How You Can Get Involved with Your Local Startup Community

Tapping into your local startup community can be great for your business. You can receive support from other entrepreneurs, take part in events and perhaps even gain access to funding. Startups can go a lot further if they stick together and lend each other the help they need. But you might be unsure about how to get involved with the community near you. Luckily, it’s not a secret club, and it should be easy for you to join in. Try out the things below to help get you and your business into the heart of your startup community.

Join Startup Networking Groups
Firstly, you should look to see if there are any official groups or social events you can join. Your success in finding one will depend on where you live. In large cities, you might be able to find several groups in a variety of industries. Smaller cities might have one leading networking group you can join. If there isn’t an official organization, you can try to start one yourself. There might be plenty of interest, but no one has taken the leap to start a group. Have a look online to see if there’s a website or Facebook group for a nearby startup community.

Attend Workshops and Events
Whether or not there’s an active startup community, you should be able to find business events you can attend. You can discover workshops, lectures, networking events, and more that you can attend. Some things will be formal, and others might just be casual drinks. They’re excellent for meeting new people and forming connections. Again, if there’s nothing available, why not take the initiative? Find out if there’s any interest in your area and explore the possibility of setting up an event. It’s not difficult to arrange a monthly get together or even to ask a speaker to attend for an evening.

Work in a Coworking Space
Working alone in your home or an office can be isolating. If you want to get up close and personal with other startups, you should consider shared office space. Using a coworking space can be a great way to form relationships with other companies. You could end up working with them, sharing advice or running an event together. For example, you might team up with an eco-friendly packaging company to ship your products. It’s not all work either; many spaces have games rooms and other areas for fun and relaxation.

Offer to Help Out
If you’ve become involved in your local startup community, you don’t have to stay in the background. You can take a more active role by stepping up to help out. You could run your own event or offer to lend a hand at an existing one. You might have some useful contacts you can use for funding or putting on an event. Perhaps you could do some promotion or run a social media page to spread the word about the group.

Joining in with your local startup community could bring you new opportunities. Find out how to get close to yours today.