PR Archives - Startup Economist

Why Most Startups Fail to Get Enough Attention

Wednesday, 18 June 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Most startups don’t die because they lacked funding. They don’t die because of bad code, poor vision, lack of a business plan, or the boogeyman of “not having product-market fit.” They die because no one noticed they were alive in the first place. We romanticize startup failure as some noble rite of passage (cue the

Published in PR, Startups

28 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

23 Comments

Can You Tell When a Digital Marketing Plan Will Fail?

Wednesday, 18 November 2020 by Paul O'Brien

A marketing plan is more like a flywheel, not a funnel.

Advertising digital digital marketing marketing online marketing plan promotions roadmap

Published in Advertising, Insights / Research, PR, Search, Social Media

12 Comments

Pitching VCs from Far Far Away

Monday, 04 May 2020 by Paul O'Brien

Later this year, the Mandalorian returns to the small screen for Season 2 of one of the hottest reasons everyone has flocked to Disney+ While anxiously awaiting a show near the top of my Must See TV, my family and I spent the weekend binge watching Star Wars while I toiled away on a major

entrepreneurship fund raising funding marketing pitching startups venture capital

Published in Advertising, PR, Startups

6 Comments

Education in Marketing and Entrepreneurship

Thursday, 17 October 2019 by Paul O'Brien

Two VERY different things. Love this question, I mentor in our local High School program and with University incubators and accelerators. Our schools can do better, if we help them do so. Peter Drucker (economist notable in the 70s and 80s), “Only two things create value in business – Marketing and Innovation; and Marketing is the

college education entrepreneurship high school marketing startups

Published in Advertising, PR, Social Media, Startups

2 Comments

How to SEO, Considering the Top 10 Google Ranking Factors

Monday, 09 September 2019 by Paul O'Brien

Despite my frequently sharing that I don’t do SEO, an SEO piece for those trying to figure it out. One of the most notable people in Search, Rand Fishkin, just published this data. The 26 Google ranking factors, prioritized. Largely working with startups and new ventures, it’s clear that countless continue their search for “SEO”

Google ranking search engine optimization seo

Published in Advertising, Insights / Research, Mobile, PR, Search, Social Media

10 Comments

Products and People Fail, Marketing Can’t.

Friday, 02 August 2019 by Paul O'Brien

Provocative thought, I hope. “Can’t”?? I’m sure you’ve felt frequently that Marketing has failed. You’ve had that consultant, agency, or tried what that marketing article advised, and it just didn’t work out. But I chose that word carefully. Not, “Doesn’t,” not, “won’t,” and not, “might,” because marketing actually can’t. Marketing is a practice; things you

entrepreneurship marketing product sales

Published in Advertising, Insights / Research, PR, Search, Social Media, Startups

20 Comments