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Week of May 5 - 11, 2008 |
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NDE will be publishing its annual Summer Books Issue in June, highlighting a collection of the best and most interesting reads related to innovation and entrepreneurship that have come out in the past year. If there is a book that you couldn’t put down – or that you found yourself recommending to others repeatedly – we want to know about it. All suggested books must have been published within the past year. Send your comments and suggestions to us at editor@nde-news.org. |
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Education and Tech Entrepreneurship A new Kauffman Foundation study punctures some myths about the founders of technology-based entrepreneurial companies. News reports often tell us that tech firms are founded by young hot-shots who have the energy and the stamina to survive the grueling early days of a technology start-up. But, as the new report shows, most technology firm founders are middle-aged with extensive experience in key business and technology disciplines. The study surveyed 652 US-born technology firm executives to assess their backgrounds and life experiences. The findings are instructive.
Download the May 2008 Kauffman Foundation report, Education and Tech Entrepreneurship, by Vivek Wadha, Richard Freeman, and Ben Rissing. |
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A new proposal to reauthorize and modernize
the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is making fast
progress through Congress. Late last month, the House of Representatives
overwhelmingly passed H.R. 5819, a bill to reauthorize the SBIR
program---which directs federal research funds to small firms---for
another two years. The bill makes some big changes in the program.
First, it expands the maximum size of research grants, up to $300,000
for early stage research (Phase I) and $2.2 million for
pre-commercialization work (Phase II). This move will likely lead to a
smaller total number of SBIR awards each year, but bill supporters hope
that fewer and larger grants will generate bigger impacts. Second, the
bill directs Federal agencies to give priority to grant applications
from historically underserved areas, such as rural communities. Finally,
the bill also reauthorizes the Small Business Technology Transfer
program, and a new Federal and State Technology Partnership (FAST)
program to support expanded outreach to help new firms access SBIR
funds. The bill now awaits Senate action. |
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Self-employed women are different from the
rest of us. A new US Small Business Administration Office of
Advocacy-sponsored report shows that self-employed women tend to more
highly educated than their salaried counterparts. Self-employed women
also have a slightly higher tendency to be working in industries with
medium levels of female ownership. This statistic may indicate that
self-employed women are moving into a more diverse set of industries
instead of focusing on sectors (e.g., social services) with long history
of high female ownership levels. The researchers suggest that these
trends may be indicators of more long-term changes in career prospects
for women. As women have become better educated and new careers paths
have opened, women have also obtained new skills and experiences that
have prepared them to become entrepreneurs. In fact, the researchers
find that differences between male and female entrepreneurs are becoming
less pronounced over time. For example, in terms of education,
experience, and prepared, there are now few differences between men and
women business owners. |
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Thanks in part to a weak dollar, US exports
have boomed in the past year. Many economists contend that booming
exports are a sign of the US’s underlying economic competitiveness, and
that a strong export sector will play a big role in ending our current
economic doldrums. In a new Strategy+Business article, journalist
William Holstein cautions against too much optimism. Holstein contends
that the recent export boom is largely confined to huge multinational
corporations and producers of raw materials. America’s small and
medium-sized firms are still largely absent from the global marketplace.
Holstein blames the US’s poor export infrastructure. In his view, it is
still too difficult for smaller companies to access the technical
support and financing that they need to succeed in global markets. These
agencies need to be streamlined, and new tools for export finance are
also needed. If the US hopes to gain real dividends from the export
boom, it must ensure that all US businesses are able to participate in
world markets. |
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Health Savings Accounts: A Status Report
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) have been
widely touted as one tool in ongoing efforts to reduce the cost of
health care for businesses and for workers. A new Government
Accountability Office (GAO) study examines how Americans are using HSAs.
Begun in 2004, HSAs are tax-advantaged accounts where individuals can
save funds to help cover medical expenses. The GAO has found that HSA
use has rapidly expanded so that, in 2007, 4.5 million individuals were
covered under HSA plans. While these numbers are impressive, they
represent a small portion (less than two percent) of all Americans with
private health coverage. Moreover, HSA coverage is heavily skewed toward
higher-income individuals. The average gross income of HSA users totaled
$139,000, more than double the median income of income tax filers which
was $57,000. Thus, many observers suggest that while HSAs can be a
useful tool, other more comprehensive health care solutions must still
be devised. |
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Film Highlights Entrepreneurial Spirit of Youth A new documentary film provides a glimpse at how innovative, imaginative and creative young people can make a difference—given very limited resources—in their communities and around the world. The film, imagine it!, tells the story of college students who participated in a global creativity challenge hosted by Stanford University during EntrepreneurshipWeek USA in 2007. The challenge? Create value using one pack of Post-it notes in just six days. Teams from around the globe including Thailand, Australia, India, Brazil, Colombia, Japan, Ecuador and the United States surprised everyone with what they did—raising and donating money, composing music, helping the disabled, making powerful social statements and educating children. The film captures the spirit of the next generation of entrepreneurs that will be unleashed during Global Entrepreneurship Week, from November 17-23, 2008.
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The National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship is an initiative of the Public Forum Institute made possible by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City. Through NDE-news, we bring you short summaries and analyses of various trends driving entrepreneurship around the world. Subscribe now to receive your weekly copy. Archived issues are available online. |
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National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship
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All
stories © 2008 The Public Forum Institute
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