Startups Archives - Startup Economist

Building Cities Out of Song; the Creative Engine of Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Tuesday, 14 January 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Music, a primary cultural cornerstone, plays a transformative role in fostering creativity, collaboration, and risk-taking — traits essential for entrepreneurship and innovation. A 2019 study by the World Economic Forum underscored the symbiotic relationship between the arts and innovation, emphasizing that creativity spurred by artistic engagement improves problem-solving and decision-making. Similarly, the National Endowment for

Published in Austin, Economic Development, Startups

32 Comments

How One of the Best Product Launches Ever Proves You Need Better Advisors

Wednesday, 08 January 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Be it a startup, a corporation, or even a public office, I would bet money before I’d invest in a startup that success hinges on the quality of its advisors. Advisors are not just voices in the background; they are formal participants in an organization’s structure, uniquely positioned to provide insights and strategic guidance that

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Published in Startups

11 Comments

The Foibles of Pivoting: Why It Fails

Tuesday, 07 January 2025 by Paul O'Brien

The idea of pivoting in startups is almost as entrenched in entrepreneurial culture as the notion of disruption itself. Popularized by Eric Ries in his seminal work, The Lean Startup, the concept of a pivot refers to a “structured course correction designed to test a new fundamental hypothesis about the product, strategy, and engine of

entrepreneurship execution Lean Startup marketing validation

Published in Startups

4 Comments

Venture Capital Manifests for Opportunity: It’s Not Available to Serve

Monday, 06 January 2025 by Paul O'Brien

For economic development professionals, community builders, and government officials committed to fostering entrepreneurship, it’s all too common to hear founders lament that a “lack of capital” is their most significant challenge. Yet, curiously, a lack of capital is rarely cited as a leading cause of startup failure. This disconnect points to a deeper, systemic issue

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Published in Raising Capital, Startup Ecosystems

8 Comments

Driving Innovation in Corporate Environments

Thursday, 02 January 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Established companies often lag behind startups in innovation due to structural and cultural constraints. Designed to operate with agility and a high tolerance for risk, founders are pursuing specific solutions to uncovered opportunities and work at a pace necessary to get out in front of competition; large organizations, by contrast, naturally prioritize stability, efficiency, and

companies corporate innovation corporate ventures innovation intrapreneurship

Published in Startups

18 Comments

Pipeline > Data > Community > Audience > Customer

Thursday, 19 December 2024 by Paul O'Brien

Why Pipelines Trump Customers: Rethinking Value Creation in Startups It’s often said that “every startup needs customers.” That’s true. Without someone paying for your product or service, you don’t have a business. But this oft-repeated mantra misses the mark entirely when it comes to understanding value creation—the kind of value venture capitalists care about. Owning

entrepreneurship fundraising marketing value value creation venture capital

Published in Data, Insights / Research, Startups

5 Comments

How to Get More Out of Entrepreneurs

Thursday, 12 December 2024 by Paul O'Brien

Whether you are an investor, a founder seeking advice, a business owner, or someone working through a city to encourage economic growth, we can be certain that you engage with people who are entrepreneurial. Certain of that, having read the body of works about entrepreneurship, the studies about entrepreneurs, and even the psychological works related

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Published in Insights / Research, Startup Ecosystems, Startups

16 Comments