unique, authentic, and productive entrepreneurial identities.
Links
What’s up with Wilmington? The small city with surprisingly strong startup roots, Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington
Those already familiar with the coastal town, nestled in southeast North Carolina between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic, know the ocean, weather, low cost of living – and yes, the surfing — are natural perks for transplants.
But move beyond the beach and you will find an entrepreneurial scene growing on surprisingly fertile soil. The city has become a FinTech and banking hub over the past few years, sparking the growth of a new class of tech startup founders.
So how exactly did a town of about 130,000 become home to tech success stories ranging from nCino to untappd?
For locals, it’s a manifestation of the hard work put in over the last few decades…Most people you talk to will trace the roots of Wilmington’s modern entrepreneur scene back to 2005 with the launch of Live Oak Bank. Unlike traditional banks, they started hiring domain experts — like veterinarians, health care providers, and pharmacists — to navigate industry-specific loan deals. Not only did this method grow Live Oak into the country’s most active small business loan lender, but it also helped establish Wilmington’s FinTech ecosystem.
I love this story because it shows how starting with what you know and serving local needs in innovative ways can give rise to a lot of secondary entrepreneurial outcomes. Not only did Live Oak find new ways to serve small businesses from their region, doing so created a new industry to be served by startups.
The Rise of the Silicon Valley Small Business, Anu Altluru
Many founders are rethinking what can feel like a one-size-fits-all, Silicon Valley approach to building startups. They’re embracing a more diverse set of paths and experimenting with a middle-ground approach—one that combines the fiscal discipline of small businesses with the scaling ambition of Silicon Valley.
A few weeks ago we talked about how building for small city markets could not just change what gets built, but also how companies get built. This piece pushes this thinking a lot farther than I did and outlines an interesting way to think about the best characteristics of the Silicon Valley mindset and the traditional main street businesses that we all know and love.
How Small and Midsize Legacy Cities Can Pursue Equitable, Comprehensive “Greening”, Lincoln Institute on Land Policy
Today, smaller legacy cities are regional economic centers and county seats, with a modest sense of scale, history of productive know-how, and access to farmland, forests, and water assets. They are crucial to constructing a more sustainable, equitable low-carbon world.
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