The Customer of Venture Capital Isn’t the Founder, It’s the Investor
Wednesday, 22 October 2025
Until Cities Get That Straight, Startups Will Keep Starving for Capital It’s a weird day when the world’s entrepreneurs sound like customers complaining about a bad product. “We can’t find funding.” “Investors aren’t taking risks.” “There’s no capital in our city.” You’ve heard it a thousand times; it’s the economic equivalent of Yelp reviews from
- Published in Economic Development, Raising Capital
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It’s Not the End of the World. It’s the End of Pretending.
Monday, 20 October 2025
Every generation believes it’s living through the end of the world. With all that’s on social media and in the news now, ours might finally be right, but not in the way we think. And you reader, entrepreneurs, investors, and economic development leaders, are the people we need rising to the challenges. R.E.M.’s It’s the End
- Published in Economic Development
Startups Draw Talent and Opportunity to Cities
Tuesday, 14 October 2025
What if I told you a city’s “magnetism” doesn’t begin with a Fortune 500 relocating its headquarters, but with a small, scrappy startup raising its first round? Let’s talk about smarter economic development. Cities that craft startup ecosystems don’t just chase large employers; they become destinations for opportunity, pulling in both job-seekers and job creators. Interestingly, I said
- Published in Economic Development
Forget Demo Days, This Is Where Startup Ecosystem Building Happens
Monday, 13 October 2025
In just a little less than a month, in Augusta, Georgia, the nation’s top startup ecosystem builders and national ecosystem support organizations convene to gain insight from real world case studies, and explore and experience new communities, against the backdrops of some of the nation’s top emerging ecosystems. This is the time of year for
- Published in Conferences / Events
Washington’s Blueprint for Public-Private Innovation for Washington Startups
Thursday, 09 October 2025
A coalition reimagines the role of cities, universities, and entrepreneurs in shaping the future of downtown Washington D.C. and Washington startups. Just north of the White House, where K Street bends toward Dupont Circle and the stately facades of Farragut meet the hum of D.C.’s intellectual life, something quietly revolutionary is taking shape. The Penn
- Published in Regional Development
How To vs. Experienced With: The Distinction of Startup or New Business
Monday, 06 October 2025
The opportunity isn’t that cities, chambers, and investors don’t support entrepreneurship, it’s that they have the chance to support the right kind in the right way. For decades, we’ve been celebrating every new idea in the same sandbox, mixing storefronts with startups, consultants with creators, and then wondering why only a few hold up when
- Published in Startup Ecosystems, Startups
The Startup Frontier Hidden in America’s Supply Chain
Thursday, 02 October 2025
Imagine a modest Ozarks town (once underestimated) emerging as a national hub for retail, supply chain, and CPG innovation. Now imagine that the parent company is actively relocating talent, building a new urban HQ, and doubling down on ecosystem development. That’s Bentonville; once pigeonholed as “Walmart’s little hometown,” now staking a claim as one of
- Published in Regional Development







