“EcoMap really serves as the front door to an ecosystem”
Meeting the Needs of a Growing Ecosystem
In 2022, people from all over the country began flocking to Texas in search of new opportunities, and this influx of talent and ambition had a significant impact on the business landscape.
Business Community Lenders (BCL) of Texas, an economic development organization with more than 30 years of experience across a wide variety of disciplines including home ownership, entrepreneurship education, small business lending, and commercial lending, was tasked with supporting this influx of new residents and entrepreneurs.
In their assessments, the BCL team noticed an increasing number of companies stuck in “startup purgatory,” unable to move from ideation to validation because the process of finding needed resources is complex and timely.
BCL needed a solution to better connect and align the small business ecosystems of San Marcos and Austin.
The Right Resources at the Right Time
EcoMap’s signature keyword tagging and data paradigm allows entrepreneurs and small business owners across ecosystems to quickly navigate through hundreds of resources and organizations to find those most relevant to the current needs and goals of their ventures, saving them countless hours of scrolling through generic search results.
EcoMap developed the Austin Small Business Ecosystem and Resource Hub and the San Marcos ThinkB!G Platform. By centralizing the different resources that exist across San Marcos and Austin onto easy-to-use platforms, EcoMap made it simple for key community stakeholders to engage with and showcase their ecosystems.
As these businesses continue to grow and scale, they return to the platform to find new opportunities and resources tailored to whichever stage of the journey they find themselves.
The two systems can also speak to each other, allowing for cross-collaboration between neighboring entrepreneurs. Connectivity has allowed Texas business owners to thrive.
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“EcoMap really serves as the front door to an ecosystem,” Brian Marshall, Director of Entrepreneurship and Small Business at BCL, said. “When I show people the activity within these ecosystems it’s hard to conceptualize it without an entry point.”
If you and your organization are interested in creating a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs and ESOs within your own ecosystem, please reach out below to start the conversation.