218: Creating Startup Junkies
Jeff Amerine – Startup Junkie; Jeff Standridge – The Conductor
Welcome to a special episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast! This week, Caleb Talley and Morgan Scholz sit down with Jeff Amerine and Jeff Standridge to talk about their new book “Creating Startup Junkies”. In this episode, you will get to hear about the genesis of the book, the importance of venture ecosystem development, and the crucial pillars to creating a venture ecosystem. This is an episode you do not want to miss out on!
Check out this link to find more information on how to create an effective ecosystem: https://www.creatingstartupjunkies.com/
Shownotes
(2:03) What led to writing a book?
(5:09) Who is the book for?
(14:02) What are the benefits of building a startup in unexpected places?
(20:19) Discussing the four pillars
(27:09) Game changing policy changes for startup ecosystems
(33:14) What is the biggest goal of the book?
(34:36) Wrap up
Links
Quotes
“Otherwise they think of economic development as ‘we’re going to go attract a big plant from somewhere,’ and there’s a place for that, that’s important. But that’s kind of like buying a winning lottery ticket. What we’re talking about in this book, and in everything we do, is sort of the Money Ball play, to use a movie reference. This is the how do you get a better on base percentage with the talent that you have locally, and it’s something that sticks.” (8:10)
“If we believe that this is a movement that can change lives, our defining purpose and reason for being is to empower and enable innovators and entrepreneurs. And by virtue of that, improve their lives or quality or standard of living. The book is a manifestation of that. It’s intended to be a little bit inspiration, a little bit practical and tactical detail for how to do it.” (33:32)
Creating Startup Junkies with Jeff Amerine of Startup Junkie & Jeff Standridge of The Conductor
Are you interested in building or contributing to a startup ecosystem somewhere other than Silicon Valley? Many people possess impactful ideas for businesses but feel as if they do not have the resources or capability to accomplish their goals because they are not located on the coast. Here at Startup Junkie, we believe that innovators and entrepreneurs have the opportunity to succeed outside of the typical venture ecosystem hotspots.
Jeff Amerine and Jeff Standridge, of Startup Junkie and Conductor, respectively, wrote a book titled Creating Startup Junkies: Building Sustainable Venture Ecosystems in Unexpected Places to go into more detail about this very subject. Their passion is empowering and enabling innovative thinkers and creatives, and they dedicate themselves to making those things happen in places like Northwest and Central Arkansas.
“If we believe that this is a movement that can change lives, our defining purpose and reason for being is to empower and enable innovators and entrepreneurs. And by virtue of that, improve their lives or quality or standard of living. The book is a manifestation of that. It’s intended to be a little bit inspiration, a little bit practical and tactical detail for how to do it.” (33:32)
Jeff and Jeff wrote this book for entrepreneurs and innovators. They also wrote it for people who are looking to build a thriving, sustainable venture ecosystem that can support startups in their area. They believe that there is something special in the flyover states, and they want to help others realize their potential. To them, the key to building this ecosystem is not landing a plant from a large company but growing through small, sustainable steps.
“Otherwise they think of economic development as ‘we’re going to go attract a big plant from somewhere,’ and there’s a place for that, that’s important. But that’s kind of like buying a winning lottery ticket. What we’re talking about in this book, and in everything we do, is sort of the ‘Money Ball’ play, to use a movie reference. This is the how do you get a better on base percentage with the talent that you have locally, and it’s something that sticks.” (8:10)
Four key pillars make up the core of the authors’ strategy for building these ecosystems in unexpected places. The pillars are talent, culture, capital, and community engagement. Of these, talent and culture must already exist in a region if it wants to grow its ecosystem. Without talent or a cultural understanding of entrepreneurial importance, the ecosystem is bound to fail. On the other hand, capital and community engagement are much easier to develop in an area that already possesses the ever-important talent and culture.
Policy changes will also play a vital role in the advancement of these ecosystems. Jeff and Jeff believe that some changes that have been put in place to open up the venture capital investment opportunities have actually handicapped its growth. To them, the whole system would benefit from a more free-market where individuals can decide if they would like to invest in a company, rather than the government keeping individuals who earn less than a certain amount of money from investing.
Jeff and Jeff possess an evident passion for growing economic ecosystems in unexpected places, and they are excited to continue to share that with the world. For more information regarding their book, click here.
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