The tech and innovation ecosystems are dynamic and interconnected networks fuelled by startups, traders, establishments, corporates, people and different entities.
Startup Genome means that ecosystems are sometimes outlined inside a 100km radius from a central metropolis, offering governments with data-driven insights to benchmark success and focus their efforts.
However what actually occurs inside an ecosystem? Whereas enterprise capital and deal stream dominate conventional metrics, they fail to seize the total image.
Very similar to manufacturers, ecosystems are outlined by each tangible belongings and intangible values—psychological and emotional elements that affect their behaviours and success.
If it takes a village to boost a startup, then that village should nurture truthful play, attempt for collective success and emotional well-being, somewhat than focusing solely on metrics or monopoly.
Understanding archetypes inside innovation
Each ecosystem has its heroes and villains. Some gamers act as connectors and builders, laying the muse for development and constructing networks.
Others set boundaries, creating obstacles and eroding belief. Probably the most troubling actuality is that unhealthy actors typically fail to recognise the hurt they trigger—whether or not by means of poisonous management, unethical practices, exclusionary behaviour or simply sheer competitors.
Reflecting on these dynamics, I used to be impressed by a session on private and crew archetypes led by Lisa Johnston, founding father of Components Package.
It prompted me to think about the archetypes shaping the Australian tech ecosystem. Who they’re, how do they affect our collective and private development, and the way we will navigate their complexities to maintain transferring ahead.
Borrowing the framework from the traditional spaghetti western The Good, the Dangerous, and the Ugly, I’ve mapped 15 archetypes shaping an innovation ecosystem.
Every archetype is represented visually by an animal, capturing its essence and behavior. Let’s discover the zoo!
The Good: Champions of development
The Builder
Builders create platforms that nurture future alternatives, highlight rising leaders and allow data sharing.
They create invaluable areas for collaboration, deal-making, and celebrating collective success, forming the spine of their ecosystem.
One instance is an occasion organiser who curates gatherings the place concepts flourish, partnerships kind and the group thrives.
Steering: Maintain fostering connections and amplifying new voices, however bear in mind to deal with business sustainability to make sure your occasion navigates by means of difficult instances. Rejoice successes, but in addition adapt to evolving group wants over time.
The Connector
Connectors act as bridges inside the ecosystem, bringing collectively people, firms and sources.
They thrive on fostering new relationships by taking part in matchmaker and introducing folks to one another.
Connectors amplify alternatives, appearing as community catalysts by aligning folks’s expertise with their wants.
Steering: To maximise their influence, connectors ought to prioritise genuine, non-transactional relationships.
Their worth lies of their potential to attach folks based mostly on shared targets, complementary expertise and objective for a mutual profit.
The Visionary
Visionaries are leaders with folks expertise, shiny concepts and the flexibility to ship initiatives.
They organise, encourage and rent the suitable expertise to deliver their imaginative and prescient to life.
They’ll think about a groundbreaking concept, assemble a crew to construct it, and navigate across the challenges.
Steering: Steadiness your big-picture pondering with common actuality checks. Keep grounded by listening to your crew and embrace constructive suggestions.
Success comes from aligning your imaginative and prescient with teamwork.
The Combined: Balancing potential and pitfalls
The Opportunist
Opportunists act swiftly, typically capitalising on moments others overlook.
Whereas their agility can create short-term wins, their tendency to prioritise fast features over long-term objective could hurt belief and injury relationships.
For instance, startups that focus solely on development in any respect value with out contemplating buyer loyalty can burn out shortly.
Steering: Opportunists ought to steadiness speedy alternatives with long-term targets. By aligning short-term actions with sustainable methods, they’ll create lasting worth with out compromising their belief.
The Dreamer
Dreamers are massive on concepts however lack the main target or drive to execute.
Dreamers are pure charmers and provoking brainstormers however unreliable in supply.
They pitch daring ideas however fail to create prototypes or safe funding and groups, leaving concepts unrealised.
Steering: Dreamers ought to take motion and develop self-discipline, associate with doers or smash gross sales.
Deal with turning one concept into actuality somewhat than chasing infinite potentialities. Execution issues greater than creativeness.
The Bureaucat
Bureaucats characterize institutional inefficiency and misplaced priorities. They typically allocate inadequate funding whereas anticipating world-class outcomes or favour a small pool of trusted firms and people.
Even worse, some could exploit mental property by means of funding mechanisms and reporting for their very own initiatives, sidelining the SME’s they goal to assist.
Steering: To keep away from changing into a hindrance, Bureaucats should prioritise long-term success and deal with being enablers.
Offering enough funding to SMEs, defending mental property, and fascinating in open collaboration can rework them into valued contributors somewhat than obstructive forces and competitors.
The Dangerous: Boundaries to progress
The Gatekeeper
Gatekeepers management alternatives, typically excluding girls and underrepresented teams from management or funding.
With only one.8% of funding going to girls founders, biases favouring male-led firms perpetuate the low proportion of ladies in government roles.
Steering: Gatekeepers should evaluate their processes to determine and remove any unconscious biases.
Create inclusive pathways for numerous expertise to entry alternatives they guard. They need to recognise that fostering fairness strengthens the ecosystem and drives everybody ahead.
The Bulldozer
Bulldozers dominate ecosystems by means of sheer drive or groundbreaking innovations, typically overwhelming smaller gamers or markets.
Their techniques, resembling flooding markets or monopolising sources will be seen as confronting.
For instance, a competitor’s AI system could replicate an current one and undercut its pricing, leaving the investor group scratching their heads.
Steering: Bulldozers could possibly be ‘a sputnik second’ and they need to deal with mentorship.
By leveraging their sources to uplift rising innovators, they propel equitable development and may act as catalysts for long-term success.
The Collector
Collectors hoard sources, funding and data with out redistributing or sharing.
Their behaviour kills collaboration and prevents innovation from flourishing.
For example, firms that purchase startups solely to close down their operation hinder the ecosystem’s potential.
Steering: Collectors should undertake a mindset of generosity and openness.
Sharing sources and insights strengthens the ecosystem, creating reciprocal worth and long-term development.
The Ugly: Threats to Belief and Collaboration
The Shadow
Shadows sabotage others by means of rumours, badmouthing or obstruction whereas showing pleasant and educated.
They manipulate belief to place themselves as the only real authority, typically misguiding others as a consequence of their lack of understanding.
A mentor could achieve belief however present poor steering, damaging or slowing down an organization’s progress.
Steering: Management your ego and recognise the boundaries of your experience.
Focus on enabling others to entry numerous views and credible recommendation. True management comes from collaboration, not management.
The Predator
Predators thrive on exploiting weaknesses. This will embrace buying smaller companies to remove competitors or leveraging authorized loopholes to take care of dominance.
For instance, a bigger firm may use patent claims to carry again a smaller competitor’s groundbreaking product, limiting their potential for innovation.
Steering: Steadiness competitors with equity. Wholesome rivalry ought to push everybody to innovate, however exploitation weakens belief and slows down development.
Search collaborations that create win-win-win situations somewhat than preying on the weak.
The Sovereign
Sovereigns declare their territory, pushing others out. This could possibly be literal, resembling monopolising occasion area, or metaphorical, like dominating media consideration.
A worldwide tech firm organising store in a smaller ecosystem may out-hire and out-market native gamers, leaving little room for them to develop.
Steering: Be a steward of the ecosystem. As a substitute of occupying area for private achieve, deal with creating an atmosphere the place everybody can develop.
Recognise that management comes from enabling others to thrive, not ruling over them.
The Shapeshifter
Shapeshifters are chameleons adapting to look reliable and succesful, however they typically lack consistency and integrity.
Their predominant focus is self-interest, and so they could bend relationships for private achieve, compromising their belief.
For instance, a provider may overpromise high-quality manufacturing however ship flawed outcomes or poor high quality, whereas secretly negotiating offers together with your different key purchasers.
Steering: Shapeshifters ought to prioritise authenticity and trustworthy communication to construct stronger and extra respected relationships inside the ecosystem. Transparency is the important thing!
The Manipulator
Manipulators are all about private achieve, providing little to nothing in return.
They construct relationships selectively, typically ignoring or dismissing others until they see a direct profit.
For example, some salespeople could sweet-talk you with out delivering actual worth in return, or seem disinterested, unfriendly, and dismissive — even ghosting you — until they see a chance to learn from you.
Steering: Shift your mindset from fixed conversions to contributing and fascinating. Construct real, reciprocal relationships by providing worth and supporting others.
Acknowledge and respect folks persistently, not simply whenever you want one thing. Your repute will outlast any short-term features.
The Thought Thief
Thought thieves declare credit score for others’ work, whether or not from their groups or exterior sources.
They undermine belief by stealing recognition or IP with none acknowledgment.
This could possibly be a Artistic Director presenting a marketing campaign as their very own work, neglecting to credit score the one who created it, or an government claiming possession of a competitor’s IP, passing it off as the corporate’s innovation.
Steering: Honor originality and provides credit score the place it’s due. Foster a tradition of belief and transparency inside your crew. Encourage collaboration and brazenly recognise contributions to create a wholesome, idea-vibrant atmosphere the place teamwork is a dream work.
Innovation ecosystems thrive on belief, collaboration and equitable alternative, however are additionally pushed by competitors.
Whereas the nice archetypes drive development, the unhealthy and the ugly threaten to undermine these foundations. Recognising, and typically even calling out and addressing dangerous behaviors is essential to fostering environments the place innovation thrives.
As we enter 2025, let’s champion builders, visionaries and connectors whereas addressing the pitfalls of gatekeepers, predators and shapeshifters.
Let’s attempt to construct a legacy of collective progress somewhat than constructing castles and dominating over small gamers or markets.
- George Hedon is the founding father of Pause Fest & Awards, a group builder, designer and enabler of superior.
