In The State of Entrepreneurship 2013 Address, the Kauffman Foundation speaks to the challenges and opportunities in financing new and young companies.
While Silicon Valley, Boston, and New York City are hotbeds of startup action, in most parts of the United States, new business development, and correspondingly job creation dropped off significantly in 2008 and hasn’t recovered yet.
It’s well understood that entrepreneurship can play a significant role in repairing our economy. Most regions of the country, including Oklahoma, have invested in initiatives to promote entrepreneurship, from tax incentives to investment funds to incubators, to training.
There has also been considerable activity and attempts at increasing access to capital; however, many, many startups still face tremendous obstacles as they seek risk capital. Kauffman reports that personal savings accounts continue to be the largest source of initial startup funding, with credit cards and bank loans playing important roles.
In this address, Kauffman CEO Tom McDonnell, SBA Administrator Karen Mills, and U.S. Senator Jerry Moran present conventional and “out of the box” ideas for financing entrepreneurship to strengthen the nation’s economy.
These are interesting reading and listening for anyone who has an interest in economy growth through entrepreneurship — and that should be all of us.
Read the address here or watch it below:
