Our economy is ever evolving; however, one change that we can’t ignore is the decline of entrepreneurship over the last 30 years. How do we rally our business owners and younger generations to continue to create, make, hustle and dream?
This latest round up of articles addresses that very topic: how can entrepreneurship transform landscapes and how can we help build entrepreneurial infrastructures.
Improving Your Startup Ecosystem Means Understanding It, Dane Stangler, 08/2017, Forbes
A must-read for ecosystem builders from Dane Stangler. We couldn’t agree more that paying it forward has always been a great starting point for any ecosystem. Equally important, however, is being able to measure, benchmark and share in the success of increasing the number and quality of connections provided for startups to foster their growth (e.g., to capital, mentors, training, workforce, etc). Measuring progress allows a community to get behind fostering an entrepreneurial ecosystem and gives a sense of pride and feeling of accomplishment for everyone involved, either through grassroots efforts or structured programs. Take a look at what’s happened in capital or the first-ever release on metrowide job creation for startups.
A New Kind of Builder Is Transforming the Landscape of Entrepreneurship, Victor Hwang, 08/2017, CityLab
Right now the Kauffman Foundation is working on creating ecosystem builder as a job for cities nationwide in an attempt to create positive job growth and increase entrepreneurship. What is an ecosystem builder and what do they do?
Stop Calling Everyone an Entrepreneur—They Aren’t, Ben Lamm, 05/2017, Entrepreneur
Ben Lamm makes the argument that an entrepreneur and a small business owner are quite different. As an organization in the entrepreneurial support field, SourceLink is all about supporting the entire entrepreneurial stack, so we define entrepreneur very inclusively. However, maybe the language we’re using complicates our efforts? We segment four types of entrepreneurs.
Zero Barriers Moonshot: Could $1 Trillion Restore the American Dream?, Ross Baird and Bryce Butler, 05/2017, VillageCapital
Kauffman Foundation hosted a two-day design lab in attempt to restore entrepreneurship. Is the problem truly that entrepreneurs need more capital to survive?
