One of the ideas with the Atlanta Tech Village is that is would help increase talent recombination in startups. Meaning, more people in startups, especially ones that fail, would join other startups that are succeeding, such that the ones that are doing well would do even better (finding great talent is always one of the biggest challenges). Over the past year at the Village, I’ve seen the talent recombination idea play out several times. Here are a few observations about it:
- Programs and events, like the weekly Startup Chowdown, truly help people connect and develop stronger rapport, making for faster recombinations
- Shared community spaces, kitchens, conference rooms, game rooms, and coffee shop facilitate serendipitous interactions, helping keep different people top-of-mind
- Interconnectedness, as well as frequency of communication, provide for more chances to know about potential opportunities for recombination
- Stories of recombination spread quickly giving more people peace-of-mind that great people find new gigs quickly if things don’t work out
Talent recombination is a real benefit of high-density startup communities. Team members in startups that fail find new jobs faster and startups that are doing well hire proven people faster.
What else? What are some more thoughts on talent recombination in a startup community?
David Cummings on Startups 