Insights
The latest research insights and observations from the frontlines of ecosystem building for social change. A one-person think-tank.
Builder Deep Dive with Morgan Allen
The Ecosystem Builder Who Turns Vision Into Infrastructure “If you want clarity, you have to move. Waiting rarely gives it to you.” Some ecosystem builders are natural conveners. Others bring strategic clarity or storytelling brilliance. But every ecosystem, whether local, regional, statewide, or national, ultimately needs one more thing: A builder who can take a […]
2025: A Year of Building, Belonging, and Becoming
As 2025 draws to a close, I took a moment to look back at everything we worked on together. What stood out to me was not a big insight or a neat theme. It was the accumulation of small things that shaped this year: the conversations that grounded me, the moments of clarity that showed up at unexpected times, and the collaborators that showed up – seemingly out of nowhere – to walk part of the way with me. You know who you are.
Builder Deep Dive with Dr. Amy Beaird
The Systems Strategist: How Dr. Amy Beaird Helps Innovation Ecosystems Find Clarity in Complexity “I’ve spent years running the machine – running it, fixing it, funding it. Now I’m focused on redesigning how it works.”Dr. Amy Beaird That one line captures where Dr. Amy Beaird stands today. After nearly two decades leading innovation programs and […]
Builder Deep Dive with Fay Horwitt
The Future of Ecosystem Building: Fay Horwitt on Healing, Empowerment, and Building a Better Way When you ask ecosystem builders around the U.S. who has shaped their thinking on equity and inclusion, one name comes up again and again: Fay Horwitt. A native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Fay has spent the last decade shaping how […]
Builder Deep Dive with Chris Heivly
The future of ecosystem building with Chris Heivly You can’t talk about startup communities and ecosystems without mentioning Chris Heivly. Having engaged with over 5,000+ founders across 70+ cities and 20 countries, Chris lives the mantra “put entrepreneurs front and center”. Known for his extensive work as an ecosystem builder, investor, mentor, and author, he […]
The future is rural
When we think of rural America, we may envision cows grazing lazily on the rolling hills of Vermont, spectacular vistas in the mountains of North Carolina and Kentucky, and long fields in Oklahoma that stretch into the horizon, spotted with red-painted barns, tractors and water towers. We imagine lively, quaint downtowns with independently-owned shops and […]
Unlocking ecosystem Building
What they don’t tell you in ecosystem building school When one of my earliest mentors changed cities and careers, I was befuddled that he could step back from his work. He had co-founded the region’s first accelerator for high-growth startups and advocated for the needs of entrepreneurs every chance he got. For more than five […]
Unlocking entrepreneurship
“Oh, and Anika! Don’t forget to tell people what exactly the issue is you talk about solving!”, Tara – my podcast producer – says at the end of our first meeting. “Sure. No problem.” Wait, what? I mean, OBVIOUSLY, I know why we need to build more ecosystems for social change, and why we need […]
Value: Redefined
Have you ever had a question buried so ferociously in the back of your mind that you couldn’t shake it? A voice that piped up every time you came to a crossroads in your personal or professional life? A sense of this-is-not-how-it’s-supposed-to-be that has sunk its claws so deeply into your psyche that you can’t […]