But don’t fret—community lenders are helping small businesses. Meet the community lenders. Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) are one type of community lender. Chances are there’s a community lender near you. MORE

I was just talking with someone who's new to Los Angeles and wanting to connect into the Los Angeles Startup Community. I told them that I had recently seen several posts/articles talking about how vibrant the community has become. Los Angeles Startup Community Posts/Articles Here are some interesting articles and posts on the ecosystem around startups in Los Angeles. Who are the people you should meet in the Los Angeles Startup Community to get wired in MORE

I was just talking with someone who's new to Los Angeles and wanting to connect into the Los Angeles Startup Community. I told them that I had recently seen several posts/articles talking about how vibrant the community has become. Los Angeles Startup Community Posts/Articles Here are some interesting articles and posts on the ecosystem around startups in Los Angeles. Who are the people you should meet in the Los Angeles Startup Community to get wired in MORE

He was an integral part of the entrepreneurial community here in Colorado. I just went and made a gift as a contribution from the Boulder startup community. If you’ve benefit from the local startup community, which Kevin and Karen gave so much of themselves to, please make any size contribution. The post Suicide, Cancer, and Community appeared first on Feld Thoughts. At the end of the day yesterday I gave a talk at the opening of Galvanize Boulder. MORE

We’ve time and again shared the importance of niche social communities in today’s digital world. Niche social communities work when they’re connected, engaged and generate consumer value. Why you need niche communities? What are your favorite communities? MORE

The Mozilla Gigabit Community Fund is expanding to Austin in August. The projects might […] The post Mozilla Gigabit Community Fund Expands to Austin appeared first on SiliconHills. MORE

6 Ways To Create A Community On Your Blog When you create a community on your blog, it helps to build a connection with your audience. So what’s so special about a community? Here are 6 methods that will help you to create a community on your blog. MORE

Not necessarily for selling more, but to develop your community spirit. Helping the community, is a way to future proof your brand. In this post, I’ll share case studies of brands that are helping the community. The end of the year is the season of giving. MORE

We threw a Launchpad LA dinner to bring the community together as we tend to do 6-10 times a year. Brad wrote up his answer here – you should read it because it’s very instructive for how I believe communities ought to think about naming conventions. MORE

For now, the title is “ Startup Communities: Creating A Great Entrepreneurial Ecosystem In Your City.” If you are a leader in your entrepreneurial community and have something you want to add , email me 500 – 1000 words. The Boulder Entrepreneurial Community. Principals of a Sustainable Entrepreneurial Community. Welcome Everyone Into The Entrepreneurial Community. Why The Community Matters Most. Community Power. MORE

It’s not often that we […] The post Procore Technologies Hosts Summer Solstice Kick-Off Party for Austin Tech Community appeared first on SiliconHills. Procore Technologies, which makes construction management software, is hosting a Summer Solstice Kick-Off party next Thursday. MORE

As Boulder Startup Week 2014 comes to an end, I have been reflecting on the power of startup communities today. When I wrote Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City , I made some assertions about how to build startup communities and what the impact of them would be on society. This reflection led me to think about how to wire up the largest startup community in the world. MORE

I knew that many LPs nationally were not yet convince about the power of the LA tech community and I figured if they could experience it for themselves they would be as convinced as I had become. Community. In Los Angeles the venture community is very collaborative. MORE

How to build regional entrepreneurial communities has just gotten it’s first “here’s how to do it” book. Feld’s thesis is that unlike the common wisdom, it is entrepreneurs that lead a startup community while everyone else feeds the community. Community Culture. MORE

From Chattanooga to Omaha to Las Vegas, many cities in the US – and around the world – are building startup communities. Behind every successful startup community is a group of young people with their entire life ahead of them. Over time, as they learn who they are as young adults, they grow the communities they are a part of into something unique. So how do growing communities retain them? Books Boulder fletcher richman Spark Boulder startup communities MORE

So this weekend was about startup communities with a bonus book on the startup visa tossed in for good measure. The history is so much richer, the one page stories about the companies the shaped each era are just awesome, and the perspective of what 120 years really means for a the startup community that is undeniably the most robust in the world right now is very powerful. This is a great snapshot in time – right now – to show how startup communities develop anywhere. MORE

I started my talk off today by showing a video that the Kauffman Foundation just did for Startup Communities. Startup Communities kauffman money game sketchbook startup communities thinc iowa MORE

On Digital Sabbath #5, I read Tech and the City: The Making of New York’s Startup Community. We had a fun hour long talk with Q&A, a lot of it about Startup Communities. If you are involved in the New York startup community, this is a must read book. If you are interested in startup communities in general, it’s a substantive history and current explanation of what is going on in New York. Books new york startup communities MORE

David Cohen just put up The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Boulder Startup Community. It’s a short presentation that you can look at below and is a great way to get a lay of the land in the Boulder Startup Community. Boulder startup communities MORE

As I continue to talk about Startup Communities , I say over and over and over again that the leaders have to be entrepreneurs. Now – members of feeder organizations can play a leadership role, but in the absence of a critical mass of entrepreneurs, the startup community won’t ever develop into anything meaningful. For example, when he asked, “What’s the most important step an entrepreneur can take to create a startup community?” MORE

This comes on the heals of Upfront managing director Mark Suster’s great post titled Embracing Your Community as a Strategy which I encourage you to read as it is magnificent. You are doing amazing things in the LA startup community. MORE

Her book, Regional Advantage , had a huge impact from on my thinking around Startup Communities. It’s awesome – anyone that cares about how entrepreneurial communities work must read this. If you are interested in startup communities, I hope you will listen to this podcast. The post A16Z Podcast on Startup Communities appeared first on Feld Thoughts. Entrepreneurship a16z AnnaLee Saxenian Chris Schroeder podcast startup communities MORE

This year, Hugh Forrest, director of programming at SXSW, […] The post Ten SXSW Interactive Events Highlighting the Austin Tech Community appeared first on SiliconHills. A lot of locales have left town and rented out their homes on HomeAway and AirBnB to pay for their vacations. This is an early indicator that it’s time for Austin’s largest, and one of the world’s largest, technology, music and film conferences: South by Southwest. MORE

With Brad Feld coming to town this week, I think it’s a good time to evaluate the state of San Diego’s Startup Community. He is an entrepreneur turned investor, a co-founder of the TechStars accelerator program, a prolific author and a community builder. MORE

I have never been more optimistic about the impact that the tech startup community is having on cities in America or about the role that cities outside of San Francisco / Silicon Valley can play in our future. The Foundations of the Seattle startup community. MORE

At Foundry Group, we have a deeply held belief that we benefit from our local community (Boulder, in our case) and that we have a responsibility, as we have success, to give back to our local community. “The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County announced last week it will grant an additional $300,000 to local Boulder County nonprofits this summer in response to a 62 percent cut in funding from Foothills United Way. MORE

The post AVC and Feld Thoughts Communities Rally $100,000+ For The ACLU appeared first on Feld Thoughts. Sunday morning Fred Wilson put up the following blog post: A $20,000 Match Offer On ACLU Donations Today. It came after a flurry of emails that started with one from me at 7:41am. MORE

I’m excited to announce the launch of the Colorado Startup Community Fund. This is a $200,000 fund for providing financing to support activities, events, and organizations in the Colorado startup community. The Startup Colorado Community Fund from Startup Colorado on Vimeo. MORE

Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City is officially shipping. The article - This is how you build a tech community - follows up on a Bloomberg article that Vivek wrote in 2010 titled Why Boulder Is America’s Best Town for Startups. Jerry Colonna also wrote an awesome post riffing off of Startup Communities titled The Sarajevo Effect. Startup Communities MORE

Since I haven’t yet figured out how to be in two places at the same time, I ended up recording a short video for a meeting on entrepreneurial communities that I was invited to. In it, I talk about my first of four principles of entrepreneurial communities, specifically that entrepreneurial communities must be led by entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial Communities entrepreneurial communities TechStarsI’m about to head out to TechStars New York Demo Day. MORE

Like most other community radio stations, Radio Boise is a not-for-profit organization. There’s also a small group of steadfast individuals, including community members, who help keep the station up and running. Here are five things they learned from starting a community radio station. MORE

I recently wrote about the 12 tips to building successful startup communities. Failure in startups seems to now be embedded in startup communities like NY and LA. I’m absolutely certain it is critical to any startup community. MORE

How to Make Community the Secret To Success written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing. The word community has been with us for centuries. A town, a church, a school, a collection of hobbyists, have all long been identified as communities. MORE

Community really refers to everyone who touches or is touched by your brand MORE

I think startup communities being simple cheerleaders doesn’t help anyone. But no community can become complacent with the wins that it has. But I’ll bet the Boston community would take 50% of the success of Facebook built locally. Luckily for our community the founders decided they wanted to build their company in LA regardless of not having local funding from LA. So what can a community do? Communities can make a difference. MORE

Two of the most common are the rise of startup communities and the role that the Internet can play in allowing society to governing itself. Let's start with Startup Communities by Brad Feld. There are many themes that grace this page from time to time. MORE

So it was an incredible honor to interview Jim for 45 minutes last week at the Startup Phenomenon event about Startup Communities. We spent the time applying the ideas from Jim’s books and research to the idea of Startup Communities. One of my heroes is Jim Collins. MORE

When we think of giving back to the community, we often think of dramatic relief efforts like those that supported the victims of Hurricane Katrina back in 2005. Sponsor community events. Lead a community service program. Every community has its own issues. MORE

These days, we’re hyper-focused on marketplaces, communities and social platforms. This increased value can be in the form of cost reduction (in user acquisition as an example), higher liquidity (in a marketplace), stronger community or deeper relationships (in social networks), etc. Likewise, in a community or social platform, users can be content creators, content consumers, or both. MORE

Matt and I were on the FeedBurner board together and he’s got a powerful connection between LA and Chicago – another city with an incredibly thriving startup community. The post The Rapidly Growing Chicago and LA Startup Communities appeared first on Feld Thoughts. MORE

When utilized in the most proper manner, a large community on Instagram for your brand can be a highly-effective visual advertising channel. In this post, I will show you clever ways of using Instagram to increase customer engagement and building a massive community for your brand. MORE

My newest book, Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City , will ship around the end of the month. Between now and Sunday, if you pre-order a copy of Startup Communities, you will be entered into a random drawing. TechStars’ Feld Publishes Startup Community Book. Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City. Startup Communities book startup communities startup revolution MORE

For more than four years, San Antonio’s technology community has been percolating with excitement amidst a ground swell of support bubbling up to create a vibrant startup industry. And now, […] The post San Antonio Tech Community to Host its First Startup Week appeared first on SiliconHills. MORE