When Entrepreneurship is Bad for the Economy
Tuesday, 05 November 2024
Entrepreneurship has long been celebrated as the ultimate engine of economic growth, innovation, and job creation. But what if the fervor surrounding “being an entrepreneur” has gone too far? The glorification of entrepreneurship as an end in itself may actually be hurting our economy. As with most cultural phenomena, the truth is more nuanced than
- Published in Economic Development, Startups
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Startups Solving Founders’ Problems are Failing
Monday, 30 September 2024
Here’s a problem that you might address as a startup founder: other startup founders struggle to find problems to take on, to come up with ideas to address, and to expose issues in industries, so that they might launch a successful venture presenting a solution to that problem. How do I know this is a
- Published in Industry, Insights / Research, Startups
How Startup Ecosystem Builders Start Ecosystems
Tuesday, 10 September 2024
I’d bet, if you were to look to the ecosystem surrounding your work, you’d see some meetups, a local startup group on Facebook, a business or technology journalist at the newspaper as the person known for covering startups, some coworking spaces, and perhaps a distinct innovation hub supported by the City or Chamber, right in
- Published in Featured, Industry, Insights / Research, Startup Ecosystems, Startups
“I have an Idea but lack Experience or Startup Capital…”
Monday, 09 September 2024
This is one of those frequently heard statements that helps a startup ecosystem recognize that gaps remain. Last week, I pushed founders and economists to recognize the distinction between innovation and technology (between startups and businesses), and from that, I was asked for advice too frequently asked, “How can I capitalize on an app idea
- Published in Raising Capital, Startups
The 6 Considerations of the Economic Development of Startups
Thursday, 29 August 2024
In my work with cities throughout the world, guiding how to foster entrepreneurship, few realize or fully appreciate that the experiences of my life inform what works and what doesn’t, in a region of the world trying to help startups. Raised in Michigan, I spent years exposed to what it means to have a city
- Published in Economic Development, Featured, Insights / Research, Startup Ecosystems, Startups
Marketing and Storytelling Manifest a Startup City
Friday, 23 August 2024
The explosive growth of specific cities throughout the world might be the best evidence of the impact of good old-fashioned marketing. Not advertising mind you, but marketing: understanding what you have, for whom, why they care, and delivering that to them. The last 25 years or so have witnessed the transformation of our world from
- Published in Economic Development, Industry, Insights / Research, Startup Ecosystems