Author: SEO’Brien

Startups: What Exactly is Execution?

Sunday, 03 December 2023 by SEO'Brien

I want to put your head on a specific focus as we explore this question. In the last few weeks, I’ve tackled the question of an ideal team for a startup, sharing new research about personalities, been critical of expectations, and proposed that understanding and avoiding how startups fail is more important than attention directed

Published in Insights / Research, Startups

4 Comments

Success as a Startup Founder? Need for variety and novelty, reduced modesty, an openness to adventure, and heightened energy levels

Thursday, 19 October 2023 by SEO'Brien

A recent study conducted by researchers from the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and the University of Melbourne examined data from over 21,000 startup founders, formally identifying six key startup founder personality types associated with success. Notably, the research indicates that the collective personalities of a startup’s entire founding team significantly influence the venture’s

entrepreneurship founders personality traits team values

Published in Insights / Research, Startups

16 Comments

What it Takes to Make Your City “Next” in Innovation

Friday, 29 September 2023 by SEO'Brien

So, the guy who chose and loves Austin has some thoughts about the potential of Houston. I had a chance to sit with Chris Howard during their interview series when in Austin, for Forging the Future through Softeq, where we talked about how culture and distinction draws entrepreneurship, tech, and capital. How Houston is on

austin community economic development ecosystems houston texas venture capital venture development

Published in Startups

8 Comments

Modern Day Heroes

Tuesday, 26 September 2023 by SEO'Brien

My world is almost entirely online; from my written works to the majority of MediaTech Ventures‘ focus, the internet changed everything about our world but in doing that, created confusion about what it means to be an entrepreneur, how we define a startup, and wherein we find the heroes of the modern era. In my

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Published in Startups

6 Comments

Founders, VCs Might Not Like My Sharing This, But They Should

Thursday, 21 September 2023 by SEO'Brien

One of the more challenging skills to help develop in a founder, is being able to discern b.s. from experienced and valid advice. As you might imagine (and I hope you can relate from the all too prolific frequency with which this happens), it’s particularly difficult to know how to put questions back on a

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Published in Insights / Research, Startups

12 Comments

Startup Founders, a Good Idea Solves a Problem, A Great Idea Creates Value

Thursday, 29 June 2023 by SEO'Brien

We have a huge problem in the startup ecosystem; that’s that most founders have been misled by a lot of people to think in terms of Problem / Solution. That a solution to a problem is what matters foremost in a startup. And that has led to the notion that validation is a simple matter

advice entrepreneurship innovation marketing startups success venture capital

Published in Insights / Research, Search, Uncategorized

27 Comments

Startup Founders, Focus! (Yeah, but on what?)

Thursday, 25 May 2023 by SEO'Brien

Focus. We hear that word and advice bantered about A LOT in the startup community but rarely is that mentorship capably followed up with WHAT to focus on and why. This is what contributes to founders to wasting time and failing. You think the advice is helpful; it’s not, it’s distracting. Focus? Yes. But on what?? Most

entrepreneurship focus founders problem solution startups

Published in Startups

16 Comments

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