The new Verge questionnaire and screening process for attending meetups prompted what I think was a good discussion yesterday about how to best manage a burgeoning startup and innovation community.
I think I have a good understanding of and appreciation for the motivations of people on both sides of the aisle. It’s actually a somewhat old debate that has been going on for about the past 18 months in Indianapolis. Let me tell you where I stand:
- Indianapolis needs a non-exclusive, everybody welcome tech event and I think Verge is in the best position to provide that event
- Indianapolis needs a variety of smaller, exclusive, niche events organized around a specific purpose
- Most importantly, the Verge organizers should be able to do whatever that want with the event. Sometimes that means firing an old customer to better serve another one.
1. Indianapolis needs a non-exclusive, everybody welcome tech event
There is no better place to inspire future generations of entrepreneurs or future generations of “support” entrepreneurs, that is the people who join an organization early on but aren’t interested in ever being founders, than an event like Verge. Being around people who have gone out and started something, successful or not, provides people with role models and the confidence of “I can do it too.”
This also includes people who are “intrapreneurs.” These are the people who aren’t starting companies, but work for big companies and have an entrepreneurial mindset. Micah Baldwin of Boulder, whom you might recognize as a Combine speaker, talks about the important role these people play in every startup community.
I think the new Verge screening process excludes people who might one day be valuable to the startup community and there is no other event to take its place. Some could argue Techpoint should play a role in uniting the larger tech community, but for whatever reason, I don’t think they’re motivated to or they don’t know how to do it in this new world of tech we live in.
I don’t think it’s worth the effort to screen out social media experts and consultants and lawyers just looking for business at the risk of throwing the baby out with the bath water.
2. Indianapolis needs a variety of smaller, exclusive, niche events organized around a specific purpose
We already see some of this in play with events like Indy.rb, Linking Indy Women, Indy Hackers, and the Indy Social Media breakfast. These events are smaller and because of that, they’re naturally exclusive. If you don’t fit in with the group, you’ll feel really uncomfortable showing up. I actually think every motivation for making Verge more exclusive could be better served by an even MORE exclusive smaller event.
3. The Verge organizers should be able to do whatever that want with the event
I’m not just capitulating when I say this is the most important. It is the most important because the Verge organizers are the ones who make this happen and I can’t see them being motivated to keep making it happen if they’re not building something they want to build.
If they decide that Verge isn’t going to be that open tech-event where everyone is invited, then it’s an open door for someone to create that event. I think it will be a lot harder now because it will seem like the new event is just a poor-man’s Verge, but it’s not at all impossible.
Should Verge be more like SXSW Interactive where it gets bigger and bigger every year and the original people complain about all the new “posers,” yet it’s still the place to hear about the biggest trends in tech? Or should it be more like Ted, where a large part of the value is that no one gets through the door unless they’re qualified, thus, you can be 100% certain EVERY conversation is with an A-lister.
Both models have a place in this world.
