Episode 0023: Vegas Lacks

Show Notes - Host: Dan Hugo - Summary: Does the Greater Vegas area have a healthy and vibrant Entrepreneurial Innovation Ecosystem? Let us discussion which parts may be lacking, and more importantly, how we might address these missing pieces. Entrepreneurial Innovation - They are not necessarily a single thing, but they do go great together. - Entrepreneurialism is sometimes about starting a business or a company or some similar endeavor, but sometimes it is an aspirational quality, and this matters! - Innovation happens when a there is a challenge of some kind, some ideation, and a potential solution that does not already exist emerges. Evolution or Revolution - A culture of innovation takes time and depends heavily on people and their intellectual curiosity - An innovation infrastructure requires actual investment in resources, including places, tools, interconnection, and plain old funding. - Are these going to emerge in revolutionary fashion by sprinkling some capital over some glowing headlines? Or do these two critical components emerge over time? Lacking Innovation Culture (top 3) - Networking is difficult - Solipsism does not necessarily enable out-of-box thinking - Drive is missing (eg Just Use What We Already Have) Lacking Innovation Infrastructure (top 3) - Local Innovation Resources (Maker Spaces, research and experimentation, certification, etc) - Communication Tools (Conway´s Law, Slow Adoptions, Cultural Impediments) - Where does Innovation fit in a Destination City? (Infrastructure points to Tourism/Gaming/Entertainment/Sports first…) What Next? - Recognize the gaps - Lead by example - Rinse, Repeat