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Help! Your city needs more than one curator.

We built collaboration tools into Startup Genome so that many people can work together to make their local data set as useful as possible. But multiple curators aren't a good idea just because it's less work for everyone.
Startup Genome
on noviembre 26, 2014
"Don't try to do it all yourself" - What I say to new Startup Genome curators who plan to go it alone.

At Startup Genome, we believe people can achieve more by working together. That's why we built collaboration tools into Startup Genome so that many people can work together in a city, state or country to make their local data set as useful as possible.

But multiple curators aren't a good idea just because it's less work for everyone.

Comprehensiveness


Even the most connected person in a startup community doesn't know everyone. Multiple curators in each city leads to a broader, more comprehensive data set. John might have a deeper handle on cleantech companies, while Melissa knows the fintech space. By working together, John and Melissa will learn a lot from each other and build a better data set, which makes their local map, charts and graphs more useful.

Higher accuracy


Known as 'inter-rater reliability,' simply having more eyes on the data means the results are likely to be more reliable and useful.

No risk of defunct owners


Stand-alone maps like Represent Maps (which, btw, we integrate with) are typically controlled by one person on a domain that they own. If that person gets busy or moves, the data can become outdated very quickly or - as I see happen every month in dozens of cities - completely lost. Another maps is soon created by someone else, and then the same thing happens again. Startup Genome avoids this reality completely.

No egos


We hate to admit it, but egos come into play a lot in local startup communities. There's no room for ego if we hope to create a comprehensive, useful data set. That's what makes Startup Genome different from other mapping tools. We're an ego-free, neutral, community-owned tool. Everyone who contributes gets credit. :)

Well...it is less work after all


The Startup Genome machine does most of the heavy lifting for you by importing data from popular sources, combining and cleaning it. But we miss a lot. That's why local, human curation is core to the Startup Genome philosophy. Cities with three or more curators typically spend just 30 min./week each adding and editing data .

Our favorite reason: Reduce community fragmentation


"Silos" anyone? One of our goals with Startup Genome is to help solve a problem that every startup community has: fragmentation. We look at Startup Genome as an opportunity to create connective tissue between different initiatives and organizations in your local community. By building a team of Startup Genome curators, you'll unite your community in a new way and enjoy the ripple effects.

If you're interested in becoming a curator for your local startup community, apply here. If you're an organization looking to roll-out Startup Genome in your community, let us help! Email Shane at shane@startupgenome.com.

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Our data shows that collaboration is at the core of the fastest growing startup ecosystems. We work with forward-looking organizations who understand that joining the global startup economy is key to to drive innovation and spur economic growth.