Building community: How is it done? How important is it? With a mission statement like “to nurture the members of the Savannah community engaged in creative or innovative endeavors and to cultivate an environment in which they can thrive,” The Creative Coast works diligently to support the Savannah startup community.
So we embrace these questions passionately.
Some answers were illustrated this weekend on Daufuskie, a small, bridge-free, yet diverse island that is often the ideal “case-study” for community.
On Sunday, some friends and I were heading to the little island church in a golf cart, the only means of transportation on Daufuskie, and we were running late. Although my friend had the right of way at an intersection, he waved someone to go in front of us saying, “Your cart is faster than ours.”
The other driver accepted the invitation and took off with gusto. As she did, I said, “Oh, that’s Nancy. She’s probably going to church, too.”
On Daufuskie, residents not only know everybody, they know their schedules. Simultaneously, we all registered that riding in Nancy’s cart would get all of us there on time. So we began to shout “Hey, wait for us!”
Farther and farther Nancy sped, not hearing what we said and assuming our waves were friendly greetings. She even waved back. We laughed and continued with one last loud plea. Nancy stopped, my friends and I hopped in and we all made it to church just as the first hymn was finishing.
Later we realized our rented slow cart would not only have made us late, it wouldn’t get us there at all as we passed a guard who was keeping rented carts from going beyond that point.
Knowing Nancy, a member of our community, not only made our goals better, it made them possible.
Community works.
Dan Woods of TechShop, a workspace that provides access to tools, software and space to members nationwide, explains: “If you are on an empty Delta flight or show up at the gym and no one is there, you are happy. Conversely, community is so important at TechShop that if you show up and the place is empty, you are disappointed.”
Community is so important that The Creative Coast has spent 10 years hosting packed events, building a social network exceeding 13,000, and spotlighting at least two community members each week through guest blogs and podcasts.
The Savannah entrepreneurial community helped one entrepreneur pivot this week. Kevin Klinkenberg has for two years been developing Share Savannah, a car-sharing service for residents and visitors. Yet, a month ago, he announced that the pieces were not coming together and he was ready to throw in the proverbial towel.
After meeting with other entrepreneurs, mentors, and investors, relationships he had built through the Lean Startup Meetup, Startup Lounge, FastPitch, etc., Kevin realized he could pivot the business plan a bit and introduce an MVP (minimal viable product) as a way of getting customer feedback and getting out of the starting gate.
It was exciting to see the fire back in his eyes.
On the other hand, this week I was reminded that lack of community can be painful.
One contact sent an urgent email Friday evening. She was pleading for me to find $20,000 of advertising, sponsorship and investors by Sunday to secure a partnership with a national corporation that had shown interest in her idea. Her funding goal was attainable, but I didn’t know her and that makes it difficult to recommend her.
Our entire history was a string of emails: My invitations for her to engage in The Creative Coast’s resources and her explanations for missed meetings.
I wish I could tell you her story is unique. Too often I hear, “if only I were in New York or San Francisco, …” by people who aren’t doing the needed work in Savannah. Dozens of times I have seen such people relocate, only to move their problems to a more expensive, less forgiving city.
I hope this woman stays in Savannah and embraces the incredible community that awaits her.
Remember my golf cart buddies? They’re Atlanta friends from Lantern Capital Advisors (http://www.lanternadvisors.com) who offer financial consulting for growing companies.
Bea Wray is executive director of The Creative Coast, a not-for-profit organization that promotes the creative and entrepreneurial community within the region. Bea can be reached at 912-447-8457 or bea@thecreativecoast.org