×

Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2005-2024; Paul O'Brien - STARTUP ECONOMIST - All Rights Reserved

Subscribe via Substack

Building Cities Out of Song; the Creative Engine of Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Tuesday, 14 January 2025 by
Music, a primary cultural cornerstone, plays a transformative role in fostering creativity, collaboration, and risk-taking — traits essential for entrepreneurship and innovation. A 2019 study by the World Economic Forum underscored the symbiotic relationship between the arts and innovation, emphasizing that creativity spurred by artistic engagement improves problem-solving and decision-making. Similarly, the National Endowment for
Read more
34 Comments

Zagreb plus Istria: The Economic Development Plan for Croatia’s Future as a Global Hub of Innovation

Thursday, 09 January 2025 by
As I walked the streets of Zagreb, Croatia, not long ago, I couldn’t help but remark that I had a feeling that I was experiencing, Austin, TX, years ago. From my time in Michigan, Phoenix, Silicon Valley, and now Austin, my community knows well that the work I do is designing startup ecosystems; working with
Read more
8 Comments

Venture Capital Manifests for Opportunity: It’s Not Available to Serve

Monday, 06 January 2025 by
For economic development professionals, community builders, and government officials committed to fostering entrepreneurship, it’s all too common to hear founders lament that a “lack of capital” is their most significant challenge. Yet, curiously, a lack of capital is rarely cited as a leading cause of startup failure. This disconnect points to a deeper, systemic issue
Read more
8 Comments

Regional Startup Ecosystems Must Embrace Distinction

Saturday, 04 January 2025 by
What we can learn from asking of South and Central America You’re failing. Let me cut to that chase. After more nearly two decades in Austin, Texas, and working with cities and regions throughout the world, what holds YOU and your economy back is that you won’t communicate clearly, distinguish your strengths, and acknowledge your
Read more
11 Comments

Is it Possible to Future Proof a Career Given AI?

Saturday, 04 January 2025 by
What Marketing Could Teach Us if We Were Actually Marketing Jack Ma, speaking at the World Economic Forum in 2019, warned:“We have to teach our kids something unique, so that a machine can never catch up with us: values, believing, independent thinking, teamwork, care for others—the soft skills—sports, music, painting, arts, to make sure humans
Read more
22 Comments

Silicon Valley’s Culture of Creative Destruction

Friday, 03 January 2025 by
Silicon Valley’s legendary status as the birthplace of innovation isn’t merely a product of geography or luck — it is rooted in a culture of creative destruction, a term popularized by Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter, author of Theory of Economic Development. Creative destruction is the process by which innovation disrupts existing industries, rendering outdated systems
Read more
8 Comments

From Socialist Roots to a Free-Market Startup Renaissance: Estonia

Friday, 03 January 2025 by
Estonia has long been hailed as the digital darling of Europe, a small Baltic nation that defied its post-Soviet limitations to emerge as a tech powerhouse. Yet, for all its acclaim, Estonia’s journey has been shaped by a tension between its socialist roots and a growing desire for economic liberalism. Today, with sweeping governmental reforms
Read more
5 Comments
TOP