Startup Ecosystem Canvas: How to Map Out Your Local Startup Community

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The Startup
Ecosystem
Canvas
How to Make Your Startup Community More
Transparent

Fragmentation Kills Startup
Ecosystems
In Startup Communities, Brad Feld (Co-Founder of TechStars and Foundry
Group) describes the dangers of fragmentation. According to Feld,
"fragmentation kills local entrepreneurship", and a “philosophy of
inclusiveness” is a key pillar of a vibrant startup ecosystem.
Fragmentation can’t be fixed overnight, but if you map out your local
ecosystem, then you can immediately make it more transparent and inviting
for newcomers.
Hence, we developed the Startup Ecosystem Canvas to help
startup leaders map their local ecosystem in a framework that
makes it more transparent and inviting for new entrepreneurs.

The Canvas Template/
Infographic
1. Startup Ecosystem
Canvas Template
Access the free template
2. Startup Ecosystem
Infographic
See a sample
infographic

Main Components of the Canvas
** It is important to note that Canvas is not meant to provide a rigid roadmap for entrepreneurs
to build a company - rather, it is designed to provide a logically organized map of local
resources to help entrepreneurs on their journey.
THE STAGES: THE
SUPPORTERS:
Idea Stage
Launch Stage
Growth Stage
Evangelists
Government
Talent
THE OUTPUT: Success Stories

STAGE 1: The Idea Stage
The idea stage is where new and early-st
age entrepreneurs get inspired, learn the
basics and best practices of building tech
nology
companies, develop their skills, validate
their ideas with experts, and begin to buil
d
their team and product.

1. Startup Media: Startup media typically
provide centralized local startup information,
listings, and news. For the purposes of the
Canvas, these can range from things like local
startup blogs and event listing services (ex.
Startup Digest and F6S), to local mailing lists,
newsletters, Facebook groups, or LinkedIn
Groups.
2. Inspirational Events: These are the
events that welcome people into the startup
community, and inspire those with ideas to
think about launching a company. In most
markets, this includes events like Startup
Weekend, university event series’, idea fairs,
and inspirational Meetups.
Idea-Stage: Inspire

1. Best Practices: These events are less about
inspiration, and more about knowledge-sharing
and learning the startup best practices. In other
words, these events serve to educate rather
than inspirate. Common examples include 1
Million Cups, Startup Founder 101 Meetups,
Startup Grind, and more.
2. Training & Feedback: With idea in hand,
bootcamps and training programs that provide
feedback can help aspiring entrepreneurs build
and validate their ideas. Examples include
programs like the Founder Institute, General
Assembly, Lean Startup Machine, and more.
Idea-Stage: Educate

1. Team Formation: Obviously, team
formation for startups is key. While you can
argue that all startup events facilitate
networking and team formation, this section
should only include resources that specifically
facilitate networking and early-stage team-
building; like CoFoundersLab, FounderDating,
and more.
2. Build First Product: Budding entrepreneurs
can get help building (or start building) their
MVP and first versions of their product through
many resources, and the most common ones
include hackathons, builder-focused events
and workshops, and more.
Idea-Stage: Validate

In this stage, entrepreneurs establish
and formalize the company, develop
their product, get feedback from
customers, and prepare for the next
step.
STAGE 2: The Launch
Stage

1. Establish: This includes resources to
help entrepreneurs set up the legal and
financial frameworks for their companies,
like local law firms and banks that
specialize in addressing the unique
challenges of startups.
2. Workspace: Co-working and flexible
workspaces can provide a good breeding
ground for new companies. As we are still
in the "Launch-Stage", permanent office
space is not included at this juncture.
Launch-Stage: Start

1. Formalize: As a company and team begin
to grow, they often need resources to help
them more formally set up their infrastructure
(accounting, HR, recruitment, product, etc).
This section can include accountants,
headhunters, software development houses,
and more.
2. Prepare for Seed: Seed funding is a big
milestone for most startup teams, and many
ecosystems have advanced events and
mentorship programs to help teams prepare
for seed. This includes Startup Weekend Next
and other pre-accelerator events and
workshops.
Launch-Stage: Develop

1. Seed Accelerators: The next step in the
equation for most ecosystems is a local seed
accelerator, like TechStars, Seedcamp, or any
accelerator built upon the Y Combinator model.
2. Pitch & Demo: Whether a company goes
through an accelerator or not, they often need a
way to present their company to a large number
of angel investors in order to garner a large
seed investment. Pitch events and demo days
can provide this opportunity.
Launch-Stage: Launch

Here, a startup proves their utility,
receives recognition, and scales up. This
usually requires funding and other
resources to drive growth.
STAGE 3: The Growth Stage

1. Investor Networking: Many ecosystems
have ways to connect professional investors
with founders, like events, groups, and
associations. Examples could include things
like Keiretsu Forum, or local venture capital
associations.
2. Major Media: The major media can play a
role in the startup ecosystem as well, by
providing exposure for companies to
mainstream audiences. In this section, you
should list any major local media channel that
champions local companies.
Growth-Stage: Recognition

1. Angels / Micro-VCs: These
investors focus on the seed-stage,
and can include "Micro-VCs" (AKA
"Super Angels"), Angel Syndicates,
and individual angel investors.
2. Venture Capitalists: These
investors typically participate in the
Series A stage and beyond, such as
institutional venture funds.
Growth-Stage: Funding

1. Infrastructure: With capital in hand
(whether via funding or revenue), a company
will often need to invest in infrastructure to
grow. This includes expenditures like office
space, HR, business insurance, and more.
2. Expansion: In many cases, capital-rich
companies will also look for new areas of
growth, such as new product lines or
international markets. Consultants, corporate
accelerators, and growth accelerators/
consultants typically can help provide
assistance in local markets.
Growth-Stage: Growth

To facilitate the startup stages, every
ecosystem needs strong supporters like (1)
Evangelists, (2) Government, and (3)
Talent.
The Supporters

Evangelists are people that have taken a
leadership position in a community by
frequently speaking at startup events,
leading or mentoring various startup
programs, and generally "paying-it-
forward".
In Startup Communities, Feld says “the
startup community must be led by
entrepreneurs”. We could not agree more,
so the more evangelists you have that are
successful entrepreneurs, the better.
The Supporters: Evangelists

Public organizations that facilitate local
economic development should not drive a
startup community, but they can play an
important support role via policy, funding,
events, and more. This can include Chambers
of Commerce, Economic Ministries, Public
Innovation and Economic Development
organizations, etc.
In Startup Communities, Feld classifies
supporting organizations like these as the
"feeders" to a startup ecosystem - but not the
"leaders".
The Supporters: Government

Local universities and employers can have a
large impact on a local startup ecosystem by
attracting, developing, and retaining a high
quality pool of local talent.
1. Local Universities include any colleges or
universities with prominent technical or
business programs.
2. Local Employers include any major
companies that employ a large local
workforce.
The Supporters: Talent

When you add up all the Startup Stages
and the Supporters, hopefully the output is
successful homegrown companies.
"Successful" is obviously a relative term, so
depending on the maturity of a given
ecosystem this could include homegrown
companies that have achieved significant
milestones like raising institutional funding,
generating significant revenue, employing a
large workforce, or achieving liquidity.
The Output: Success Stories

Tips to Use the Startup Ecosystem
Canvas

Want an Infographic like this for your
city?

In order to promote transparency in startup
ecosystems across the globe, the Founder Institute will
create these local infographics for you, for free.
If you would like a Startup Ecosystem Infographic created
for your community, simply follow the guidelines and send
us your completed canvas, and then we will devote the
design resources to create the infographic for you ASAP.
Contact us here or learn more about the Startup
Ecosystem Canvas at http://fi.co/canvas.
Our Offer

Startup Ecosystem Canvas: How to Map Out Your Local Startup Community

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