Anika Horn on Putting People First in Ecosystem Building

We often fall into this trap of only looking at the professional facet of a person rather than the people themselves. When you take the time to understand the person, what it is they want, and how you can support them, that is where the most aligned efforts stem from to keep things moving forward. This week, season 2 episode 1of Entrepreneurship on the RISE Podcast is about putting people first.

RISE Collaborative is striving to create a more inclusive and vibrant regional economy in which makers, entrepreneurs, innovators, and service providers interact organically and collaboratively. Our mission is to enhance equity and access to entrepreneurship and innovation for people who have been underserved based on geographic location (anyone who lives, works, or owns a business in Southern Virginia), and for people who have been underrepresented based on race, gender, religion, or other factors. We are doing this by creating regionally-relevant incubator services and accelerator programs that can be accessed at many locations across our service area.

In this episode of Entrepreneurship on the RISE Podcast, Jacob and Lauren, joined by their guest Anika Horn are sharing the impact that can be made when you focus on the people and let everything else follow and how as ecosystem builders, we can deploy business as a force for good. 

Some of the talking points we go over in this episode include:

• How travel has influenced Anika’s experience and priorities as it applies to her work in ecosystem building.
• The struggle to find the right metrics for measuring success in ecosystem building.
• Characteristics of a skilled ecosystem builder and tangible strategies you can implement to build social capital in your ecosystem. 
• Finding the balance between listening and storytelling.
• Communitiy spaces and connector’s roles in creating serendipity. 

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag us!  And don’t forget to follow, rate and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!

Learn more about RISE Collaborative at https://sovarise.com/ 

CONNECT WITH ANIKA HORN:

Social Venturers 

Ecosystems for Change Podcast

LinkedIn

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 

What Works by Tara McMullin

Little Grill Collective in Harrisonburg, VA