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Week of October 4 - October 8, 2004Welcome to the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship, an initiative of the Public Forum Institute made possible by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City. Through e-News, we bring you short summaries and analyses of various trends driving the innovation economy. Current and archived issues of e-News are available online at www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde/news/enews.htm. To subscribe, visit www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde/join/ Links to the day's entrepreneurship stories from across the nation and around the world are posted each weekday at www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde - bookmark it and stay informed about the latest entrepreneurship news. |
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Entrepreneur-Friendly Communities in Georgia Successful entrepreneurship depends on good entrepreneurs, but it can also be helped by a business climate and environment that is supportive of new and fast-growing ventures. A new program in Georgia is trying to encourage more communities to actively embrace the work of entrepreneurs and to support the development of their companies. The Georgia Department of Economic Development and Georgia Tech’s Economic Development Institute have started a new initiative to recognize “Entrepreneur-Friendly Communities” and the first two designees, Douglas-Coffee County and
Valdosta-Lowndes County, were recognized last week. Leaders in both communities underwent a vigorous training program, and also sponsored a two-day assessment to examine new programs and policies that could help spur more homegrown business development. These two regions are the first of what should be many “entrepreneur-friendly” communities in Georgia.
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Dueling Endorsements As the Presidential campaign heats up, both candidates are touting endorsements from key small business organizations. Both candidates have received major endorsements in the past few weeks. President Bush has received strong backing from the National Federation of Independent Businesses
(NFIB). In fact, an overwhelming 95% of NFIB members responding to a recent NFIB mailing identified themselves as Bush backers. Only 4% of respondents backed Kerry. But, John Kerry is not without his own small business supporters as the National Association of Women Business Owners
(NAWBO) recently endorsed his candidacy. A majority of NAWBO members backed Kerry thanks to his positions on key issues related to health care, small business expensing, and access to capital.
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More Globalization = More Entrepreneurship It pays to be open to foreign direct investment
(FDI), according to a recent study by Marcus Noland of the Institute for International Economics. In his report,
Popular Attitudes, Globalization and Risk, Noland sought to assess the relationship between popular attitudes toward globalization, levels of
FDI, and other measures of economic activity, such as entrepreneurship. His research indicates that countries with positive attitudes toward globalization tend to enjoy higher levels of FDI as well as higher levels of entrepreneurial activity. While Noland cautions that further research is needed, these findings do offer powerful new evidence about the benefits of open market economies.
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European Venture Numbers Venture capital (VC) investing in Europe is looking up, according to the latest figures from VentureOne and Ernst and Young. Total investments for the 2nd quarter of 2004 reached 967.3 million Euros (approximately $1.2 billion). This total was the highest quarterly amount in Europe since 2002. During this same period, American VC firms invested $5.6 billion. Health care is hot for European VCs, as spending on biopharmaceuticals and medical devices accounted for almost half of total investing in the quarters. European VC firms also appear to be backing firms in earlier stages of growth---nearly 1/3 of total investments went to firms in the seed stage or first round of investment.
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BizPathways |
As more business activity takes place on the internet, business service providers are also actively embracing email and web tools to support aspiring and new entrepreneurs. BizPathways, an online portal supporting small business development in Minnesota, offers an excellent model for online support services and networking. Operated by Minnesota Rural Partners, BizPathways provides a user-friendly model for helping entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses. Among the key topics covered at the site are strategic planning, exit strategies, financing, and a host of management issues. BizPathways also allows users to personalize these tools and to access information specialized to their unique needs of their company. |
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the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship:
Mark Marich, Editor - mark@pfidc.org |
