Here are all the ecosystem building conferences in 2025, from Michigan to Mexico to Montreal

Powered by a boom in entrepreneurship, a self-described “ecosystem building” movement is sweeping through economic development. 

The concept is simple enough. After the Second World War, local governments and civic leaders took lessons from international building efforts to develop the trade of economic development. The strategy was that a little planning here, and some inducements there, could goose more intentional economic growth. 

A wave of specialties followed, from manufacturing-focused site selection to corporate relocation subsidies, often informed by fuzzy multiplier effects and other snazzy economics research. 

After the 1970s, corporate and industry consolidation grew, and declining rates of entrepreneurship reached a nadir post–Great Recession. In 2019, Americans were perhaps the least entrepreneurial they had ever been. So anyone working to support entrepreneurs had only a relatively small number of flashy tech unicorns and high-flying growth startups to point to as a signal of serious growth. 

That changed with the pandemic surge in entrepreneurship.

Now the once relatively fringe issue of “ecosystem building,” kept alive by a few scant funders, community groups (and, yes, a few surviving news and information providers) is hot. 

The “ecosystem” metaphor is meant to be a reminder: Apex predators can’t survive in an environment without many different sized and type species around them. So too a culture of entrepreneurship needs a mix of corporate interests, universities, government, nonprofit and oodles of community — like-minded people gathering and tinkering in a meetup culture.

But the movement lacks a set of clearly defined existing strategies, so the rush is on to convene and develop best practices. For example, in May, the 8th annual Technical.ly Builders Conference will focus on “ecosystem storytelling” — contributing our speciality to an important conversation.

In the spirit of collaboration, we’ve kept a running list of other conferences, some new and many longstanding, that are invoking ecosystem-building and/or entrepreneurship-led economic development. 

Check it out below.

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