Committing 20 Years to Community Building

Brad Feld (Techstars co-founder and VC) wrote two books on building and sustaining entrepreneurial ecosystems. One point he emphasized again and again was the importance of the long game. If you were serious about getting started, you had to commit to a 20-year time horizon.

A few years later, I met another Techstars Mentor who was repeating this playbook in Houston and Oklahoma. He described how Houston had almost no startup scene, but eventually followed the Boulder/Denver trajectory. They were just 10 years behind that curve. And Oklahoma was another 10 years behind Houston. Each city would get there, but it would just be later.

I arrived in OKC in 2020, and I’m sad to report that this timeline will take much longer than I expected… if OKC is ever going to get there at all.

What Have You Done For Me Lately?

Truth be told, I had aspirations of being part of the growth of the startup scene in OKC, but my attention was always with my clients on the coasts. So I stood by, hoping someone else would lead the charge.

While local VCs and accelerators have made valiant efforts, they still haven’t taken root here as much as I had hoped by now.

So I started taking matters into my own hands, at least in one aspect.

After my mom died in April, I was reminded of the importance of prioritizing community. It was both soul-filling and her superpower. Her best friend of nearly 70 years (they met in preschool at age 4) made me appreciate my two best friends of 44 years (we all met when we were 1).

So I started a local Meetup here in Edmond. It’s nothing earth-shattering, but it already feels like it’s having a profound impact on the 8-9 people who have shown up.

Why?

People Are Starved for IRL Connection

Since the world went full-remote during COVID, I think we haven’t come to terms with how critical local, in-real-life connection is for most people.

At last Wednesday’s meetup, two new folks shared how isolated they have felt in their profession. One gentleman noted he’s willing to travel long distances from out of town for one local meetup of about 5-6 people, to have colleagues to interact with.

In the interim, they are all isolated in their home offices.

My Commitment

Brad said people should make an earnest 20-year commitment if they’re serious about building community.

I’ve lived here for 6 years, and my wife and I plan on being in Oklahoma until both our kids go to college (at least 11 years from now). So while it’s not a full 20, and I gave it a half-hearted start, I’m determined to take it more seriously from here.

I need it.

And others need it.

Otherwise, we’ll all keep feeling like strangers in a crowd.

And if all it takes to get started is a Meetup invite and a couple of pizzas, it’s a no-brainer.