Insights / Research Archives - Page 2 of 26

Founders, North Texas is the World’s FinTech Hub

Friday, 20 September 2024 by Paul O'Brien

“You’re really seeing a whole new North Texas ecosystem,” noted H. Ross Perot, Jr., son of the former presidential candidate, about the phenomenon other investors have termed a finance invasion making me cringe a bit (if I’m being honest) at being termed Y’all Street. Perot Jr. sold the Dallas Mavericks basketball team to Mark Cuban

Published in FinTech, Industry, Insights / Research, Regional Development, Startups

10 Comments

Government Has No Intention of Cracking Down on Disinformation

Tuesday, 17 September 2024 by Paul O'Brien

Finding ourselves in the thick of a contentious U.S. Presidential election, I found myself contemplating how critical it is, now more than ever perhaps, to teach everyone the realities of media. To accomplish that though, I’ve wanted to expose that reality without stoking the flames of Harris / Trump so having spent some time with

disinformation fake news media bias misinformation propaganda

Published in Advertising, Insights / Research, PR

22 Comments

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

community community building economic development ecosystem building ecosystems entrepreneurship startups

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

26 Comments

Startups Must Be Disruptive

Wednesday, 04 September 2024 by Paul O'Brien

The word “disruption” often evokes a sense of upheaval, and for many startup founders, the idea of creating something that dismantles existing systems can be distasteful. I discovered this distaste most prominently in my relocation from Silicon Valley to Austin, Texas, where the word “disruptive” was treated with disdain; a dirty word that implies founders

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Published in Insights / Research, Startups

19 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

11 Comments

Marketing and Storytelling Manifest a Startup City

Friday, 23 August 2024 by Paul O'Brien

The explosive growth of specific cities throughout the world might be the best evidence of the impact of good old-fashioned marketing. Not advertising mind you, but marketing: understanding what you have, for whom, why they care, and delivering that to them. The last 25 years or so have witnessed the transformation of our world from

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Published in Economic Development, Industry, Insights / Research, Startup Ecosystems

9 Comments

The Personality of your VC Matters, Ask Investors their MBTI

Friday, 28 June 2024 by Paul O'Brien

It would seem I struck a bit of a chord the other day, pushing the popular Myers-Briggs personality assessments well beyond the overdone “What’s the best Myers-Briggs Personality of Entrepreneurs?” to instead share what personalities make the best startup advisors. Begging then the question of whether or not personalities correlate with quality startup investors. A

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Published in Insights / Research, Startups

13 Comments