Cooking Up Community: Build the Fire, Embrace Every Ingredient, Always Stir the Pot
328 | Fri 01 Aug 2 p.m.–2:45 p.m.
Presented by
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Rick Turoczy
@turoczy
https://siliconflorist.com
Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation, has shared insights in the book The Startup Community Way, and has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to Kobe to Muscat, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0).
As founder and editor of Silicon Florist (https://siliconflorist.com/), he has blogged about Portland startups for nearly 20 years — even though numerous people have begged him to stop. That side project led Rick to start PIE (the Portland Incubator Experiment) (https://piepdx.com/), an ongoing experiment exploring the potential for mutually beneficial collaborations between the Portland startup community and more well-established entities like corporations, government organizations, and educational institutions.
Rick Turoczy
@turoczy
https://siliconflorist.com
Abstract
Building a thriving open source community isn’t just about setting up the right infrastructure — it’s about lighting the fire, welcoming every ingredient, and making sure the pot stays stirred.
In this talk, Rick Turoczy — longtime startup community builder, Silicon Florist writer, and semi-professional stirrer-of-pots — shares practical, heartfelt lessons on how open communities nourish creativity, innovation, and resilience. Drawing inspiration from campfires, communal kitchens, and a few questionable recipes, Rick explores what it really takes to keep the flame alive without burning out the chefs.
Topics include:
- Building the Fire: Creating the conditions where contributors of all kinds feel warmth, safety, and purpose
- Embracing Every Ingredient: Recognizing and celebrating every kind of contribution — code, documentation, encouragement, memes, and moral support
- Always Stirring the Pot: Keeping communities dynamic, curious, and welcoming to new flavors and ideas — without letting things get scorched
Whether you're tending a tiny new project or helping stir a massive community stew, you'll leave with a renewed sense of why open source isn't just about code — it's about collaboration, nourishment, and shared possibility.
Building a thriving open source community isn’t just about setting up the right infrastructure — it’s about lighting the fire, welcoming every ingredient, and making sure the pot stays stirred. In this talk, Rick Turoczy — longtime startup community builder, Silicon Florist writer, and semi-professional stirrer-of-pots — shares practical, heartfelt lessons on how open communities nourish creativity, innovation, and resilience. Drawing inspiration from campfires, communal kitchens, and a few questionable recipes, Rick explores what it really takes to keep the flame alive without burning out the chefs. Topics include: - Building the Fire: Creating the conditions where contributors of all kinds feel warmth, safety, and purpose - Embracing Every Ingredient: Recognizing and celebrating every kind of contribution — code, documentation, encouragement, memes, and moral support - Always Stirring the Pot: Keeping communities dynamic, curious, and welcoming to new flavors and ideas — without letting things get scorched Whether you're tending a tiny new project or helping stir a massive community stew, you'll leave with a renewed sense of why open source isn't just about code — it's about collaboration, nourishment, and shared possibility.