How One US-based Ecosystem Builder is Approaching the Job Market (And His Career)
Entering 2026, I thought my job was safe. Holding a government-backed position, freshly protected from the claws of DOGE, it felt like I could finally catch my breath. However, in early February I was told my position was being eliminated. And just like that, I found myself among the ~7.4 million Americans unemployed, back at square one.
However, unlike other, more well-defined professional fields, entrepreneurship ecosystem builders (EBs) are still fighting to find relevance. Now, newly into the job hunt, I’m faced with a question — in an era marked by unstable funding sources, advancing AI, and threats from other professions, how should EBs approach building their careers? Given the macro shifts, I think EBs need to start designing for resilience. Cultivating their careers with the same intentionality that they cultivate ecosystems through: diversifying sources of support, investing deeply in relationships, and being curious in experimentation.
Diversify support
EBs know that moving an initiative forward or aligning a community into a single north star takes support from multiple stakeholders. In the same way, they should be approaching their career in a similar fashion. A growing trend (really just a branding update) is called the portfolio career. A portfolio career is “a modern, flexible working arrangement where an individual holds multiple part-time jobs, freelance roles, or side businesses simultaneously rather than one full-time position.” This approach lessens the burden of one full-time position being the crux of support, and instead divides it across multiple income streams. A good example of this within our industry can be found in the Economic Recovery Corps (ERC), an initiative born as a response to COVID-19, placing 65 fellows across regions in the US. An informal LinkedIn review of participating fellows showed that nearly 50% held additional roles during their contracts. The full impact of the ERC is still being reviewed, however, this can be seen as a signal that EBs having consistent, dependable income allows them the freedom to pursue other not only additional income, but impact.
Invest in relationships
Another aspect of cultivating ecosystems is investing deeply in relationships. EBs know that people are foundational to this work. Being empathetic, understanding motivations, and weaving them together towards a common goal is better for ecosystems overall. As I move forward into another season of unemployment, reaching out and connecting with fellow EBs is crucial to getting me to my next step. Opportunities arising through conversations, strategies on how to approach the job search, and commiserating over the experience are all valid outcomes. I’ve also found that in order to build that portfolio career I mentioned earlier, I need the support of other people. A thread I’m currently following is the idea of consulting collectives. This group-led approach strengthens individual contracting by allowing you to pitch larger proposals, share resources, and provide an opportunity for scale. Through the power of the collective EBs can unlock a form of career stability that is distributed across relationships rather than concentrated in a single role.
Be curious in experimentation
I’m staying curious about how the future of the field develops. This is everything from communication and content to how artificial intelligence can be integrated into our daily workflows. Back when I produced The Keystone Podcast (2019-2021) multiple opportunities within the field flowed from consistent storytelling, including speaking engagements, sponsorships, and consulting. I’d love to see more EBs jump into creating content: explaining the history of our field, upskilling new entrants, and most importantly, providing hot takes (shoutout to Chris Wink who’s doing a great job with this on LinkedIn)!
Additionally, I think it’s important for EBs to have a strong understanding of what AI tools are currently available and how that influences our work. There is an opportunity right now to be at the forefront of not only learning about tools, but developing new ones, specifically for our field – currently there’s no search item response for “AI for innovation ecosystems”. At the end of the day, there are two paths: I can create a product that sells, or I can bring new knowledge into my next role.
Ultimately, the same instincts that make EBs effective in their communities may also be the keys to sustaining and future-proofing their own careers. Diversifying sources of support, investing deeply in relationships, and remaining curious through experimentation are not just strategies for ecosystems; they are strategies for resilience. If EBs are skilled at cultivating systems for others, perhaps it’s time we apply those same principles to ourselves. In a field that is still defining its place, designing our careers with intention may be one of the most important forms of systems work we can practice.
Resources
Job search sites:
So you want to work in platform (paid subscription, but you can sign up for their newsletter here)
ESHIP Commons job board (sign up for the newsletter with featured job opportunities here)
If you, too, are an ecosystem builder looking for your next opportunity and want to swap stories or advice, schedule some time with me here.
