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Zagreb plus Istria: The Economic Development Plan for Croatia’s Future as a Global Hub of Innovation

Thursday, 09 January 2025 by Paul O'Brien

As I walked the streets of Zagreb, Croatia, not long ago, I couldn’t help but remark that I had a feeling that I was experiencing, Austin, TX, years ago. From my time in Michigan, Phoenix, Silicon Valley, and now Austin, my community knows well that the work I do is designing startup ecosystems; working with

Published in Economic Development, Regional Development

8 Comments

How One of the Best Product Launches Ever Proves You Need Better Advisors

Wednesday, 08 January 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Be it a startup, a corporation, or even a public office, I would bet money before I’d invest in a startup that success hinges on the quality of its advisors. Advisors are not just voices in the background; they are formal participants in an organization’s structure, uniquely positioned to provide insights and strategic guidance that

advice advisors marketing mentors product launch

Published in Startups

11 Comments

The Foibles of Pivoting: Why It Fails

Tuesday, 07 January 2025 by Paul O'Brien

The idea of pivoting in startups is almost as entrenched in entrepreneurial culture as the notion of disruption itself. Popularized by Eric Ries in his seminal work, The Lean Startup, the concept of a pivot refers to a “structured course correction designed to test a new fundamental hypothesis about the product, strategy, and engine of

entrepreneurship execution Lean Startup marketing validation

Published in Startups

4 Comments

Venture Capital Manifests for Opportunity: It’s Not Available to Serve

Monday, 06 January 2025 by Paul O'Brien

For economic development professionals, community builders, and government officials committed to fostering entrepreneurship, it’s all too common to hear founders lament that a “lack of capital” is their most significant challenge. Yet, curiously, a lack of capital is rarely cited as a leading cause of startup failure. This disconnect points to a deeper, systemic issue

angel investment economic development fund raising funding venture capital

Published in Raising Capital, Startup Ecosystems

8 Comments

Regional Startup Ecosystems Must Embrace Distinction

Saturday, 04 January 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Article HighlightsWhat we can learn from asking of South and Central AmericaArgentina Thrives on TalentSouth America at LargeLatin America Solves Local ProblemsYou Must EXCLUDE and PromoteCentral AmericaSouth America What we can learn from asking of South and Central America You’re failing. Let me cut to that chase. After more nearly two decades in Austin, Texas,

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Published in Economic Development, Regional Development

11 Comments

Is it Possible to Future Proof a Career Given AI?

Saturday, 04 January 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Article HighlightsWhat Marketing Could Teach Us if We Were Actually MarketingThe Fall of MarketingThe Chaos that FollowedA Lesson in FailureThe Bright SideRead These, I’m Not Alone in Saying This! What Marketing Could Teach Us if We Were Actually Marketing Jack Ma, speaking at the World Economic Forum in 2019, warned:“We have to teach our kids

ai careers future jobs marketing new economy recruiting robotics

Published in Economic Development, Insights / Research

22 Comments

The Challenges of Regulating AI in a Borderless Digital World

Friday, 03 January 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Regulating artificial intelligence (AI) presents unique and profound challenges. AI systems operate across borders, leveraging global datasets, and are influenced by the rapidly evolving nature of machine learning technologies. Governments attempting to impose regulatory frameworks on AI face the dual difficulty of understanding and anticipating the implications of these complex systems while contending with the

artificial intelligence government internet public policy

Published in AI

1 Comment