Why  I  Joined  a  Civic  Startup    

By  Robin  Withall    

 

   

I  am  proud  to  be  a  part  of  a  civic  startup.  After  working  with  big  government  contractors  for  over  five  years,  I  knew  the  business  of  government.  Several  months  ago  I  began  looking  for  new  career  opportunities.  I  wanted  to  continue  working  with  government,  but  I  wanted  to  actually  make  a  difference.  In  my  job  hunt,  I  focused  only  companies  that  fit  the  civic  startup  bill.  

 

The  definition  of  a  civic  startup  

Mark  Headd,  Philadelphia’s  Chief  Data  Officer  and  civic  innovation  thought  leader,  provides  great  insight  into  what  a  civic  startup  looks  like.  He  explains  in  his  blog,  Civic  Innovations,  that  civic  startups  have  particular  qualities  that  make  them  attractive  to  both  governments  and  citizens.  Both  parties  have  an  interest  in  seeing  these  kinds  of  startups  succeed  because  both  will  realize  benefits  when  they  do.  Mark  provides  an  excellent  definition:  

“Civic  startups  are  those  companies  that,  through  the  pursuit  of  their  core  missions,  produce  

what  economists  call  a  positive  externality.  In  other  words,  there  are  benefits  inherent  in  the  

services  these  companies  provide  that  are  not  reflected  in  the  cost  of  that  service.”  

 

Those  are  the  businesses  that  I  targeted.  Not  only  did  I  stumble  across  some  amazing  companies  (Measured  Voice,  SmartProcure,  and  Appallicious,  to  name  just  a  few),  but  my  research  led  me  to  several  startup  founders  who  I  now  consider  career  mentors,  and  ultimately  to  ArchiveSocial.  

 

Why  I  went  with  ArchiveSocial  

After  several  months  of  reaching  out  to  a  multitude  civic  startups,  (and  basically  doing  a  guerilla  marketing  campaign  to  promote  myself),  I  was  offered  positions  at  3  companies.  And  then  came  the  tough  part.*  I  had  to  choose.  

After  a  one-­‐month  trial  period  to  test  my  fit  with  the  company  (a  fairly  common  practice  in  the  startup  world),  I  packed  up  my  apartment,  made  the  move  to  Durham,  North  Carolina,  and  started  with  ArchiveSocial  full-­‐time.  

I  chose  ArchiveSocial  because  of  the  company’s  mission  in  the  public  sector:  increasing  citizen  engagement  and  government  transparency.  By  archiving  social  media  records,  ArchiveSocial  eliminates  the  compliance  risk  that  is  preventing  government  agencies  -­‐-­‐  especially  at  the  municipal  level  -­‐-­‐  from  using  social  media  as  a  two-­‐way  communications  tool,  or  from  having  any  social  media  presence  whatsoever.  Citizens  benefit  from  increased  engagement  with  their  government,  and  the  promise  of  government  transparency  (i.e.  freedom  of  information)  being  fulfilled.  

 

The  future  of  civic  startups  

Like  all  civic  startups,  or  any  startup,  for  that  matter,  ArchiveSocial  faces  many  challenges.  We  have  limited  resources  and  we’re  competing  against  the  government  establishment  (those  big  government  contractors  I  mentioned  at  the  beginning  of  this  post).  

Luckily,  there  are  several  well-­‐established  organizations  that  are  committed  to  the  success  of  civic  startups.  ArchiveSocial  is  part  of  the  Code  for  America  accelerator  program,  for  example.  Cities  are  also  taking  notice.  Philadelphia  is  one  of  the  cities  nurturing  startups  and  recently  launched  a  program  called  FastFWD,  a  12-­‐week  social  enterprise  accelerator  focused  on  public  safety.  

 Civic  startups  are  still  a  relatively  new  concept.  As  more  and  more  governments  strive  for  innovation,  I  can  envision  a  future  where  we  are  widely  accepted.  Only  time  will  tell.  

 

*During  my  exploration  into  the  startup  world,  I  was  doing  freelance  work  and  living  in  costly  Washington  DC.  Not  just  the  suburbs  that  outsiders  refer  to  as  DC;  actual,  unbelievably  expensive,  DC.  This  meant  reaching  far  into  my  savings  account  to  pay  my  rent  every  month  and  crossing  my  fingers  that  it  wouldn’t  run  out  before  I  had  found  a  position.  So  let  me  be  clear:  I  realize  that  being  faced  with  3  good  career  opportunities  is  a  great  thing.  But  because  I  had  spent  months  reaching  out  and  offers  came  in  all  at  once,  the  choice  I  had  to  make  was  a  difficult  one.