The Kingston BETA Effect: A Short Story

Picture this: You come to a Kingston BETA event, meet someone who shares some key info with you, that you then take and grow your company from 7 people to 40 within months. This is what you call the network effect, a real benefit of being part of a community, coming to events with an open mind and staying curious – the Kingston BETA Effect.

What follows below is a short story from Chris Cochran, Executive Director of Entrepreneurs Across Borders and a co-founder in the emerging Caribbean Seed Fund that demonstrates it.

” When you look at this space you might mistake this for a simple hotel lobby. What entrepreneurs in Kingston, Jamaica see is the hub of the business world here. This is the default co-working, networking, meeting, and collaborative space in the entire city.

As I was working here today, preparing for Ingrid Riley‘s Kingston Beta event tonight, a young man approached me and said, “I don’t know if you remember me but we met a couple of months ago at the last Kingston Beta, my name is Earl.”

I did remember Earl. Earl (S) McDonalds the CEO of vlbpo a Business Process Organization here in Kingston. Earl was very open to coaching and we only spoke for about 20 minutes.

I acknowledged that I did remember him and he continued, “Since we spoke we have changed so much!” He indicated that our conversation was helpful in this next phase they are in as an organization.

Sometimes entrepreneurs, especially those in developing economies, just need a bit of acquired wisdom, encouragement, and thoughtful conversation. Things get even more exciting when we give back and begin to open our network without any expectation of return.

If you want to help entrepreneurs like Earl, comment on this with “I’m in” and I’ll get you more information on how you can play a role in changing the world, one entrepreneur at a time!”

This is a powerful reason why you join tech communities, share what you are doing with others, because chances are, you will meet someone who can give you the right information or connects you with someone who helps your business to grow.

Join The Kingston BETA Community Mailing List here. Get our monthly Community Updates Newsletter, links to resources plus alerts to our events and those of our partners. There is value in connections and community.