Tim Falls. I help community happen for a living. A company called Keen IO, based in San Francisco, California (and a company called SendGrid before them) pay me to do this. Quite honestly, I think it's the best job in the world, because I get to travel the world and meet amazing people - like all of you staring at me (or your phones) right now ;) -- but not only that, my responsibility is literally to be nice, help people, and make friends - all of which is quite enjoyable and luckily (like most humans beings) comes naturally to me :) I was invited to this conference, by your friend and CIO, Giancarlo, to talk to all of you fine people about building the startup community in Puerto Rico. So here I am!
about this word “community” and what it really means. > Community at its most basic form is simply people - groups of people; small groups and large groups; those that are close together and far apart - geographically speaking, in terms of career paths, in levels of experience, in age, gender, sexual orientation, etc. But despite all the potential differences along those lines, there's something that binds these individuals together and allows them to self-identify as members of a community.
which each person has a vested interest. People might care about an idea or concept, a mission or goal, a purpose - which come in all shapes, sizes, and levels of magnitude.
gaming, coffee drinking, politics, religion, education, sports. For example, I personally work mostly with software developers and entrepreneurs in my professional role. In my non-work life, I'm in to pitbulls and the sport of wrestling (random, I know) and photography and travel. In fact I've traveled to 30 countries and 60+ cities in the last 4 years, meeting people and establishing relationships all over. Obviously, those people represent many types of humans including and beyond startup founders and programmers, so I find myself identifying with almost countless types of communities. You, too, surely belong to multiple of these communities, because you have multiple passions. You contribute to each of them to varying degrees and in different ways. And your involvement balances itself alongside the collective involvement of your fellow community members.
startup community, whether you realize it or not. I know this, because you're here. Right now. With each other and with me. And that shows me that you care about Puerto Rico. - As members of this community, you naturally want it to be as awesome as it can be. By the end of this discussion, I hope that you feel more prepared to make it so...
universe that have the capacity to "care." - are at the center of everything: your school, your startup, your government, your island, your country, and your planet.
equation of success. And let me tell you - you have really good people here... During my short time in PR so far, my teammates and I have journeyed from here to Mayaguez, from Ocean Park to Old San Juan (numerous times), and many places in between. And we've yet to rent a car or call a cab, because nice, caring, helpful people -- from university students and faculty, to entrepreneurial leaders, to the CIO -- have picked us up at our house and transported us everywhere we need to be. They've educated us on the circumstances of PR, and they've exhibited the culture that we've used to inform our initial understanding of this place. Surely, we've only begun to scratch the surface of *truly and fully* understanding the culture and the way this community works, but we've learned a lot in a short amount of time - enough to confidently stand in front of you today and attempt to spark a productive discussion and (hopefully) some meaningful action toward a startup community that will be better tomorrow than it is today.
(just like startups themselves) are full of these two things. Sometimes, they are even one and the same. - Puerto Rico is not unique in that it also has many of each, and some of one overlap with some of the other. - Challenges exist within the realm of government policy, education, employment opportunities (see that overlap there?!) and even cultural norms.
right direction, with incentives for entrepreneurship, to bring in outside people and capital, and to encourage important economic activity such as exports, there's much room for improvement. - laws on laws on laws create confusion; things like PrimerPeso.com are addressing this, but haven't yet reached maximum value >
github, fork the repo, and add a button to the site that allows freelancers to use the tool as well! you could even do this with the help of the Code 4 PR team, which meets every Tuesday evening at Piloto 151
new cirriculum such as software engineering; a group of UPR students have grown Hack PR from their first event with 20 participants in 2012 to their 4th event with 300+ in 2014. But what if the education culture shifted away from a preparation for employment and toward preparation for entrepreneurialism?
Silicon Valley, can legitimately complain about a lack of available capital. PR is no different. While I'd firmly encourage those with money to spend and other value to offer to entrepreneurs to make themselves known and open their pockets, I'd also just as firmly suggest to the entrepreneurs in the room: don't let this be a barrier to your progress!
the meaning of community, and I pointed out that you are all part of a community - the community that is Puerto Rico. It's clear that communities come together because there is at least one thing that the individuals in it care about - deeply. Whether you write code and care about python, you teach computer science and you care about algorithms, you create food masterpieces in a kitchen and care about local organic ingredients, or you were elected to office and care about the economic conditions of the commonwealth of PR - you all ultimately care about something above all of those sub-interests: your home, Puerto Rico. You care about having enough food and water to survive, enough money to live a comfortable life, enough freedom to explore the world and learn from others and bring back knowledge to share with your people. So, embrace that caring in yourself, and recognize it in those around you, and let it bring you together in physical and digital places - online and offline - so that you can share with each other, make each other aware of the realities around you, discuss the challenges you face as individuals and as a community, and work together to create the solutions to those challenges.
the power of community. Each person can't know everything, but collectively as a group, you know as much as you possibly can, and you're more able to identify the things you don't know, and you're more likely to solve those puzzles together - not alone. The more you talk to each other, the more you will observe and appreciate the contributions of others; and when that appreciation is shown, you learn more about yourselves and where you fit in the puzzle and where you can optimally act/perform/execute to maximize your participation. (insert plug for Slack channel here somewhere)
of this place, I know far less than most of you about the world/ecosystem in which you live. And while I *could* stand up here and give advice about how to tackle specific challenges; you all have infinitely more power than I do - especially together as a collaborative unit - to make the change that will lead to an even more fantastic place to call home.
you to everyone here. Because, after 8 days on this island, I consider myself a true member of your community. I've explored from east to west, consumed enough amarillos and Medallas to last a lifetime, and been welcomed with open arms by everyone I've met. (I even called my mother on mother's day and told her I just might move to Puerto Rico next year...) But above all, because of this experience, I also **care** about this place. And I want it to be an even more awesome place for you (and, selfishly, for me, when I return). Because, as awesome as it is, I believe that it *can* be more awesome, and you good people deserve as much as is possible.
and optimistic and motivated. And you've made me feel like a member of the community. And for that I thank you. And I invite you to *my* community(ies) - of mainland America, of California, of San Francisco, and of Keen IO any time you want to visit.
they create a context in which others are motivated.” - Brad Feld (Startup Communities) Everyone is a mentor; and you’re never too old or too you / too experienced or inexperienced, to help others and motivate them to be better.
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