Ask HN: Has anyone launched a successful start-up to help their local economy?

I haven't started anything that's really successful, but I'm pretty good at failing. I guess I can tell you what dun work and what you can avoid it in your local city.<p>- I failed to address the supply and demand issue. When I first my biz, I know I have a pretty decent products, I'm sure your local business has too. The issue just no one is buying it from me, either it is because I'm not working close enough with my regional partners/government, etc.. or I'm not exactly talking to the people who need my products. Idea: You can start a simple directory listing the local business, products and contacts, much like Angie's List. make it available in print-on-demand, pdf format, etc.<p>- I failed to act swiftly. It is a cut throat business really, if you see a business opportunities, you really need to act now and monetize it. If not, someone bigger and larger will come in and take it from you. You probably need a well tined process to get things out quickly.<p>- I failed to create the market. If things dun quite work out, it is important than to create a market in itself. Develop value business opportunities for regional/international companies to drop by your city to do business. What can your local community provide better than others out there?

The difficulty lies in that most small businesses in local communities operate in a small, volatile economy that is not impervious to the overall weakening trend. Add to that most communities are anchored by one or several large employers--sources of income are not diversified and any change will hit hard and fast. The more the conditions of socioeconomies worsen, the more people will rely on reverting only to basic necessities (and vice) to meet their needs. One strategy is to hedge the microeconomy by assisting businesses expand their reach without investment (read: revenue share).<p>Some ideas:<p>1. Partner with a small business that produces a product, offer to design, market and help them fulfill that product on the web for an X% of the receipts. Example: Guy sees ipad coming, designs and sells ipad case by partnering with SF's last remaining booksellers.<p>2. Partner with a service provider (eg. a CPA) to create a lightweight online equivalent similar model to #1. Bonuss points if specialized to an industry and segment open to working online.<p>3. Start a completely new business by buying equipment from closed businesses, integrated online and employing local workers.<p>4. Focus on a niche in demand and excel at producing and selling this. Run product scenarios on initial investment entail low-cost, lightweight (or even free) resources resulting in a high-value product comparatively. Scale, iterate and optimize.

I'm assuming you're talking about web-based startups, to which I would have to answer "no."<p>However, in the more general definition of startup, "yes." Before I moved to SF two months ago, I ran a "home IT" (<a href="http://tylerthetechie.com" rel="nofollow">http://tylerthetechie.com</a>) company in Minneapolis, MN and it was successful (especially considering I was in the heart of Geek Squad territory). I started it in June 2008 after graduating college. Empirically, the key differentiator among small businesses -- especially small businesses during tough economic times -- is service in its truest sense: the customer is #1.<p>There are plenty of tactics that will be more successful than others, but those will depend more on your business and product strategy. And a key component to your business strategy as a startup should be phenomenal customer service. If you truly listen to your customers, heed their feedback (and separate the wheat from the chaff), and build a product that solves a real problem, it's pretty unlikely you'll fail. (Unless, like me, you secretly wanted to so you could just move to SF already.)<p>So then. Are you looking to start a startup? If so, what?

I wanted to tell how one of my friends created a movement for organizing (rather than trying to prevent) Moscow's pedestrian paths that were formed by people walking on grass (this happens because the paved sideways are often very ineffective).<p>However, I googled it and it seems that they ceased operations. Oh, irony. He moved to NY though.

I havent personally although i recently became interested in social innovation. So i find this topic of interest. I do know someone however that does marketing and social media and they use that to go out the work about their own area.