Featured Archives - Startup Economist

How Startup Ecosystem Builders Start Ecosystems

Tuesday, 10 September 2024 by Paul O'Brien

I’d bet, if you were to look to the ecosystem surrounding your work, you’d see some meetups, a local startup group on Facebook, a business or technology journalist at the newspaper as the person known for covering startups, some coworking spaces, and perhaps a distinct innovation hub supported by the City or Chamber, right in

Published in Featured, Industry, Insights / Research, Startup Ecosystems, Startups

26 Comments

The 6 Considerations of the Economic Development of Startups

Thursday, 29 August 2024 by Paul O'Brien

In my work with cities throughout the world, guiding how to foster entrepreneurship, few realize or fully appreciate that the experiences of my life inform what works and what doesn’t, in a region of the world trying to help startups. Raised in Michigan, I spent years exposed to what it means to have a city

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Published in Economic Development, Featured, Insights / Research, Startup Ecosystems, Startups

22 Comments

Why Accelerators Fail Startup Founders

Thursday, 11 April 2024 by Paul O'Brien

Let’s take the two most distributed Startup Development Organizations in the world, and tease out what’s happening In a point of fact: overwhelming most Accelerators *fail* founders; but why? With such a bold assertion, let me properly set the stage by pointing out that when 90% or more of all startups fail rather quickly, it’s

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Published in Featured, Industry, Insights / Research, Startup Ecosystems, Startups

66 Comments

Why a Competitive Analysis is a First Step as a Founder

Thursday, 17 September 2020 by Paul O'Brien

There is a trick to entrepreneurship, to starting a venture, that no one really ever talks about. Not sure why they don’t talk about it… perhaps because they don’t understand how to do it… perhaps because everyone is selling something… perhaps because they’ve hired help and it sucked… regardless, I’m going to let you in

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Published in Advertising, Featured, Insights / Research, Startups

45 Comments

“A VC is asking 6% for acting as an advisor…”

Friday, 27 September 2019 by Paul O'Brien

As a startup mentor, that’s the start of the all too common question from founders trying to figure out if they should part with equity to get someone involved. As a venture partner, that’s a reflection of what too many startups are offered and it’s a turn of the phrase that ranks right up there

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Published in Featured, Raising Capital, Startups

104 Comments

The 5 Reasons Investors Pass on Startups

Monday, 10 June 2019 by Paul O'Brien

Is it that simple? Let’s try… I’ve explored before HOW startups fail and article after article after article ponders why they fail. I hope we can agree on a simple fact that IF a startup is going to fail, investors would rather not be involved. Yes? So might it be as simple? Investors consider countless

funding investment investors venture capital

Published in Featured, Startups

26 Comments

How do you compete with a startup doing the same thing as you?

Tuesday, 19 March 2019 by Paul O'Brien

Also known as Cheaper / Better / Faster, you get to pick two. How do you compete with a startup doing the same thing as you? You study them. It’s called Marketing. That’s what Marketing actually is, too many think it means promotion or advertising. see: Is Advertising Marketing? The Best Marketing Advice to Give a Startup

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Published in Advertising, Featured, PR, Search, Startups

23 Comments