to page content
to site navigation
The Foundation's primary site.
Global news, events, and resources.
The national learning program for entrepreneurs.
A new approach to developing the next generation of high-growth firms.
Access to university research and innovation.
The Kauffman Foundation's charter school serving Kansas City.
Encouraging the aspirations of young people.
The platform for business plan competitions.
College preparation and access for urban youth in Kansas City.
A guide to Kauffman Foundation and partner resources, for aspiring entrepreneurs.
News and announcements from the Foundation.
From our vice president of Entrepreneurship.
From our vice president of Advancing Innovation.
News from Global Entrepreneurship Week
News about this education program for entrepreneurs.
Tweets for the eMed Community at Entrepreneurship.org
News from the Kauffman Labs program.
From our business plan competition service.
Contribute to the community seeking to improve entrepreneurship and innovation measurement.
A look at entrepreneurship from the Kauffman Foundation's Thom Ruhe.
Tracks research and policies that are accelerating economic growth and changing the world.
Brings to light various policies and initiatives to advance innovation and drive economic growth.
A selection of our videos
Take our video and audio with you.
Explore many of our publications.
Join the discussion on our LinkedIn site.
Join us on Google's social service.
The Resource Center has all the info you'll need From content to user feedback, the resource center has the information you need for every level of the entrepreneurial process.
Entrepreneurs, in particular, are having troubles with today's widespread age-disconnect between managers and employees. The many twentysomethings who are launching companies these days hire workers who are both younger and older than they are, writes the author, a frequent EntreWorld contributor. She maintains that to manage this so-called "generation gap," you'll need to build a common understanding based on your company's values.
As a child growing up in Chihuahua, Mexico, Cecilia Levine's English vocabulary didn't include "entrepreneurship," but she certainly could see the difference it made in people's lives. What she couldn't see then was how entrepreneurship would provide her with the tools, resources and passion to improve the lives of thousands on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border.
Operating under a mandate to prepare for the worst in order to achieve the best, the author, an African-American woman entrepreneur in the male-dominated metals industry, writes that preparation has been critical to facing the challenges presented by the economic difficulties and post-terrorist environment of this difficult year 2001.
Doing business in the rough-and-tumble arena of underdeveloped countries involves adhering to global business basics, such as researching markets thoroughly, while coping with surprises, writes a veteran international entrepreneur who first took his company overseas three decades ago. In entering the "emerging markets," entrepreneurs need to keep close tabs on how (and if) they will be paid, as well as on local managers overly eager to make sales.
Selling your business is similar to raising capital. The difference: you're selling the whole company. Selling your company, like raising money, includes preparing the business plan, financials, cash-flow projections, and demonstration of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance practices.
Cost-effective “infrastructures” – both physical and legal – provide the essential platforms for the activities of all economies. In the physical realm, for example, it is hard to imagine life without roads, communications networks, airports, ports, sewer systems and electricity grids. Because of their “public good” nature, government plays a central role in financing, if not operating, such infrastructure facilities. In turn, because so much infrastructure is local, the planning and construction of many projects historically has been delegated to the states (although aided by federal financing).
Turkey offers quite a sophisticated platform for entrepreneurs. It has a diversified industrial base, a relatively stable political and economic environment, a critical mass of willing early adopters, a considerable talent pool, a strong domestic market and underserved neighboring markets. Yet, currently only 6 out of 100 people are entrepreneurs – a very low rate given the country’s level of development. What challenges does Turkey need to address in order to unleash entrepreneurship as a force for economic growth?
Brazil is more than just the popular future host of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. It is a very promising economy and the country of origin of many global challenger companies, such as Embraer, Marcopolo, and Natura. Economic analysts group the country with the most promising emerging markets, Russia, India and China, which together form the “BRIC countries.” Is entrepreneurship responsible for part of Brazil’s economic development? A look at some of the trends in entrepreneurship in Brazil suggests so, and the country’s efforts to boost its culture of innovation and entrepreneurship promise to sustain its growth in the coming years.
We have long argued that the American model for development assistance could improve dramatically if entrepreneurship becomes a stronger element of economic development efforts. Unfortunately, the importance of new firm creation is a concept that has yet to gain relevance in traditional development models, such as the Washington Consensus. However, there are a few actors who understand the power of entrepreneurship and have been using it to improve lives. Diaspora entrepreneurs are using their experience and understanding about entrepreneurship to invest in new ventures in their country of origin. These transnational entrepreneurs view a globe of porous borders.
So we know that entrepreneurs are the primary engines of job creation in the United States. Research study after research study has confirmed that it is young firms that drive improvements in the employment situation. From 1980–2005, firms less than five years old accounted for all net job growth in the country. In 2007 alone, young firms (1-5 years old) accounted for nearly two-thirds of job creation. We also know more than half of the companies on the 2009 Fortune 500 list were launched during a recession or bear market, along with nearly half of the firms on the 2008 Inc. list of America’s fastest-growing companies. In light of all this evidence and in face of the employment crisis in the country, how can we truly support the entrepreneurs behind these young firms?
Want to get connected? Sign up to receive regular news, polls and updates from The Kauffman Foundation.
