entrepreneurship Archives - Page 2 of 24

Willy Wonka Inspired a Generation of Founders

Wednesday, 29 October 2025 by Paul O'Brien

He was no wizard. Magic is the soft word we use when we can’t explain how someone bends the laws of reality. Willy Wonka bent them with sugar, steel, and science. His factory wasn’t a place of spells, it was a cathedral of chemistry, a machine that turned the imagination of children into industrial-scale production.

Published in Startups

19 Comments

How Real Ecosystems Outperform Hype: Startup Ecosystem Infrastructure

Friday, 24 October 2025 by Paul O'Brien

What if the problem isn’t that cities can’t build startups, what if the problem is they’re building the wrong kind of systems? In the frenzy to claim, “innovation district,” many regions forget the fundamentals: connections, capital-fit, customer access, and context. In a recent panel for Founder Institute, I brought together three ecosystem practitioners, Levi Velez

economic development ecosystem building ecosystem development ecosystems entrepreneurship startups

Published in Economic Development

24 Comments

It’s Not the End of the World. It’s the End of Pretending.

Monday, 20 October 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Every generation believes it’s living through the end of the world. With all that’s on social media and in the news now, ours might finally be right, but not in the way we think. And you reader, entrepreneurs, investors, and economic development leaders, are the people we need rising to the challenges. R.E.M.’s It’s the End

cities economic development ecosystem entrepreneurship platform regions startups

Published in Economic Development

26 Comments

Startups Draw Talent and Opportunity to Cities

Tuesday, 14 October 2025 by Paul O'Brien

What if I told you a city’s “magnetism” doesn’t begin with a Fortune 500 relocating its headquarters, but with a small, scrappy startup raising its first round? Let’s talk about smarter economic development. Cities that craft startup ecosystems don’t just chase large employers; they become destinations for opportunity, pulling in both job-seekers and job creators. Interestingly, I said

economic development ecosystem development entrepreneurship job creation jobs startups workforce development

Published in Economic Development

26 Comments

Washington’s Blueprint for Public-Private Innovation for Washington Startups

Thursday, 09 October 2025 by Paul O'Brien

A coalition reimagines the role of cities, universities, and entrepreneurs in shaping the future of downtown Washington D.C. and Washington startups. Just north of the White House, where K Street bends toward Dupont Circle and the stately facades of Farragut meet the hum of D.C.’s intellectual life, something quietly revolutionary is taking shape. The Penn

accelerators dc entrepreneurship founder institute incubators innovation policy politics washington

Published in Regional Development

11 Comments

Stop Trying to Validate Your Startup Idea

Friday, 26 September 2025 by Paul O'Brien

I hope the headline brought you here with a bit of “WTF is he going to propose now?” But I was compelled to share this perspective when in the start of a host of new incubator cohorts, we’re talking about idea validation, and some brilliant observations were made by mentors. Startups love to talk about

entrepreneurship idea validation ideas Lean Startup startups validation

Published in Startups

42 Comments

How Hard Tech History Fuels Entrepreneurship – Austin’s Story

Wednesday, 03 September 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Amidst what seems to be a boom of chips in Central Texas, I want to share with everyone, everywhere, how the hard tech of Texas isn’t a result of a recent pivot, there is a history to study in how it grew up around Austin, a history from which we can learn how to build

austin deep tech economic development ecosystem ecosystem building entrepreneurship hard tech innovation startups texas

Published in Regional Development

29 Comments