By Chris Heivly, Managing Director at Build The Fort and Startup Community EIR @ Techstars

Too soon for another Seth Godin reference? As many of you know who meet with me 1 on 1, not a day goes by that I don't pull something from my Seth library. He just has a way of climbing into my head and his thoughts talk to me. A few weeks ago, Seth nailed a truth many of us in the entrepreneurial world often overlook: optimized systems are great —until they’re not. I reinterpret this with the phrase, possibility over stability.

In 1929, 200 million telegrams were sent. The wiring, technology, staffing, real estate holdings and marketing of Western Union were all optimized around delivering these telegrams profitably and with quality. By most external measures, it was working brilliantly. There weren’t too many things you could do to make the telegram system dramatically better. 

But, when the change agent (the phone, daily mail, radio, TV, the internet, etc.) appears, the optimized organization stumbles. 

Sound familiar? This is why we have startup communities - we are trying to disrupt the status quo as a founder, as an investor, or in support of the change agent.

Because this is exactly the trap we fall into when we try to “manage” startup communities like they're predictable, repeatable, stable systems. They’re not - they are the opposite.

Too often, well-meaning leaders try to engineer a startup community like a project plan or a municipal water system. They optimize for the now — build an innovation center, form a task force to recruit investors, discuss and set organizational KPIs that show progress, hire a director of something-or-other. Hire another associate director of something-or-other.

But startup communities don’t operate like factories. They’re complex systems — more like raising a kid than building a rocket. You can’t command and control your way to inspiring, building and supporting thriving founders. You create the conditions, not the outcomes.

Trying to manage your way to vibrancy is like being the best telegram company in 2025 — irrelevant, no matter how good your system is.

In complex systems like startup communities, short-term efficiency doesn’t lead to long-term success.

So, here’s the kicker: in strong entrepreneurial ecosystems, the insurgents always seem to make the biggest impact. The upstart meetup. The scrappy coworking space. The overlooked founder with a chip on their shoulder and a killer idea.

These are the folks building for the next reality, while the old guard is still rearranging the conference room chairs.

The best startup communities don’t try to optimize the past. They make room for what’s next. 

Which brings us to these questions, if you’re a community builder or ecosystem leader:

• Are you building for stability or possibility?

• Are you trying to manage founders or empower them?

• Are you optimizing for the old normal — or preparing for the next normal?

Because the one thing that’s certain? The rules will change. The players will change. The technology will change. The terrain will change. And, the systems will definitely change.

Don’t get stuck managing yesterday’s efficient system.

Learn more about Techstars Startup Community partnerships, a new way for you to build your thriving startup community as a member of the Techstars network.

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