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innovation ecosystems

Our ecosystem building efforts are focused on creating environments,
cultures and mindsets that lead to innovator success. 


HSC is a campus with 4,000 innovators in the heart of the 13th largest city in the United States. 

Borrowing a term from biology, an ecosystem is the interactions between living organisms and their physical, non-living environment. Like a biological ecosystem, an innovation ecosystem functions in much the same way – it is adaptive, interconnected, highly-localized, self-governing and self-sustaining.

Check out our Innovation Challenges

We know that innovation thrives in dense, well-connected networks of ideas, people, capital, expertise and knowledge. HSC Next strives to connect these and many other functions within our community to maximize the success for local innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers and startup companies.

We are here to create opportunities, celebrate your successes and highlight local innovators. 

Here is a snapshot of what's new and compelling to pique your curiosity: 


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What are the key elements of a thriving innovation ecosystem? 

  • Innovators who solve problems or create knowledge that leads to solutions
  • Entrepreneurs who start and grow businesses and/or turn research into products that can reach the market
  • People and institutions with knowledge and resources to help entrepreneurs
  • Individuals and institutions that champion and convene entrepreneurs and the ecosystem
  • Onramps (access points) to the ecosystem so that anyone and everyone can participate
  • Intersections that facilitate the interaction of people, ideas and resources
  • Stories that people tell about themselves and their ecosystem
  • Culture that is rich in social capital – collaboration, cooperation, trust, reciprocity and a focus on the common good

FAQ

Our goal is simple: to help innovators and entrepreneurs succeed. That can mean many different things and each innovator’s journey will look different, but your success is our goal.

Then we still want to hear it. Often, bad ideas lead to better ideas. And maybe we can connect you to other people who have similar ideas, which will further spawn new and improved ideas and innovations. Remember, Thomas Edison didn’t get it right on the first try. He made over a thousand prototypes before he invented the lightbulb. You can submit your idea in the Challenges tab.

Innovators are those with ideas that solve problems or create knowledge that lead to solutions. Entrepreneurs who aspire to start and grow new businesses and/or those who turn research into products that can reach the market. These may or may not be the same people as innovators. People and institutions with knowledge and resources to help entrepreneurs. Individuals and institutions that champion and convene entrepreneurs and the ecosystem. Onramps (or access points) to the ecosystem so that anyone and everyone can participate. Intersections that facilitate the interaction of people, ideas and resources. Stories that people tell about themselves and their ecosystem. Culture that is rich in social capital – collaboration, cooperation, trust, reciprocity and a focus on the common good.

The collective story that people tell themselves – and the rest of the world – powerfully shapes an ecosystem’s future. In Fort Worth, our most important stories of innovation, entrepreneurship and startup companies aren’t currently being told. If we don’t tell those stories, then they won’t enter our public consciousness. We strive to tell stories that aren’t being told in the hopes they will inspire more people to take the leap and begin their own innovation journeys and inspire the community to support them.