startups Archives - Startup Economist

Why Cities Should Invest in Startups: The Key to Economic Growth

Wednesday, 25 June 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Why Startups? Let’s Distinguish Why City Officials Should be Focused on Strategic Investment in Innovation-Driven Ventures (and why most are failing despite trying) It’s one of the most misunderstood yet consequential distinctions in economic development today: the difference between startups and small businesses. Cities talk about “entrepreneurship” like it’s a monolithic idea, but if we’re

Published in Economic Development, Startup Ecosystems

39 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

From Texas to Tulsa: How Innovation Shifts to Opportunity

Wednesday, 04 June 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Differentiation If someone told you Tulsa was the next hub for startups, your first reaction might be to squint and wonder if they meant it ironically. Tulsa? Really? Isn’t that where Route 66 nostalgia and oil wealth go to retire? Here’s the thing: the people still asking that question are the same ones who laughed

creativity economic development ecosystem entrepreneurship oklahoma silicon valley startups texas tulsa

Published in Regional Development

10 Comments

Your Startup Without a Wedding Planner: Marriage Advice for Entrepreneurs

Tuesday, 06 May 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Most startups fail because their founders treat launching a company more like hooking up on Tinder than getting married. It’s all adrenaline, pitch decks, and “minimum viable commitment.” Seriously, we have Speed Dating and Founder Dating… The reality is that if you planned your startup like people plan their weddings, months of agonizing over details,

cofounders entrepreneurship founders startups teams

Published in Startups

16 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

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

How the Irish Saved Entrepreneurship

Monday, 17 March 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Thomas Cahill’s How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Heroic Role From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe is an audacious retelling of history — one that challenges the Eurocentric narratives that typically glorify Rome and dismiss Ireland as a peripheral player. Published in 1995, the book argues

economic development ireland irish startups

Published in Regional Development

8 Comments