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Stop Funding Accelerators. Invest in Venture Studios Instead.

Monday, 04 August 2025 by Paul O'Brien

The most underwhelming moment for an entrepreneur in a startup ecosystem is the ribbon-cutting on yet another accelerator. Confetti flies, politicians pose, local media snaps a shot of the logo on the wall, and everyone goes home to wonder why venture capital still doesn’t show up. If you’re not familiar with why your region isn’t

Published in Economic Development

75 Comments

Startups and the Art of Worldbuilding

Saturday, 02 August 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Film Producer Anton Jokikunnas recently shared a wonderful observation that “each film is a startup,” kind enough to add a thought I published the other day, “Entrepreneurship isn’t just a decision. It’s a personality type explored to be so by more researchers, universities, and studies than we can count.” Given my past in media, I

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Published in Startups

22 Comments

Why Nobody Understands Startup Growth

Wednesday, 30 July 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Startups don’t grow like businesses. Not in the traditional sense. They don’t scale by adding headcount, expanding inventory, or renting more retail space. They grow by discovering, and then systematically proving, a revenue-generating system that works before it collapses. And yet, here we are, in 2025, with startup advisors, development organizations, investors, and even policymakers

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Published in Insights / Research, Startup Ecosystems, Startups

34 Comments

Startup Detroit: From Cranks to Code; How the Motor City Is Revving a New Engine

Tuesday, 29 July 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Article HighlightsSteel-Belt Beginnings & Motown Beats: Why Detroit Built Everything from Ford to FunkThe Engine of Culture Fuels Startup SpiritToday’s Industry Strengths in DetroitStartup Development Organizations & IncubatorsVenture Capital in Michigan / DetroitHow Detroit Stacks Up Against the Six Startup Economic Development ConsiderationsDetroit’s New $700K Startup Fund: Breaking NewsWhat This Fund Means (and What Should

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Published in Regional Development

5 Comments

Solutions to Overcome Ignorance

Monday, 28 July 2025 by Paul O'Brien

Startup Funding Isn’t Broken, It’s Behind Ready for a spicy topic likely to frustrate some friends in my criticism of good intentions? Let’s begin with a blunt but necessary truth: venture capital isn’t broken, most of it just doesn’t know what the hell it’s doing. The problem isn’t capital. It’s experience. And the startup ecosystem,

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Published in Startups

27 Comments

You Don’t Want to Be an Entrepreneur, You Want What It Represents

Friday, 25 July 2025 by Paul O'Brien

If you’re asking why you want to be an entrepreneur, you probably already shouldn’t be. That’s not snark (well, not only snark), it’s insight. I wanted to write this because becoming an entrepreneur, taking entrepreneurship studies, or questions about how to be one, are prolific topics in modern society. The things, entrepreneurs, real ones, aren’t

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Published in Insights / Research, Startups, Uncategorized

17 Comments

The GTM Slide is Broken: Here’s How to Fix It

Wednesday, 23 July 2025 by Paul O'Brien

The Go To Market Slide (GTM), is the most misunderstood, misused, and mangled slide in the entire startup pitch deck. It’s like the appendix of a pitch; everyone includes it, nobody knows exactly why, and when it bursts, the whole body of your presentation goes septic. Every founder knows they need one. Almost no one

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Published in Insights / Research, Startups

46 Comments