Back in the springtime, as the bad news mounted, Kathryn Finney was worried about the impact of the pandemic on the most vulnerable small businesses and entrepreneurs. Women and people of color, who disproportionately own smaller companies in high-touch fields, like salons and restaurants, were shut down. Even those in high-tech sectors and professional services […]
US Heartland
Posted inGlobal, US Heartland
Akron, The Rubber Capital, Is A Surprising Tech Innovator
Since 2018, downtown Akron, Ohio has been filled with construction machinery and Road Closed signs. The city’s Main Street Construction Project promises new pavement, sidewalk and a cycle track. But between construction and the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person business at Totally Tangled Creations has almost come to a standstill, says April Couch, the owner of the […]
Posted inResearch, Rest of US, US Heartland
10 Ideas For Building A Jobs-Friendly Community
Heartland Forward, a new think tank focused on 20 states in the middle of the United States, released an important report on the connection between entrepreneurship and job growth in early May. Communities with strong entrepreneurial ecosystems saw job growth that was 15-34% faster in the period 2010-2017. The report’s authors, Jonas Crews, Ross DeVol, […]
Posted inUS Heartland
Expect Rough Quarters. But In The Long Term, Venture Investment Could Benefit From Stock Market Crash
The massive losses in the stock market in March, which is closing the week deeply in bear market territory after a historic 11-year bull, likely mean venture investing will slow for a few quarters as portfolio managers shore up existing companies and the wealthy investors who make up the limited partners in the funds tread cautiously. […]
Posted inRest of US, US Heartland
Uncertainty Is A Constant In Every Time. These Rules Will Help You Navigate.
Elizabeth’s note: In the midst of this crisis I find myself missing Jack Bogle, the founder of Vanguard. He died last January. The company he founded in 1974 has more than $5.6 trillion in assets under management today. In the last five years of his life, I interviewed him about a half-dozen times, often when […]
Posted inRest of US, Trailblazers, US Heartland
A Tiny Woman Entrepreneur Stands Up To The Trump Administration On Lead
The day the U.S. federal government repealed the federal ban on lead ammunition on wildlife refuges, Lynn Tompkins had a bald eagle dying of lead poisoning in her bird rehab center. She told the young woman working with her to grab a phone and video the bird’s suffering. The bird, likely poisoned from eating the carcasses […]
