Tim Rowe (he/him)

Tim Rowe is Founder and CEO of CIC and CIC Health, and the proud father of three.

[Tim Rowe (he/him) @rowe]

I just posted my latest episode of Where Innovation Happens.

This is a conversation with German innovation ecosystem leader and my colleague, Timon Rupp.

We talk about how innovation is changing around the world, CIC Berlin, mobility innovation, building ecosystems, and how people can participate in the next wave of innovation.

YouTube: https://t.co/eZR58qRgKD

Spotify: https://t.co/u8tZHM5Wtz

Apple Podcasts: https://t.co/0jAIcjrGsK

#WhereInnovationHappens #CICnow #CICBerlin #TheDrivery #InnovationHubs #GermanyInnovation #MobilityInnovation

[Tim Rowe (he/him) @rowe]

Given CIC’s launch this week of our third site in Japan — O-Nexus in Osaka — the timing feels right to release my first of several episodes focused on innovation in Japan.

I spoke with Tak Umezawa, a national innovation leader and Chair of CIC Japan, about Japan’s strengths, its modest VC investment relative to other innovation economies, and what it would take for more Japanese innovation to reach the world.

Tak is also an old friend: we were classmates at MIT Sloan 33 years ago.

Watch or listen here (or on Spotify/Apple):
https://t.co/Z6xv03lmza
#WhereInnovationHappens #CICnow #Japan #Innovation #CICJapan #ONexus

[Tim Rowe (he/him) @rowe]

The bottleneck is judgment.

In a new Where Innovation Happens episode I released today, I talked with Sheamus McGovern, author of The AI Skill Flip and founder/CEO of ODSC AI.

My takeaway: the future may belong less to people who simply “use AI,” and more to people who learn how to direct it, challenge it, and make better decisions with it.

YouTube: https://t.co/rnD7iz4Oan
Spotify: https://t.co/bIM4ZlEUDT
Apple Podcasts: https://t.co/3Mx2armh7M

#WhereInnovationHappens #CICnow #AI #FutureOfWork #AISkills

[Tim Rowe (he/him) @rowe]

A lot of people are asking:

“Will AI take my job?”

I’m starting to think that may not be the right question.

[Tim Rowe (he/him) @rowe]

I’m already seeing the shift.

At CIC, our General Counsel recently reconsidered whether he needed to create a Deputy GC role, realizing AI could help him do some parts of his work much faster.

For my podcast, AI turned hours of caption cleanup into minutes.

My daughter used AI to automate a research prep task that had taken hours.

This will affect the job market.

But it may also change what people are capable of doing.

[Tim Rowe (he/him) @rowe]

I posted a new episode of Where Innovation Happens today.

It is a departure from my usual topics, focused on something most of us could get better at when building an innovation business:

Choosing who to interview.

Part 1 is about selecting candidates from resumes.

Part 2 will be about conducting great interviews.

In this episode, Karina Wozniak, CIC’s Global Head of Human Resources, turns the tables and interviews me.

YouTube: https://t.co/5AIWttKZgJ

Spotify: https://t.co/7fsEWwHk1V

Apple: https://t.co/bOhwD2RK5W

#WhereInnovationHappens #Hiring #Recruiting #StartupHiring #CICnow

[Tim Rowe (he/him) @rowe]

I just published an episode of my podcast, Where Innovation Happens, focused on innovation in St. Louis, Missouri.

Long one of America’s great cities, St. Louis is now building strengths in AgTech, plant science, geospatial technology, financial services, biotech, and deep tech.

Listen in if you are interested in how older industrial cities can reinvent themselves and maintain a leading position as innovation cities.

YouTube: https://t.co/6lgJLvIa6H
Spotify: https://t.co/kxrIqGdvYt
Apple: https://t.co/8nsoN6nFmj

#WhereInnovationHappens #StLouis #AgTech #Geospatial #CICnow

[Tim Rowe (he/him) @rowe]

I have been thinking a lot recently about why we don’t know how to build enough homes people can afford.

For example, Massachusetts has extraordinary universities, world-class technology, deep capital, and one of the strongest innovation ecosystems in the world, and yet our average new house costs 2.5x what our average citizen can afford.

I think this is a solvable problem. The key is to stop treating housing as a subsidy problem (find some tax dollars and buy down the cost of houses for those with the least money) and to start treating it as an innovation problem (learn to make houses that are inherently less costly).

I laid out a path to do this (starting around minute ) in a recent fireside chat at UMass Lowell:

YouTube: https://t.co/xlqM3dYHYN
Spotify: https://t.co/Gc7Q7TiTwH
Apple: https://t.co/gwkHDmhbiL
#HousingInnovation #AffordableHousing #Massachusetts #WhereInnovationHappens

[Tim Rowe (he/him) @rowe]

I’ve been getting to know Türkiye better recently.

Earlier this year I joined Burak Dağlıoğlu, President of Türkiye’s Investment Office, on stage at WebSummit Doha.

Last week, I sat down in Cambridge with his VP, Bekir Polat, for Where Innovation Happens.

We talked about Türkiye’s startup ecosystem, engineering talent, global connectivity, Bayraktar drones, gaming, fintech, AI, logistics, Turkish “Turcorns,” and why more investors should be paying attention.

The bigger question: how do countries turn talent and ambition into global innovation success?

YouTube: https://t.co/SgUqBwrIBW

Spotify: https://t.co/Y5vjqFE8Yt

Apple Podcasts: https://t.co/2aRMTcC86Q

#WhereInnovationHappens #Türkiye #Startups #Innovation #VC #AI #Fintech #Gaming #Turcorns

[Tim Rowe (he/him) @rowe]

Poland is becoming one of Europe’s most interesting startup ecosystems.

For this episode of Where Innovation Happens, I spoke at CIC Warsaw with Bartosz “Bartek” Lipnicki, Managing Director of Endeavor Poland, about founders, scaling, and why world-class companies are increasingly coming out of Poland.

Watch: https://t.co/qR2spHpbj2
Spotify: https://t.co/meel95WppT
Apple Podcasts: https://t.co/UUQlJVUWEq

We talked about ElevenLabs, the Polish-founded AI voice company that recently reached decacorn status, as well as ICEYE, Docplanner, Booksy, CampusAI, and the broader momentum building in Warsaw and beyond.
Bartek also explains Endeavor’s global model: a founder-to-founder network helping high-impact entrepreneurs scale internationally, access the right people and capital, and then give back to the next generation.

A key theme: the "multiplier effect": when successful entrepreneurs mentor, invest in, and inspire other founders, entire ecosystems start to believe bigger things are possible. That idea is very close to the work we have tried to do through CIC and Venture Café: helping build the places, networks, and communities where innovation happens.

This conversation is about Poland, Endeavor, and how world-changing companies can emerge far beyond the usual startup capitals.

#WhereInnovationHappens #Poland #Warsaw #Startups #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #ElevenLabs #Endeavor

[Tim Rowe (he/him) @rowe]

I sat down in Dublin with Patrick Walsh, founder and head of Dogpatch Labs, to talk about Dublin’s startup ecosystem.

Dublin has long been a major EU base for global big tech. Now, after decades of maturing its tech workforce, many of those people are building startups.

Dogpatch is right at the center of that story.

A great conversation on hubs, talent, and how cities become places where innovation happens.

Youtube: https://t.co/Fvwp3KHBAd
Spotify: https://t.co/w6ZSBN1d1Q
Apple podcasts should sync in the next 24 hours.

[Tim Rowe (he/him) @rowe]

My wedding ring. Getting it re-sized more than two sizes down! Thanks to Eli Lilly.

[Tim Rowe (he/him) @rowe]

What makes an innovation hub truly great?

In the new “manifesto episode” of Where Innovation Happens, I propose the idea of an innovation mecca:

A place that becomes the place for elite talent in a field.

A place of pilgrimage.

The “Hollywood” of its industry.

Can we build these deliberately?

I think we can.

YouTube: https://t.co/Xylbh8lykA
Spotify: https://t.co/bGTTIL30OL

[Tim Rowe (he/him) @rowe]

The current crisis has drawn the world’s attention, but it would be a mistake to see the whole region through that lens alone. Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey have been building serious innovation economies for years. I discussed that recently at Web Summit Qatar: https://t.co/2o45jwvxSR

[Tim Rowe (he/him) @rowe]

I've just pushed my third podcast episode: a conversation with two of the world's most vibrant innovation driving organizations: France's Station F and UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA). Enjoy! https://t.co/z02ucixf7I

[Tim Rowe (he/him) @rowe]

The Japan Times -- main English-language newspaper in Japan -- just published their interview with me on what Japan needs to do to go to the next level in entrepreneurship:

https://t.co/gkRDUPIJsg

[Tim Rowe (he/him) @rowe]

I've just released my second podcast episode, speaking with the CEO of the world's largest innovation space, T-Hub (located in Hyderabad, India). https://t.co/hfKFIPizLd

[Tim Rowe (he/him) @rowe]

After 27 years building spaces and places for innovators, I’ve decided it’s time to share more of what I’ve learned — and to have conversations with others doing this work around the world.

Today I’m launching my new YouTube channel, Where Innovation Happens. The first episode is now live:

https://t.co/Ne7ODU4tqi