advisors Archives - Startup Economist

You Don’t Need Traction. You Need to Understand Why They Say You Do.

Friday, 13 June 2025 by Paul O'Brien

There’s a special kind of eye twitch that founders get the 37th time they hear, “We’d love to invest, but you need more traction.” It’s a vague hand-wave of a dismissal that sounds helpful, but is really just cowardice in a hoodie. And when you ask what kind of traction they mean, they blink like

Published in Insights / Research, Raising Capital, Startups

8 Comments

This Is Why It’s Critical to Our Economy That We Distinguish Startups from New Businesses

Friday, 11 April 2025 by Paul O'Brien

This might be among my most harsh criticisms of our economy, and I don’t write it lightly but rather because as time progresses, we can see more and more clearly how misrepresentation of focus, skills, and experience, actually harms entrepreneurs. Not All Failure is Created Equal And more importantly, not all failure is worthy of

advisors failure failures investors mentors new businesses startups

Published in Economic Development, Startup Ecosystems, Startups

30 Comments

Set Up Your AI Board of Advisors

Monday, 27 January 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Among the incubators in which I’m involved, and in conversations with founders, it’s evident that most need startup experienced advisors; the brightest of founders even asking for them in their ask at the end of a pitch (before asking for funding). Evident in 90% of startups is that they lack the CMO but don’t have

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Published in Startups

13 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

Superman isn’t Coming

Tuesday, 25 June 2024 by Paul O'Brien

When asked if I have any mentors to whom I look up to, people tend to chuckle when I share that at the top of my list are my family and Superman. Embodying both to an extent, my earliest experience with a Man of Steel was my father, who struck me as impervious to anything,

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Published in Startup Ecosystems, Startups

3 Comments

Founders, VCs Might Not Like My Sharing This, But They Should

Thursday, 21 September 2023 by Paul O'Brien

One of the more challenging skills to help develop in a founder, is being able to discern b.s. from experienced and valid advice. As you might imagine (and I hope you can relate from the all too prolific frequency with which this happens), it’s particularly difficult to know how to put questions back on a

advice advisors angel investors entrepreneurship investors startups vc venture capital

Published in Insights / Research, Startups

16 Comments

The Critical Role of Startup Mentors

Wednesday, 12 April 2023 by Paul O'Brien

Finding myself now through 3 cycles of the economy (more or less), working with startups throughout, I can’t help but observe and plead for people to raise their hands in philanthropy as mentors to entrepreneurs and would be founders. I’m no graphic designer but an idea struck me that felt best conveyed in a graphic,

advisors entrepreneurship mentoring mentors Mentorship

Published in Insights / Research, Startup Ecosystems, Startups

3 Comments