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

Every startup community has them.

The big-time enthusiasts. The ringleaders. The people who show up early, stay late, make introductions, encourage founders, and carry a level of optimism that lifts the whole room. These people matter. They create momentum. They make the community feel possible.

And then there’s the other group.

The curmudgeons. The gatekeepers. The bad actors. The community bully. The folks who drain energy, hoard access, stir up unnecessary drama, protect their turf, or simply make it harder than it should be for others to engage. They show up in every ecosystem too. And we all see them.

I don’t know a single ecosystem that, at some point, doesn’t have to look in the mirror and say, “We’ve got some culture issues we need to improve.”

That’s normal.

What matters is what happens next.

When a community leader says they have culture issues to me, I usually respond with a phrase that tends to stop them for a second:

“Everyone, including you, is complicit in the current state of your ecosystem.”

That line can sound a little harsh. And it should. It’s a mini wake-up call for all who care.

Because culture issues in an ecosystem are rarely caused by just one bad apple. Sure, sometimes there are a few loud personalities doing outsized damage. But most often, the real problem is broader than that. It’s what all the other people tolerate. It’s what gets ignored. It’s what never gets confronted. It’s who keeps getting invited back. It’s who no one is willing to challenge. It’s the eye roll, the whispered side conversation, the “that’s just how they are” excuse that slowly becomes accepted truth. It now becomes the norm.

When we accept that behavior or attitude, that's complicity.

If your ecosystem has people who consistently drag others down, and everyone knows it, but nobody addresses it, that behavior becomes part of the culture.

If newcomers feel unwelcome, but insiders keep telling themselves the community is “super supportive,” that disconnect becomes part of the culture.

If founders from underrepresented backgrounds keep having a different experience than the usual crowd, and leadership shrugs or gets defensive, that becomes part of the culture too.

Communities naturally drift toward the behavior they are willing to normalize.

And let me be clear — this is not about public shaming or creating some culture police force. Startup communities are messy. They are human systems. Personalities clash. Egos show up. Competition leaks into collaboration. This is part of the deal.

But healthy ecosystems do one thing better than unhealthy ones: they address the mess.

They don’t pretend it isn’t there.

They don’t hide behind the language of “community” while allowing bad behavior to continue.

So what do we do with this idea that everyone is complicit?

We start by making it personal.

Not theoretical. Not strategic. Personal.

What are you going to do differently tomorrow to improve your ecosystem?

That’s the real question.

Not what should “they” do. Not what should the chamber do. Not what should the ESO do. Not what should investors do. Not what should founders do. Not what should the big sponsor do.

What are you going to do?

Maybe tomorrow you make one meaningful introduction without expecting anything in return.

Maybe you invite someone new into a conversation instead of talking to the same five insiders.

Maybe you stop giving airtime to the person everyone privately admits is toxic.

Maybe you privately call out a behavior that has been quietly accepted for too long.

Maybe you show up with more humility and less ego.

Maybe you stop being a spectator in a community you claim to care about.

Because whether we like it or not, everyone is complicit in the current state of the ecosystem.

The good news?

That means everyone also has the power to help change it.

Read More