Startups Archives - Page 29 of 36

Startup Advisors vs. Mentors

Tuesday, 01 July 2014 by Paul O'Brien

Words tossed about so frequently in startup communities, it is easy to conclude they mean the same thing; that it doesn’t matter what such people are called, as long as you have some, you’re in good shape. But is that really so? Over the years, I’ve come to notice that startup communities collect mentors as though they are

Published in Startups

18 Comments

Work, Live, and Play in a Futuristic Phoenix

Tuesday, 17 June 2014 by Paul O'Brien

The result of a collaboration between Arizona State University’s (my alma mater by the way) Center for Nanotechnology in Society and The Design School at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, Phoenix, AZ is exploring how life in the Valley may look, decades from now. Darren Petricci, achitect and professor in the Design

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Published in Industry, Insights / Research, Startups

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Why Startups Need Consultants & Advisors

Monday, 02 June 2014 by Paul O'Brien

Silicon Valley thrives on fractional teams. I speak from experience as one of those consultants. There are two fairly unique characteristics of the Valley, unique in that I’ve not found them to work exactly the same way in other communities: Knowledge is freely available. You don’t pay for what & how, you pay for talent – execution. Lean

consultants consulting fractional freelancers Lean Startup outsourcing silicon valley

Published in Startups

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Raising Capital: The Perfect Startup Pitch

Tuesday, 06 May 2014 by Paul O'Brien

Having been a part of, easily, over 100 venture pitches, it’s hard not to put myself in the shoes of the venture capitalist; listening to entrepreneurs talk about their ventures as though I intend to invest more than I could possibly manage. The marketer in me, having listened to far more pitches than I’ve given,

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Published in Featured, Raising Capital, Startups

13 Comments

The Ancient Startup Communities of Greece and Rome

Wednesday, 16 April 2014 by Paul O'Brien

Recently, I had the honor of addressing a group of investors from Shenzhen, China, exploring opportunities in Texas and asking the question, why? Why here? Why Texas? Why Austin? Fostered by DB Business Group (a multi-sector global business development group), and a program called Invest Austin, a veteran of Silicon Valley like myself can’t help

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Published in Austin, Industry, Startup Ecosystems, Startups

10 Comments

Why Do Startups Work in Silicon Valley?

Thursday, 27 March 2014 by Paul O'Brien

One of the most frequently asked questions of today’s startup economy, no? Invariably, we discuss capital, talent, and ambition, frustrated with our own communities’ lack thereof, perhaps. And yet, is that really what’s at the heart of making a startup community work? When you think about it, the access to and significance of capital available

capital culture entrepreneurship Industry innovation silicon valley talent

Published in Regional Development, Startups

15 Comments

The Social Intelligence Industry is in Austin

Wednesday, 19 February 2014 by Paul O'Brien

A short time ago, I started exploring the significance of industry on an economy; the role that it plays in creating awareness of, drawing talent to, engaging capital on behalf of, and focusing a community around, innovation and entrepreneurship. If you’ve read here before, you know I’m something of a Druckerist, a student of Peter

Analytics austin culture dachis group Industry intelligence social intelligence social marketing Social Media sprinklr texas

Published in eCommerce, Industry, Startups

4 Comments