Established firms were more likely to have institutionalized community involvement programs, including corporate giving activities and established practices for volunteer hours. Most entrepreneurial firms say that the best time to get involved in the community is when they reach profitability. This isn't surprising since community involvement increases with firm size, but it does have implications for Austin. In a city with many startups where the new firms' primary objectives must be to validate their business model and build a sustainable company, established firms may need to play a more substantial role until entrepreneurial firms become more mature. Eventually, successful start-ups may need assistance with the transition to greater community involvement.
Few firms measure their involvement in the community.
This underscores an overall need to gather more facts about community involvement. Transportation was not a high priority for responding firms. Entrepreneurial firms expect their involvement to increase next year. A majority of firms feel that their level of involvement is sufficient, but that other firms should be doing more. The Web is not used extensively.