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The Best and Potential States for Startups: A Policy-First Look at Who’s Helping Founders

Monday, 09 March 2026 by Paul O'Brien

If you ask most people which states are best for startups, they’ll rattle off California and New York because that’s where the money has historically pooled, understandably now too, Texas. That’s a bit like saying Las Vegas is a great place to build wealth because rich people go there. The concentration of capital in a

Published in Economic Development

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What if the Poorest Places Are Actually the Best Places to Start a Startup Right Now?

Friday, 06 March 2026 by Paul O'Brien

I was asked this past week, by someone in a very economically challenged city, how they can start something without the resources so many others have when starting out. Data on this is more encouraging than the startup world wants to admit so the question drove me to want to help make sure everyone knows

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Published in Economic Development

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What It Means to Run Down a Dream

Tuesday, 03 March 2026 by Paul O'Brien

I once crossed paths with Bill Gurley, author and venture capitalist, so long ago and so briefly that I couldn’t reconstruct the details if I tried. The startup ecosystem was smaller then, known names were less frequent, and it was easier to recognize people; it was a lot like my experience in Austin as it

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Published in Insights / Research, Startups

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SXSW 2026 Guide for Founders, Investors, and Ecosystem Builders

Monday, 02 March 2026 by Paul O'Brien

SXSW is here in as much as if you’re coming, you’re curious what to consider. If you’re still treating it like a trade show where you badge-tap your way through panels and collect business cards, you’re behind. The conference this year sprawls across Austin March 12–18, 2026 (before in fact), with all four festivals (Innovation,

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Published in Conferences / Events

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How Streaming Shows That AI Is Making the Product a Commodity, Here’s How Startup Founders Survive

Sunday, 01 March 2026 by Paul O'Brien

I find myself more oriented to media than most. I am a huge live music fan extending well beyond concerts and festivals into even musicals and Broadway. My career started in advertising by way of Yahoo! when “online” was little more than a concept. I was among the first with Netflix, familiar with The Pirate

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Published in Startups

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Energy Is the Startup Resource That Actually Matters

Friday, 27 February 2026 by Paul O'Brien

Article HighlightsAnd no, I don’t mean your Series A.The Invisible Forces Running Your StartupMatch the Frequency, or Miss the MarketMatter Is Energy, So Is Your CompanyIf You Want to Understand Your Startup, Think in Terms of EnergyStartup Energy More Than PassionThe Physics of Building Something That Matters And no, I don’t mean your Series A.

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Published in Startups

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Startup Cities Need to Measure and Expect Outcomes, Not Activity. Here’s How.

Wednesday, 25 February 2026 by Paul O'Brien

Cities love to count things that are easy to count: events, meetups, demo days. “Startups Launched.” Celebrating press releases. If activity were the same thing as value creation, every city with a monthly pitch night would be a company building machine. It isn’t. The discipline gap in startup ecosystem development is measurement, not dashboards full

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Published in Economic Development, Insights / Research, Startups

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