The book uses ‘rainforest’ to mean a collection of disparate entities and conditions forming an ecosystem that’s beneficial to all. This kind of innovation ecosystem optimizes creativity, partnerships, and output; and understanding the factors involved explains why places like New York City and Silicon Valley are hubs for start-up success.
While the authors are quite knowledgeable and well-versed in the world of startups, the writing is not too technical to be understood by interested laypeople. The Rainforest can be read and applied by start-up founders and teams, tech analysts, and anyone who’s wondered what it would take to turn, say, North Carolina’s fledgling hub in the Research Triangle into a real ecosystem of innovation.
The book is divided into short sections, which read like PowerPoints, describing what will be said, and re-summarizing other relevant sections before sharing new information. This is optimal for looking up a particular topic of interest, but very tedious to read cover-to-cover.
Many of the factors Hwang and Horowitt point out can be applied by anyone interested in pursuing start-up-style innovation. For example, conventional business wisdom tells us that business and personal relationships should be kept separate, but one section of The Rainforest makes a compelling case for the value of interpersonal trust in creative and business endeavors. This section discusses the value of a good reputation, even when it means delaying a return in the short-term, and building a personal network, and creating situations of reciprocity, even while pointing out the social and behavioral obstacles that can impede this.
A fairly common tech blogger topic is asking rhetorically if a specific mid-size city with more than three start-ups could be the next Silicon Valley. Using The Rainforest’s guide to the factors that create start-up innovation can help answer that question.
Reviewed by Meg Stivison for IndieReader