Economic Development Archives - Page 3 of 25

The Best and Potential States for Startups: A Policy-First Look at Who’s Helping Founders

Monday, 09 March 2026 by Paul O'Brien

If you ask most people which states are best for startups, they’ll rattle off California and New York because that’s where the money has historically pooled, understandably now too, Texas. That’s a bit like saying Las Vegas is a great place to build wealth because rich people go there. The concentration of capital in a

Published in Economic Development

7 Comments

What if the Poorest Places Are Actually the Best Places to Start a Startup Right Now?

Friday, 06 March 2026 by Paul O'Brien

I was asked this past week, by someone in a very economically challenged city, how they can start something without the resources so many others have when starting out. Data on this is more encouraging than the startup world wants to admit so the question drove me to want to help make sure everyone knows

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Published in Economic Development

33 Comments

SXSW 2026 Guide for Founders, Investors, and Ecosystem Builders

Monday, 02 March 2026 by Paul O'Brien

SXSW is here in as much as if you’re coming, you’re curious what to consider. If you’re still treating it like a trade show where you badge-tap your way through panels and collect business cards, you’re behind. The conference this year sprawls across Austin March 12–18, 2026 (before in fact), with all four festivals (Innovation,

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Published in Conferences / Events

10 Comments

Startup Cities Need to Measure and Expect Outcomes, Not Activity. Here’s How.

Wednesday, 25 February 2026 by Paul O'Brien

Cities love to count things that are easy to count: events, meetups, demo days. “Startups Launched.” Celebrating press releases. If activity were the same thing as value creation, every city with a monthly pitch night would be a company building machine. It isn’t. The discipline gap in startup ecosystem development is measurement, not dashboards full

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Published in Economic Development, Insights / Research, Startups

17 Comments

The Texas Aerospace Space

Friday, 20 February 2026 by Paul O'Brien

Synonymous with space, Texas is far more than Houston being informed of a problem, and after an incredible tour of Firefly’s rocket facilities in Briggs, Texas, with Space Force Association, I needed to dig in. Texas got into aerospace the way Texas gets into anything: by building a messy, expensive, politically complicated machine that becomes

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Published in Aerospace, Regional Development

No Comments

Florida, Miami Startups, the Startup Ecosystem: Innovation, Invention, and Building Sustainable Entrepreneurial Capacity

Tuesday, 17 February 2026 by Paul O'Brien

Miami, known for its beaches and nightlife, is far more than the art deco and the party destination rightfully earned wherein you’ll find something that feels like a real startup ecosystem: vibrant, international, and increasingly respected on global rankings. This is the story of how Miami and Florida evolved from a tourism-centric economy into a dynamic

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Published in Regional Development

18 Comments

New York’s Sector Machines, Explained: The Real Drivers of Startup Economic Power

Wednesday, 11 February 2026 by Paul O'Brien

I’ve found that one of the strengths and distinctions of New York City, from which we might all learn for our own local economy, is that it doesn’t have an ecosystem the way people say it at conferences, like it’s a single organism. A couple weeks ago, we explored here that New York is what

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Published in Regional Development

8 Comments