Finding Ecosystem Builders in every direction

There are different types of ecosystem builders. The one often spoken about is young and ambitious. They leave corporate life early in their professional career, while some avoid it altogether and go about launching their promising venture, straight out of University. Despite their youth, they may already have a venture or two under their belt and some lessons to share. They are bold, outspoken, intent on changing the world and convinced of what is lacking the current order, which traditional business models cannot adequately address.

Their reliance on business ecosystems stems from a need to build their businesses at great speed. What they lack in internal resources, they recognise exists out in the ecosystem. As investor and co-author of Blitzscaling, Reid Hoffman, pointed out - getting in early, seeking customer feedback (and lots of it), can help ecosystem builders face uncertainty and outmaneuver those who scale at less of a pace.

He continues to argue that speed over efficiency, holds an advantage for large, established companies, as well, saying "even a few months of hesitation can mean the difference between leading and chasing."

Under this paradigm, young venture builders should embrace broader ecosystems, for the access they provide. We can often view such (relatively) young builders as 'ecosystem-first' in their thinking.

The reality though is anything but consistent. Many young company founders never get to scale their businesses. What they gain in their ability to pivot and iterate, based on early customer feedback, demonstrating emerging opportunities, can often meet against the leadership challenge which leading those beyond their immediate team, requires. Without a proven track record or well-established networks, they often struggle to secure repeated rounds of capital efficiently and get entangled in lengthy funding rounds, giving away too much away in the negotiations. Their understanding of the market can also backfire, and what may have seemed as an inevitable march towards incumbent obsolescence, can turn into anything but a predictable path of disruption.

Experienced ecosystem builders are individuals who have had successful careers in corporate environments but feel a void due to industries struggling to provide new solutions and collaboration at scale, to meet new challenges. Anne Boden, the founder of Starling Bank, is an exemplary example of such an ecosystem builder who left a successful banking career to launch a Neobank in the UK. With her years of executive experience and deep industry relationships, she embarked on a journey that extended well beyond technology (although that aspect has been most talked about), focusing on transforming the banking landscape through customer-centricity, collaboration, and adaptability to new customer needs - a transformative journey of building Starling Bank.

Do ecosystems offer a compelling path to experienced venture builders and their backers? In Anne's case, it certainly did. Her team recognized early on, the importance of building an ecosystem that went beyond banking services, offering a marketplace where third-party services could be integrated with Starling's banking accounts, to provide customers with a comprehensive and personalized banking experience. The marketplace concept came early in Anne's thinking about the bank: “We would be the central hub offering our customers and their financial partners data at their fingertips. Our understanding of spending patterns would help us give our customers better advice too. If, say, they had a large amount of cash to put on deposit, we’d be able to point them in the direction of the most convenient and profitable place to do so.”...Well, that was the idea.

The initial launch of the marketplace did not immediately gain traction, highlighting the need for continuous iteration and adaptation. Remaining committed to customer-centricity, continually testing the boundaries of current offerings and actively seeking feedback, Anne and her team were able to refine the marketplace and win customer approval, over a span of several years. It was (and remains) all about accumulating strengths.

Anne's experience as an ecosystem builder showcases the value that seasoned professionals bring to the entrepreneurial landscape in today's uncertain environment. Yet the greatest challenge facing experienced executives turned ecosystem builders is not insignificant, that of shifting mindsets - propelling a shift in thinking, embracing higher levels of adaptability, and a willingness to tackle new risks.

The diversity we see in ecosystem builders spans more than just age. It spans business and academia, the commercial and social sectors, and across developed and emerging nations. In our next installment, we'll delve into ecosystem builders from academia as well as rural and emerging market settings. What may seem to be so different reveals itself as a common set of traits which make ecosystem builders thrive.

For more on the challenge of becoming an ecosystem builder, you can apply to join our Challenger CEO community - an exclusive conversation forum, built by and for challengers – from board members to CEOs, Heads of Strategy, Digital and Transformation, Corporate Venturing and Innovation Heads. Here you will meet fellow challengers, access leading content in four (4) dedicated tracks, from emerging business models and new mindsets to building ecosystems and cross-industry partnerships.?

Together, we make sense of some of the complex challenges facing challenger CEOs and learn from each other’s perspectives and practices used by organisations demonstrating an extraordinary ability to adapt and lead, in the new economy. To apply, click here.

Have a good week ahead everyone!

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