Ecosystem, Scale! with Aaron Taylor

Recorded live from the Technical.ly Builders Conference in Philadelphia, this bonus episode of Ecosystem, Scale! explores an increasingly important layer of startup community infrastructure: Narrative. Joined by Chris Wink , cofounder and CEO of Technical.ly , Aaron Taylor examines how storytelling, media, and ecosystem identity shape the trajectory of startup communities. Throughout the conversat...

This bonus episode of Ecosystem, Scale! is a step out of the usual. Instead of a structured conversation, this is a more open reflection — on the season, the patterns that emerged, and the shift from building within startup communities to thinking more deeply about the structures that shape them. Aaron sits down with guest host, Alexandria Taylor, to share his journey in ecosystem work, what he’s...

In the Season 1 finale of Ecosystem, Scale! , Aaron Taylor sits down with Andy Stoll, founding Executive Director of the ESHIP Alliance, for a wide-angle conversation about the emergence of entrepreneurial ecosystem building as a field of practice. Over the past two decades, ecosystem builders across the country have been quietly working to strengthen the environments where founders turn ideas int...

In this episode of Ecosystem, Scale! , Aaron Taylor is joined by Amy Beaird for a deep dive into the tools, language, and systems thinking shaping the future of ecosystem architecture. Drawing on her background in engineering and decades of startup R&D leadership, Amy brings a practical lens to one of the field’s biggest challenges: making the invisible work of ecosystem-building visible, meas...

In this episode of Ecosystem, Scale! , Aaron sits down with Jess Edwards for a conversation that explores how relationships, trust, and lived experience shape the way innovation ecosystems actually function for sustainable ecosystem design. Jess shares insights from her work across multiple communities, offering a “tour-guide” perspective on how ecosystems evolve, what strong social capital looks...

In this episode of Ecosystem, Scale! , Aaron Taylor is joined by Antoine Woods , Senior Lead on Chick-fil-A’s external R&D and innovation team, and Terrance Orr , founder of Next Anomaly Group and entrepreneur-in-residence. Together, they lift the corporate veil to explore how large organizations actually engage with innovation ecosystems — and what must be true before community-corporate part...

In this episode of Ecosystem, Scale! , Aaron is joined by Mike Green and Johnathan Holifield for a timely conversation on economic development, innovation, and equity. They unpack the history and limits of “big game” economic development—strategies that prioritize national competitiveness and large-scale growth—while confronting a persistent reality: many communities, particularly Black America, r...

Higher education is often described as an anchor institution in innovation ecosystems—but what does that really mean in practice? In this episode of Ecosystem, Scale! , Aaron Taylor is joined by Almesha Campbell , Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Jackson State University, and Jim Woodell , Founder of Venn Collaborative and co-creator of the CCube framework, for a comprehensi...

In this episode, Aaron Taylor sits down with Himalaya Rao-Potlapally , a venture capitalist, ecosystem-builder, and advocate for inclusive finance, to explore what it means to fund founders differently. Himalaya shares her journey from social work to venture capital, revealing how necessity-driven entrepreneurship shaped her approach to investing and community impact. Together, Aaron and Himalaya...

In this episode of Ecosystem, Scale! , Aaron Taylor sits down with Chris Heivly — Managing Director of Build the Fort , co-founder of MapQuest, former Techstars Exec, investor and startup community-builder — to break down what it really takes to lead a founder-first startup ecosystem . Chris argues that thriving innovation communities aren’t built through hierarchy, big budgets, or recycled playbo...

In this episode, Aaron sits down with Charlton Cunningham , an Atlanta-based ecosystem builder and current Ecosystem Navigator for the Continuum project, to explore the evolution of startup community building. Charlton shares their journey from architecture graduate to ecosystem leader, highlighting how trust, people-first programming, and authentic storytelling are reshaping how communities suppo...

Summary In this episode, Aaron Taylor welcomes Kevin Carter, Director of Ecosystem Success at EcoMap Technologies , to explore how mapping drives more competitive and scalable ecosystems. Kevin shares the story of EcoMap’s late founder, Pava LaPere , and her vision to make entrepreneurial resources more discoverable. Together, Aaron and Kevin dive into the distinctions between startup communities...