Startup Ecosystems Archives - Startup Economist

How To vs. Experienced With: The Distinction of Startup or New Business

Monday, 06 October 2025 by Paul O'Brien

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

27 Comments

Why Most Accelerators Fail – And What Comes Next

Tuesday, 23 September 2025 by Paul O'Brien

On The Forge of the Unicorns with Michele Brissoni I’ve been in hundreds of cities working to support entrepreneurs and ecosystems. One thing I’ve seen over and over again, whether I’m in Boise, Bogotá, or Brussels, is this illusion that we can bootstrap startup economies by launching accelerators. We treat them like vending machines: plug

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Published in AI, Startup Ecosystems

49 Comments

Using Event Sites and Social Media to Grow Attendance and Registration

Monday, 08 September 2025 by Paul O'Brien

You’re hosting a startup event coming up, maybe a Founder Institute session or a local startup pitch night. You know it matters, you know it should be crowded, and you’ve sent out the obligatory newsletter to your mailing list. And now? Crickets. Here’s the reality of how the internet works: your audience didn’t even see

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Published in Social Media, Startup Ecosystems

6 Comments

Innovation Isn’t Real Estate: Why Startup Hubs Waste Money

Thursday, 21 August 2025 by Paul O'Brien

The garage myth keeps fooling policymakers Innovation is not a real estate play, and your innovation district is likely disappointing entrepreneurs. Yet cities, universities, and corporations keep pouring millions into gleaming new “innovation spaces” and “hubs,” mistaking glass walls and free Wi-Fi for entrepreneurship. To some extent, understandably; startup folklore inspires us with stories of

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Published in Economic Development, Startup Ecosystems

37 Comments

Bogotá, Colombia; Latin America’s Next Startup Ascent

Friday, 15 August 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Colombia has always been a country in motion; politically, culturally, and economically. But motion isn’t the same as progress, and progress isn’t guaranteed. For generations, Colombians have adapted to change not because they wanted to, but because they had to. It’s in this crucible of necessity that the country’s entrepreneurial spirit was forged and potential

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Published in Regional Development, Startup Ecosystems

11 Comments

Why Startups and Cities Fail Without a Clear Narrative: ACES for Ventures and Ecosystems

Wednesday, 06 August 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Most of you don’t fail because they lack a great product, brilliant founders, or access to capital. You fail because you haven’t worked out how to tell your story. You fail because your narrative doesn’t build trust, urgency, or credibility; three things that must happen before you ever get to the sale. This isn’t just

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Published in Startup Ecosystems, Startups

15 Comments

Why Nobody Understands Startup Growth

Wednesday, 30 July 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Startups don’t grow like businesses. Not in the traditional sense. They don’t scale by adding headcount, expanding inventory, or renting more retail space. They grow by discovering, and then systematically proving, a revenue-generating system that works before it collapses. And yet, here we are, in 2025, with startup advisors, development organizations, investors, and even policymakers

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Published in Insights / Research, Startup Ecosystems, Startups

34 Comments