entrepreneurship

Over the last several months, economic development organizations, universities, and their partners have announced new efforts to create the building blocks for entrepreneurial development in rural communities. Examples include i2e announcing new efforts to expand entrepreneurial support services to rural communities in Oklahoma and three Indiana universities partnering to support startup growth in rural regions across the state. These efforts are intended to leverage the existing skills and resources of these organizations and reformulate them for regions typically left behind by the field.

On the heels of delaying the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER), the White House has endorsed a bill that would grade candidates for immigration. A total of 60 organizations, including SSTI and many of our member organizations, stated their opposition to the move in a new letter. It is not clear why the IER’s standard of investible businesses would not fit into the legislation’s merit-based system. The bill’s scoring system sets a threshold of 30 points and rewards certain age groups (max of 10 points for 26 to 30 year olds), STEM degrees (max of 13), Nobel prize winners (25 points), job offers (max of 13), willingness to invest (max of 12) and an Olympic medal within the last eight years (15 points). The Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act  would also significantly reduce the number of available visas. Time has created a self-scoring quiz for those interested. 

Startup innovators from around the country have the opportunity to exhibit their ideas and win $10,000 during the Catalysts of the Climate Economy national innovation summit in Burlington, Vermont, Sept. 6-8. Innovators in the climate economy are encouraged to enter a contest that will result in five competitors pitching their ideas to a panel of judges, with the winning idea garnering the top prize. Entries for Round 1 of the competition – where innovators tweet their formula/idea on improving the climate economy – must be received by July 30^th. A select number of entries will be invited to present their ideas during the conference, where all attendees will vote on the top five startup ideas. Produced by the Vermont Council on Rural Development, the conference will bring together participants in the climate economy to explore the next stage of economic development in a low-carbon future.

The Blackstone Charitable Foundation has announced its first cohort of eight organizations in the Chicago-area entrepreneurship challenge. Named the BX Challenge, up to $3 million in grant funding will be provided over three years to innovative organizations that effectively recruit and support diverse entrepreneurs and scale startups in the Chicago area. The selected programs will serve underserved populations, including communities of color, women, veterans, and immigrants. The inaugural cohort includes SSTI member UI Labs, which was awarded $100,000 to create a partnership between City Digital and Colony 5 to help community based start-ups tackle urban challenges and explore ideas on smart city developments through entrepreneurship. Other inaugural cohort awardees include:

The Kauffman Foundation’s recently updated Index of Startup Activity finds that startup activity has increased for the third consecutive year and has now reached pre-recession levels. Nationally, the index, which measures business startup activity from 1997 to 2016, increased moderately after two years of sharp growth. Interactive data is available at both the state and metropolitan level. Among the 25 largest states, California, Texas, Florida, Arizona and Colorado, had the highest startup activity in 2017, while Oklahoma, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Nevada led among the 25 smaller states. Miami, Austin, Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas were the metropolitan areas with the highest startup activity.

The Kauffman Foundation released a new report analyzing entrepreneur development in St. Louis and Kansas City. Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Momentum and Maturity, The Important Role of Entrepreneur Development Organizations and Their Activities, by Ken Harrington, proposes a framework that names a four-step entrepreneur development process from problems and ideas to customer-funded venture that feeds into higher-stage venture development and, ultimately, economic development. Under this framework, Harrington explores how entrepreneurship is supported in each community by organizations such as KCSourceLink and BioSTL. Findings include that community-led initiatives provide the bulk of entrepreneurship activities and that most participants in these activities are in the startup stage of their idea’s development.

The Ohio Third Frontier Commission (Third Frontier) has announced investments in entrepreneurial service providers (ESP’s) in the Dayton and Toledo regions. A new collaboration focused on health innovation will lead the initiative in Toledo, while an existing entrepreneurial center will lead programming in Dayton. Both regions had been among Ohio’s largest without a dedicated ESP.  The state also awarded funds for its first joint-university program at Cleveland State University and Kent State University, and for commercialization activities at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

Entrepreneurship is on the rebound following a “Great Recession hangover,” according to a new study by the Kauffman Foundation, but turbulent shifts will affect its shape in the coming years. During its eighth annual State of Entrepreneurship address in Washington D.C. this morning, Wendy Guillies, Kauffman president and CEO, outlined how, despite the resurgence, new firm formation remains in a long-term deficit and called for a “national wakeup call.”

The Department of Homeland Security has amended its regulations surrounding its discretionary parole authority in order to increase and enhance entrepreneurship, innovation, and job creation in the U.S. The final rule, which will go into effect July 17, adds new provisions that can be used on a case-by-case basis with respect to foreign entrepreneurs of start-up entities who can demonstrate a potential for rapid business growth and job creation, and thus provide a significant public benefit to the U.S. That potential could be indicated by, among other things, the receipt of significant capital investment from U.S. investors with established records of successful investments, or by obtaining significant awards or grants from certain federal, state or local government entities. If granted, the parole would provide a temporary initial stay of up to 30 months (which may be extended by up to an additional 30 months) to facilitate the applicant's ability to oversee and grow his or her start-up entity in the United States.

This week, America remembers the 75^th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and its entrance into World War II. Veterans of World War II have had a considerable impact on the current economy: The Bureau of Labor Statistics finds that World War II veterans had the highest rates of self-employment of any period of service. The topic of veteran entrepreneurship, however, has received relatively little scholarly attention compared to other aspects of the military experience, according to a recently released report by the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University. This research, which examines qualitative and quantitative research on the topic, coupled with new datasets emphasizing the demographics of self-employment, sheds light on the current state of veteran entrepreneurship.