How do we build a strong entrepreneurial infrastructure that is both sustainable and provides for new jobs and economic growth?
You can provide mentorship, access to capital and resources, but without strong support from the public sector, an entrepreneurial community can only grow so big. With jobs created by existing firms stagnant (see comparison here), local and federal governments need to drop the traditional job recruitment mindset and start focusing on building entrepreneurs, and more specifically, young new businesses.
With this election, it comes as no surprise that policy reform with a strong focus on entrepreneurship is at the forefront of everyone’s minds (or at least it should be). We are a nation built on opportunity, now is not the time to lose focus on the real American dream: entrepreneurship.
Here’s your roundup of the latest articles we’re reading here at SourceLink.
How to Address and Improve Underserved Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
Joel Whipple, Tech.co, 10/2016
Whipple believes the three basics every entrepreneurial infrastructure needs are capital, mentorship and community. We’d add that entrepreneurial ecosystems first need to be organized and easy for entrepreneurs to access. This involves identifying your entrepreneurial assets and creating ways to improve business owner knowledge and usage of those existing resources (e.g. central website, calendar, hotline and The Resource Navigator®).
Mayors Must Be Policy Entrepreneurs
John Lettieri, Kauffman Foundation, 10/2016
TLDR: city mayors need to be at the forefront of the movement to create policy in support of entrepreneurs and new business. Mayors should: have a strategy, advocate and make it easier to start a business. We’ve seen some forward-thinking strategies from our affiliate community of Albuquerque (Ice House Training for City Employees, Mayor’s Prize for Entrepreneurship and Molino Project).
International Entrepreneurs Can Create American Jobs
Matthew La Corte, Huffington Post, 10/2016
Foreign entrepreneurs want to create businesses and new jobs in America. Countries outside the United States are offering foreign entrepreneur visas; however; the United States is lagging behind. Helping immigrants achieve the American Dream has major economic benefits for us all.
An Entrepreneurial Society Needs an Entrepreneurial State
Mariana Mazzucato, Harvard Business Review, 10/2016
Mazzucato believes a strong entrepreneurial infrastructure starts with the public sector thinking with an entrepreneurial mindset. She lays out an outline of four challenges we must overcome as an economic society.
