The focus on “ecosystems” as a contributor to startup community success has recently begun to receive additional attention from academic researchers. A healthy and vibrant entrepreneurial or venture ecosystem can provide a nurturing environment for startups and innovators. This boosts job creation, economic growth, and talent attraction. Innovation itself includes both de novo (i.e. brand new) startups as well as new undertakings by large and small organizations. As a result, we prefer the term “venture ecosystem.” Think of a venture ecosystem as being kind of like a marine reef. It is a home for a variety of life forms including coral, fish of various types, and a host of other life forms with often symbiotic relationships. So what makes up an “ecosystem?”