Every community has explicit and implict social norms that help the community grow and survive.  Here's a proposed version for the Hampton Roads Enterpreneurial Community.

Today's Hampton Roads Fable

If you read one book this month, it should be The Rainforest: The Secret to Building the Next Silicon Valley,  by Victor Hwang and Greg Horowitt.

I met Victor over dinner one night in Yerevan, Armenia -- we didn't have nearly enough time to talk, but we covered a number of the issues he discusses in this book (and listened to a surprisingly good singer, doing renditions of American jazz standards in Russian) because they relate as much to Hampton Roads as they do to Yerevan, or Kiev, or Baku, or Minsk.  In fact, if I thought they'd read it, I'd buy a copy for every member of the HRP Board, each local city council and IDA, and the leadership of all the other local organizations that would benefit from a new way of thinking.  The Rainforest idea balances the role of government in supporting a "grass-roots" approach to building capacity and trust, and emphasizes the importance of relationships in linking and strengthening the inherent capabilities of entrepreneurs.  Note:  this ain't your daddy's cluster strategy ...

Here're a handful of other links related to the book.  All highly recommended; you might consider passing them around to people in your network.

• http://blog.entrepreneurthearts.com/2012/03/29/the-value-of-oddballs-or-how-%E2%80%9Cchicago-thinking%E2%80%9D-explains-silicon-valley/
• http://innovationrainforest.com/2012/02/
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/frederickallen/2012/04/04/how-to-create-the-next-silicon-valley/

You have a new idea you think is going to change the world.  Great.  Before you panic, think about these nine parts of your business model and figure out ways to reduce the uncertainty in each area.  Once you do, you'll quickly come to the conclusion that you should probably get a real job ...  or not.

Entrepreneurs are at the heart of the Startup America Partnership. StartupVirginia is bringing together a coalition of mentors, advisors, funders, major corporations and service providers to deliver strategic and substantive resources to help Virginia-based entrepreneurs start and scale companies. 

Helping our existing technology companies create spin-out ventures promises to be a significant growth opportunity ... But it's not about risk, it's about uncertainty ...

People complain that we don't have many VC-sized deals in Hampton Roads but if we focused on doing more seed-stage deals we'd be laying the groundwork for those larger deals to materialize.

Having a lot of people working for small companies indicates that your economy is dysfunctional ...

Our local, regional, and state-wide small business support programs need to reflect the fact that not all start-ups are created equal and each type needs a different set of services to help it grow.