Startups Archives - Startup Economist

Rethinking Startup Ecosystems to Build What Investors Really Want

Monday, 28 October 2024 by Paul O'Brien

In most of the world, startups are in disrepair. No more effectively can we just reboot or defrag a computer to actually fix it, than we can try again and again to host demo days, networking events, and run incubators, expecting different results, when there is a virus in the system. Begging the question, that,

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

26 Comments

Seeking Better Startup Founder Agreements

Monday, 28 October 2024 by Paul O'Brien

Ever see a pie chart like this, or can you at least envision one, wherein a partner of yours (or God-forbid, you), expect a majority control of a startup? I get asked all the time, about how to handle retaining control when it was my idea or how to deal with a cofounder who wants

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Published in Insights / Research, Startups

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Seek the Contrarian: What to Expect of a Good Entrepreneurship Program

Tuesday, 15 October 2024 by Paul O'Brien

In a speech in Paris, in 1910, Theodore Roosevelt remarked the often encouraged, “Comparison Is the Thief of Joy.” That, when we compare ourselves to others, we rob ourselves of our own happiness as, through comparison, we either feel a sense of inferiority or superiority. What we see in entrepreneurship and among founders is this

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Published in Insights / Research, Local, Startup Ecosystems, Startups

20 Comments

Startups Solving Founders’ Problems are Failing

Monday, 30 September 2024 by Paul O'Brien

Here’s a problem that you might address as a startup founder: other startup founders struggle to find problems to take on, to come up with ideas to address, and to expose issues in industries, so that they might launch a successful venture presenting a solution to that problem. How do I know this is a

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Published in Industry, Insights / Research, Startups

25 Comments

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

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

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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

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

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“I have an Idea but lack Experience or Startup Capital…”

Monday, 09 September 2024 by Paul O'Brien

This is one of those frequently heard statements that helps a startup ecosystem recognize that gaps remain. Last week, I pushed founders and economists to recognize the distinction between innovation and technology (between startups and businesses), and from that, I was asked for advice too frequently asked, “How can I capitalize on an app idea

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Published in Raising Capital, Startups

27 Comments