# Working with Governments To Build Sustainable Ecosystems Together

**Published by:** [Durwin](https://paragraph.com/@durwin/)
**Published on:** 2022-11-10
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@durwin/working-with-governments-to-build-sustainable-ecosystems-together

## Content

Building ecosystems need to be sustainable too.Some say governments are hard to work with. Some say corporates are harder to work with. I say anyone is hard to work with if you don’t have alignment and trust. Can governments and startups ever work together effectively? I did a panel session on Techstars Startup Day a while back. The subject was about “Working with Governments To Build Sustainable Ecosystems Together”. What should be the government role in a sustainable startup ecosystem?Nurturing, seeding, helping, supporting all players as much as possibleBeing a beacon of hope and possibilities, rallying the players to come together and support one anotherProviding grants for founders, accelerators, VCs and related industries to spur research and developmentHowever, do note that it is not sustainable for the gov to keeping bolstering, bleeding money to support everything, everyone, all at once and in perpetuityEvery player in the ecosystem plays a key role in growing the community.What does a successful partnership between ecosystem players and governments look like?When objectives are aligned, milestones are hit and more startups flourish over a longer time horizonThe litmus test for whether the government is doing a good job is when you see more startups across the different stages flourishingHow do organizations like StartupX work with government institutions successfully?Start with understanding and aligning core objectivesFor eg. the government wants to boost more accelerators in SG, what they really want is to provide quality support for slightly more mature startups to continue growing and in turn help the entire ecosystemA possible solution is not just to think of downstream, but going further upstream to seed more founders and interest in the space in generalPatience and communications — gov works a little slower and there are ways to communicate for effectLike Brock and Venom, a symbiotic relationship is key.Other than the government, what else does a sustainable startup ecosystem need?Government, Founders, Funding, Universities and more foundersYou can never have enough founders, so more founders is always a good thingStartup ecosystem isn’t a database on a blockchain or an engine in a machine shop, it is a living breathing ever-adjusting amorphous organic entity that resembles a network of interconnected peopleIts not all roses and sunshine, there are challenges too. What the working level wants and can do can be dramatically different from what their bosses at the management level wants.At the core of it, community building is about providing long-term value that will sustain itself.They may think and plan long term, but operate on a short term basis. Ultimately, they have to show results and results are due at the end of every financial year or for civil servants, when their bonuses are due i.e. performance review season. The money is there, but unless you fall squarely into the criteria and fit into what they are exactly looking for, you wont get it. Testing, pilots, trials, and one-off projects that takes huge effort to kickstart and dies off prematurely. So for anyone out there working or thinking of working with corporates and governments, having a good understanding of what it takes and going in eyes wide open is crucial. - Who is harder to work with? Governments, Corporates or Startups? - #startups #business #startupx #growth #success #socialmedia #culture #entrepreneurship #strategy #eth #bitcoin #government #lessons #corporates #innovation

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