Not Just Proven Programs. It’s a Mindset Revolution.
Think Bigger. Show Up. Share Boldly. Build Together.
Over the past several weeks, I’ve sat down with 11 local leaders across Tucson Metro’s (Optics Valley) innovation, business, and academic communities. Each of them, in their own way, asked me the same question:
“What exactly are you doing differently with your pre-incubation program, meetups, and these Startup Zones events?”
It’s a fair question. Tucson Metro has seen plans come and go. We’ve had strategies drafted, committees formed, and vision statements circulated. So why should Startup Zones be considered different?
My answer is simple, but it cuts deep: We’re not just building and delivering programs. We’re launching a mindset revolution.
The Problem Beneath the Problem
Let me start with what I told these leaders: Tucson doesn’t lack talent. It doesn’t lack opportunity. It doesn’t lack research. The University of Arizona alone receives nearly a billion dollars in research funding annually. We have strong companies, brilliant innovators, and people who care deeply about this region.
We lack a culture that can connect, collaborate, and scale.
The truth is uncomfortable:
- Other than the most senior executives, most people in management, innovation, and entrepreneurship remain isolated. They sit in their office, lab, or home disconnected from one another. Conversations are rare. Collisions are rarer.
- Outside of executive circles, Tucson has almost no quality business meetups. People aren’t used to showing up, so they don’t. And because they don’t, the cycle of detachment reinforces itself.
- Too many of us think small ball. We focus on narrow local or regional fixes instead of thinking about national or global opportunities.
- Too many of us operate like lone wolves. We try to do everything ourselves, avoiding the power of multidisciplinary teams.
- And too many of us hoard ideas, guarding them out of fear or mistrust instead of testing them in the open.
This is what I call the scarcity trap. And as long as we live inside it, Tucson will never reach its full potential.
What We’re Doing Differently
Startup Zones exists to break that cycle. Every event, every pre-incubation session, every meetup we run is designed to pull people out of scarcity and into abundance.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
1. We Normalize Showing Up
The first culture shift is simply this: get out of your office. Startup Zones events are designed as collision places where people who would otherwise never meet cross paths. That’s where ideas mix, teams form, and opportunities multiply.
2. We Build Multi-Disciplinary Teams
No one can do it alone. Science without business stalls. Engineering without design fails to connect. Business without technology can’t scale. Our pre-incubation program emphasizes building across disciplines from the very beginning.
3. We Teach Lean, Agile, and Design Thinking
We’re not teaching entrepreneurs to write 100-page business plans. We’re teaching them to:
- Validate customer needs fast (Lean Startup).
- Adapt quickly instead of waiting for perfection (Agile).
- Lead with empathy, creativity, and prototyping (Design Thinking).
This isn’t theory. It’s the operating system of advanced startup ecosystems worldwide.
4. We Break Idea Hoarding
One of the most toxic behaviors I see is idea hoarding. People hide their concepts, afraid someone will steal them. The result is stagnation and mistrust. At Startup Zones, we create a culture where ideas are shared early, refined openly, and improved collectively.
5. We Push Global Thinking
We push entrepreneurs and innovators to stop asking: “What will work here in Tucson?” and start asking: “What will scale nationally? What problem can we solve globally?”
That shift in perspective changes everything from who you hire to how you design and raise capital.
The Bold Move We Need
I told each of those 11 leaders the same thing: Tucson doesn’t need another plan. It requires a bold move.
That bold move is simple: show up at Startup Zones events.
Because when you show up, you break isolation.
When you show up, you spark collisions.
When you show up, you accelerate the culture shift.
We cannot shift a city’s mindset from scarcity to abundance on paper. It only happens in practice by being in the room, by collaborating, by sharing, by building.
Why This Matters
If we don’t change, Tucson will continue to bleed talent. Our best students, innovators, and entrepreneurs will keep leaving for ecosystems that think bigger, act faster, and collaborate better.
But if we do change, if we choose abundance, then Tucson can become something extraordinary:
- A place where engineers, scientists, designers, and entrepreneurs co-create world-class ventures.
- A place where meetups buzz every week with energy and new ideas.
- A place where calculated risks are rewarded, not punished.
- A place where local talent sees no reason to leave, because the global opportunities are right here.
The Thread That Ties It Together
So when I’m asked, “What are you doing differently?” here’s my answer:
We’re not just running programs.
We’re not just hosting meetups.
We’re not just training entrepreneurs.
We’re teaching an ecosystem how to think differently.
We’re building a culture of abundance. One where ideas are shared, risks are taken, collisions are constant, and ambition is global.
That’s the change I’m trying to drive. That’s what Startup Zones is about.
A Final Challenge
To the 11 leaders who asked me and to anyone else reading this, here’s my challenge:
Don’t just nod in agreement. Don’t just tell me you like the idea. Don’t just hope for change. Get comfortable in touching the third rail (hint, it’s not energized). Join me, speak up, and show up.
Make the bold move. Show up. Engage. Collaborate. Think bigger.
The scarcity trap only breaks when we choose to break it together. And Tucson’s best future will only be built if we stop playing small and start playing for abundance.
The time is now. The place is Startup Zones.