innovation Archives - Page 2 of 8

Stop Funding Accelerators. Invest in Venture Studios Instead.

Monday, 04 August 2025 by Paul O'Brien

The most underwhelming moment for an entrepreneur in a startup ecosystem is the ribbon-cutting on yet another accelerator. Confetti flies, politicians pose, local media snaps a shot of the logo on the wall, and everyone goes home to wonder why venture capital still doesn’t show up. If you’re not familiar with why your region isn’t

Published in Economic Development

75 Comments

Startups Are Getting Crushed by Politics, Not Product; Here’s the Hire That Can Save You

Thursday, 05 June 2025 by Paul O'Brien

You’ve probably heard it in every startup pitch deck since the dawn of Lean: “We’re hiring a killer PM to build the roadmap.” Or worse, “Our Head of Product will drive user adoption and retention.” Bless their hearts. That mindset is the startup equivalent of rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, blind to the reality

government relations Industry innovation legislation policy public affairs regulation startups

Published in Startups

17 Comments

Startup Ecosystems Fail Because of Investors

Wednesday, 28 May 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Yes, I meant what I said in that headline… let’s see if I can back it up. In my conversation with Bryan Hancock on Executive Connect, I pulled back the curtain on the startup mythology that’s selling cities, founders, and investors a false bill of goods. We don’t need more accelerators. We need people who

art austin creative economic development government innovation investing investors public policy technology

Published in Economic Development, Startups

9 Comments

How Media Distorts the Truth About Regional Ecosystems – Apparently Austin is on Life Support

Tuesday, 27 May 2025 by Paul O'Brien

There’s a reason the phrase “don’t believe everything you read” never dies. Because even when it’s printed in The Wall Street Journal, a brand so synonymous with business credibility that your uncle still calls it “The Paper,” the story can be skewed, shallow, and — let’s not mince words — wrong. In this case, we’re

austin economic development innovation legislation media misinformation public policy texas

Published in Startup Ecosystems, Texas Startups

21 Comments

How a University is Reshaping Florida’s Economy — and the Future of Aerospace

Tuesday, 27 May 2025 by Paul O'Brien

I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. This place is an economic engine dressed like a university, disguised as a think tank, wrapped in a space suit – right at the heart of the future of our economy and world. What Embry-Riddle is doing right now with a newly announced partners

embry-riddle florida incubator innovation startup studio university

Published in Aerospace, Economic Development, Regional Development

5 Comments

Founders and Policymakers Need Us at the Table— Before They Decide the Future for Us

Monday, 21 April 2025 by Paul O'Brien

With my work increasingly entrenched in Washington, D.C., state capitols, and the public policy battles shaping entrepreneurship and venture capital, I’ve found myself staring down a familiar name in tech: Google. Again. For many of us, the latest antitrust accusations is déjà vu, about privacy, about data, and control – whether it’s Apple, Microsoft, X,

competition Google government innovation public policy regulation

Published in AI, Economic Development, Search

3 Comments

Belgian Startups, Immigration, and Why your Definition of Innovation is Wrong

Tuesday, 01 April 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Let’s make something clear before we get into it, this is a discussion of beer from the perspective of an entrepreneur and economist, to explain to you something critical to your startup ecosystem: “tech” is not code. It’s not apps, websites, VC-backed SaaS tools, or whatever spitting image of Silicon Valley nonsense is being peddled

alcohol startups austin beer startups belgium beverage startups europe innovation startups tech texas

Published in Startups

18 Comments