silicon valley Archives - Startup Economist

Building Cities Out of Song; the Creative Engine of Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Tuesday, 14 January 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Music, a primary cultural cornerstone, plays a transformative role in fostering creativity, collaboration, and risk-taking — traits essential for entrepreneurship and innovation. A 2019 study by the World Economic Forum underscored the symbiotic relationship between the arts and innovation, emphasizing that creativity spurred by artistic engagement improves problem-solving and decision-making. Similarly, the National Endowment for

Published in Austin, Economic Development, Startups

32 Comments

Silicon Valley’s Culture of Creative Destruction

Friday, 03 January 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Silicon Valley’s legendary status as the birthplace of innovation isn’t merely a product of geography or luck — it is rooted in a culture of creative destruction, a term popularized by Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter, author of Theory of Economic Development. Creative destruction is the process by which innovation disrupts existing industries, rendering outdated systems

disruption economic development innovation silicon valley

Published in Economic Development, Regional Development

8 Comments

How Silicon Valley Really Got Its Start: In Fashion Tech

Friday, 21 December 2018 by Paul O'Brien

It was in 1848, that a carpenter by the name of James Marshall spotted gold at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, Calif. Soon hopeful prospectors flooded the Golden State in search of their fortunes. Today’s gold rush is, of course, the venture capital discovered in them thar hills; with entrepreneurs flooding the Valley in search of their

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Published in Industry, Insights / Research

8 Comments

Why Where Matters

Monday, 09 November 2015 by Paul O'Brien

Some time ago, I shared some thoughts about how the size and scope of Silicon Valley eludes most entrepreneurs. That, challenging most startup communities, is the fact that comparing and contrasting one’s local economy to “Silicon Valley” easily misleads, as N. California’s startup community is much more than a city, more than a region even,

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Published in Brand Marketing, Economic Development, Industry, Insights / Research, PR, Startups

19 Comments

What Stickers on Laptops Say About Your Startup Community

Wednesday, 14 January 2015 by Paul O'Brien

Think about the last time you spent in a coffee shop working. Perhaps you had a quick meeting with a friend or potential partner, perhaps you haven’t made the leap to coworking and call Starbucks your office; regardless of why you were there, picture the laptops around you. When I arrived in Austin, TX, I

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Published in Austin, Industry, Local, Startups

6 Comments

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

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Published in Startups

4 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