Ecosystem building is more than a buzzword — it's a full-time job
As investing in innovation becomes a popular economic development strategy for cities and regions across the US, 'ecosystem builder' is no longer a niche title.
It's a position with growing responsibilities and expectations of real outcomes.
'Everybody in this room is an ecosystem builder,' said Ashli Sims, managing director of Build in Tulsa. 'Whether you're professionally an ecosystem builder or not, you're all ecosystem builders.'
That was the unambiguous message from 'Ecosystem Building is a Job Now: Organizing, Connecting and Storytelling,' a panel at the 2025 Technical.ly Builders Conference moderated by Smitha Gopal, COO of Baltimore-based EcoMap Technologies.
Michael Binko, a co-creator of Startup America and longtime Baltimore-area entrepreneur, said that ecosystem building became necessary when entrepreneurs repeatedly found themselves lost in a tangle of disconnected resources.
Through initiatives like Startup Maryland and the Startup Champions Network, Binko has spent more than a decade helping make those networks navigable. While abundant resources exist, he said, if you can't find them, it's meaningless.
That includes investing in visibility.
'Get your entrepreneurs out in front of your media outlets and your resources,' Binko said. He later added: 'Celebration is storytelling.'
Storytelling as leverage
Tammi Thomas, chief development and marketing officer of TEDCO, made that case explicit. The Maryland -backed investor and venture development organization invested in sponsored content that resulted in measurable impact, including one startup securing $6 million in follow-on funding after being featured in Technical.ly.
Thomas emphasized the value of localized media partnerships, noting that 'local is also global' when the right stakeholders are engaged. From economic development officials to university research labs, TEDCO has used storytelling as a connective tissue across the ecosystem.
Beyond the aforementioned $6 million, the startup Technical.ly highlighted got connected to economic development professionals and a university with lab space.
'So when Chris [Wink, CEO of Technical.ly] was saying, 'What story were we telling?' we were telling that this startup company was a good bet for you to put money in,' she said. 'We were telling the state that this startup company was worth the tax incentives for them to wrap around those business resources.'
Thomas also noted how TEDCO tries other ways of showcasing its ecosystems, including an upcoming drone video initiative to spotlight rural Maryland business communities.
Sims, meanwhile, shared how Build in Tulsa draws on the legacy of Black Wall Street to create multigenerational wealth and opportunity in a city where, about a century ago, centers of Black wealth were targeted by racist violence. By connecting history to present-day entrepreneurship, she explained, storytelling becomes both cultural reclamation and economic strategy.
Building equity and sustainability into ecosystem growth
As panelists pointed out, the work of ecosystem building isn't new, but recognizing it as a job is. That understanding can enable more formalized roles, specific support and, in some cases, professional burnout.
That's why defining the actual work matters. It means being intentional about metrics, Binko said. It means avoiding overly transactional relationships, Sims added, and instead cultivating shared goals and transparency.
At stake in all of this is whether ecosystems can evolve equitably and sustainably. Build in Tulsa began just after COVID, in the shadow of the 100-year commemoration of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. For Sims, that background demanded a vision rooted in equity.
In just four years, Build in Tulsa has invested $13 million and supported 650 entrepreneurs — results Sims said 'took layering on top of [Tulsa's history] and bringing it future-forward for people to buy in.'
She brought that sentiment into her response to Gopal's request for advice that audience members could take home.
Listen to your community,' Sims said. 'That's going to unlock a lot.'
Answering the same question, Thomas recommended a joyous approach: 'Go out there with gusto and be the beacon of light for everybody.'
And when that gusto doesn't sustain you, remember that your community can, according to Binko.
'Ecosystem builder burnout is real,' Binko said. 'Rely on your ecosystem when your energy is low.'
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