Insights / Research Archives - Page 3 of 27

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

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

creativity disruption entrepreneurship impact innovation social impact startups

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

economic development ecosystem entrepreneurship innovation startups venture capital

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

20 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

austin culture economic development entrepreneurship marketing startups storytelling

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

10 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

15 Comments

The Myers-Briggs Personality Types that make Ideal Startup Advisors

Thursday, 27 June 2024 by Paul O'Brien

In light of recent research establishing with near certainty that personality traits correlate with success (or failure) as a startup founder, I’ve been fixated on investigating if and how certain personality types are more or less meaningful to entrepreneurship. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a psychological assessment tool based on Carl Jung’s theory of

mbti myers-briggs

Published in Insights / Research, Startups

21 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