Entrepreneur Ecosystems and Community Resilience, with Chad Renando

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a brilliant conversation with Chad Randando, director for the not for profit Startup Status, Managing Director Australia for the Global Entrepreneurship network, and current PhD researcher exploring the connection between entrepreneur ecosystems and community resilience. Chad and I discuss his varied background that spans the US Navy, manufacturing, innovation hubs and a stint as a radio DJ, and how some of those experiences sparked his interest in the Smart Regions and Smart Communities space. We talk about the different types of resilience that communities, especially regional communities, need in this ever changing world and the importance of asking the question 'Who is not in the room?' When it comes to Smart initiatives. Chad tells us how he sees Australia currently embracing Smart concepts, and the need for bottom up approaches driven by the regions rather than top down solutions handed to them. Chad shares with us a bit about the projects he's working on, including his PhD into the role of innovation ecosystems in developing community resilience. We finish our chat discussing why collaboration over competition should be an emerging trend. This month, in December, we are shining a spotlight on the regions. As always we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it! Connect with Chad via LinkedIn, visit the Startup Status website or email chad@startupstatus.co Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook @SmartCommHQ The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.