Sustaining work (a 250 word hug from Brooklyn Beta)

Make something you Love

Brooklyn Beta is an annual reunion of incredible people working on inspiring stuff and I love it. It is the kind of conference where people are honored to take the stage and present an idea or something they are working on to their “family”, their “tribe.” It is a conference with meaning. With soul. I am honored to be a part of it.

Yesterday Jodi Leo took the stage and talked about some of the things she has built that she loves. Most were digital products, but one was a physical space for artists — in her words a space meant to

support people as they create a body of work from which they can sustain themselves.

This struck me. I have found that the best people in the start-up industry love to support people as they create a body of work from which they can sustain themselves. I love this about our community. I also think it makes sense. The best, most sustaining ideas are not the one’s you think of — they come to you, they are unstoppable. They hit you on the head and will not be ignored.

When an idea hits, when you become obsessed, the idea is quickly way bigger than you, it starts to eat you alive and you need help. Luckily, the start-up community is full of people willing to help with the hard parts.

The tradition of pay-it-forward is core to the entrepreneurial ecosystem. It is core to how big ideas happen. This ethic is what makes the start-up industry work.