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The Customer of Venture Capital Isn’t the Founder, It’s the Investor

Wednesday, 22 October 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Article HighlightsUntil Cities Get That Straight, Startups Will Keep Starving for CapitalThe Product Feedback Loop Nobody Wants to HearThe Real Market of Venture CapitalCities Are Treating Venture Capital Like TourismBuilding Better Products and Better MarketsThe Hard Truth: The Problem Isn’t the CapitalThe Fix: Stop Selling, Start Building Until Cities Get That Straight, Startups Will Keep

Published in Economic Development, Raising Capital

23 Comments

It’s Not the End of the World. It’s the End of Pretending.

Monday, 20 October 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Every generation believes it’s living through the end of the world. With all that’s on social media and in the news now, ours might finally be right, but not in the way we think. And you reader, entrepreneurs, investors, and economic development leaders, are the people we need rising to the challenges. R.E.M.’s It’s the End

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Published in Economic Development

26 Comments

Startups Draw Talent and Opportunity to Cities

Tuesday, 14 October 2025 by Paul O'Brien

What if I told you a city’s “magnetism” doesn’t begin with a Fortune 500 relocating its headquarters, but with a small, scrappy startup raising its first round? Let’s talk about smarter economic development. Cities that craft startup ecosystems don’t just chase large employers; they become destinations for opportunity, pulling in both job-seekers and job creators. Interestingly, I said

economic development ecosystem development entrepreneurship job creation jobs startups workforce development

Published in Economic Development

26 Comments

Forget Demo Days, This Is Where Startup Ecosystem Building Happens

Monday, 13 October 2025 by Paul O'Brien

In just a little less than a month, in Augusta, Georgia, the nation’s top startup ecosystem builders and national ecosystem support organizations convene to gain insight from real world case studies, and explore and experience new communities, against the backdrops of some of the nation’s top emerging ecosystems. This is the time of year for

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Published in Conferences / Events

19 Comments

Washington’s Blueprint for Public-Private Innovation for Washington Startups

Thursday, 09 October 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Article HighlightsA coalition reimagines the role of cities, universities, and entrepreneurs in shaping the future of downtown Washington D.C. and Washington startups.The Ground Beneath InnovationFrom Golden Triangle to Innovation CorridorA New Kind of Public-Private PartnershipFounder Institute and the Startup EngineThe Ecosystem as a Living NetworkCapital at the Core: Venture and Startup Finance in Penn West’s

accelerators dc entrepreneurship founder institute incubators innovation policy politics washington

Published in Regional Development

11 Comments

Fixing Startups’ TAM/SAM/SOM: Why Your Market Slide Sucks

Wednesday, 08 October 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Every pitch deck has it. Every investor rolls their eyes at it. It’s that pastel-colored inverted pyramid labeled TAM, SAM, SOM, stuffed with fake numbers you copied from a McKinsey PDF you didn’t read. If your “market slide” claims your startup is chasing a $300 billion opportunity, congratulations, you just told investors you don’t know

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Published in Insights / Research, Startups

14 Comments

How To vs. Experienced With: The Distinction of Startup or New Business

Monday, 06 October 2025 by Paul O'Brien

The opportunity isn’t that cities, chambers, and investors don’t support entrepreneurship, it’s that they have the chance to support the right kind in the right way. For decades, we’ve been celebrating every new idea in the same sandbox, mixing storefronts with startups, consultants with creators, and then wondering why only a few hold up when

economic development ecosystem development ecosystems new business startup

Published in Startup Ecosystems, Startups

31 Comments