Editor’s Note, from Elizabeth:
Everybody, brace for the surge of founders ahead.
One in four workers quit their jobs this year. The number of startups also leaped. My guess is that it will go even higher after the holidays.
Entrepreneurship typically surges in recessions, a phenomenon likely heightened by the realizations brought about by the pandemic.
Everybody seeks their place in the world – and today, starting a business is part of the journey for a growing number of people. Increasingly, starting a business looks easy – and it is, thanks to lower costs and online platforms. Starting is easy. Succeeding is not.
The surge in startups will have ramifications across the early-stage economy, for people who support entrepreneurs and for entrepreneurs themselves.
We have a terribly unequal economy, unequal to the point of being unsustainable. People who already hold power are licking their chops – how do they skim off the top of all this creative energy? How will the finance system, which has consolidated to favor big corporations, cope with the increased need for entrepreneurial financing? How do entrepreneurial support systems adapt to The New Builders? Most businesses today are being started by women and people of color.
Will government programs and legislation be able to restrain monopoly power to give people a fair shot at success? The pressure will grow as more people come face-to-face with how out of balance we’ve become. Entrepreneurs, meanwhile, will face a whole new raft of competition. Main Streets may see a resurgence; retail could be reinvented. Sustainability, rather than pure-profit seeking, may take a central place, as younger people who have grown up with libertarian capitalism seek to replace it with something more meaningful and better for the Earth.
The 1918-20 pandemic was followed by a huge investment in public health. My guess is that this one will bring about an investment in sustainability, economic and environmental. Full speed ahead.
Times of Entrepreneurship Stories of the Week
How Michigan Became the State with the Fastest Growing Venture Capital Ecosystem
How the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 sparked Detroit and Ann Arbor’s startup scene.
Read the Story »The Expensive Choice that Landed this Flower Founder a Martha Stewart Contract
In this second installment of Nina Roberts new series, “The Yes People,” about how people overcome doubters to build their companies, read why this entrepreneur had the courage to increase costs by 20% as his company was bleeding cash.
Read the Story »Pamela CampbellIs a Farm – Maybe a Llama Farm – the Ideal Retirement Business?
After a career as a professional model and beauty salon owner, Pamela Campbell decided to stay receptive to the next chapter of her life. Now she owns more than 35 llamas and alpacas.
Read the Story »Huckleberry Labs’ Jessica Toh Has Insight for Sleepless Parents—and Women Founders
With 1.2 million downloads of her app, a data scientist may have cracked the nut of how to get babies to sleep. She also offers a key insight to help women founders raise money.
Read the Story »Women Need Sponsors, Not Mentors
Entrepreneur and YPOer Debbie Carreau encourages women to “own the confidence piece” so they don’t fall prey to the myths that still hold them back.
Read the Story »
You may have missed:
A Few Companies Are Starting to Sequester Carbon, An Important Step to Combat Climate Change. But There Are Roadblocks. A deep dive into the forces slowing the development of innovative solutions to climate change. Read it here.Working Behind the Scenes, A Swiss Billionaire Is Making the World Wild Again Returning land to First Peoples, the Wyss Foundation is quietly reshaping the conversation around preservation and may have an impact on climate change. Read it here.The Negative Sides of Working from Home Workers say they prefer the arrangement, but mental health issues are starting to emerge, especially among young people. Read it here.Problem Solved: Tips for Getting Your Staff Vaccinated Many workers say they’ll leave if a mandate goes into effect. Far fewer actually quit. Read it here.
Living the dream
Best Practices: If you’ve been grappling with chronic pain from long hours sitting at your desk during the pandemic, look into “pain reprocessing therapy.” It teaches patients’ brains to reinterpret pain as a neutral sensation, freeing 66% of sufferers from their agony.
Buzzworthy: Power may corrupt but does it corrupt everyone? In Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us, Brian Klaas offers insight, based on more than 500 interviews with the powerful.
Rathskeller
The 4.5 hour workweek: A productivity hack
If you want to delegate a project, it’s best to document your processes and procedures, a time-honored technique popularized by Tim Ferriss. Scribe, a new productivity tool, simplifies the process of creating a how-to document, complete with screenshots.
Wanderlust : a restaurant or activity from our Top Ecosystems list
While you’re checking out the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Bend, Ore., plan a detour to Tumalo Falls, where you can picnic, hike and mountain bike on the scenic trails for a day pass that will only run you $5.
Made in the USA
Dark chocolate lovers, here’s a twist on an old favorite: The 77% Michigan Cherry Chocolate Bar pairs Michigan dried cherries with a bar that’s 77% dark chocolate in a sophisticated combo. Treat yourself for $8.99.
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This story and others on New Builders Dispatch are made possible by a sponsorship from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private, nonpartisan foundation that provides access to opportunities that help people achieve financial stability, upward mobility, and economic prosperity – regardless of race, gender, or geography. The Kansas City, Mo.-based foundation uses its grantmaking, research, programs, and initiatives to support the start and growth of new businesses, a more prepared workforce, and stronger communities. For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect with www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn.
How Michigan Became the State with the Fastest Growing Venture Capital Ecosystem
How the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 sparked Detroit and Ann Arbor’s startup scene.
Read the Story »
The Expensive Choice that Landed this Flower Founder a Martha Stewart Contract
In this second installment of Nina Roberts new series, “The Yes People,” about how people overcome doubters to build their companies, read why this entrepreneur had the courage to increase costs by 20% as his company was bleeding cash.
Read the Story »
Huckleberry Labs’ Jessica Toh Has Insight for Sleepless Parents—and Women Founders
With 1.2 million downloads of her app, a data scientist may have cracked the nut of how to get babies to sleep. She also offers a key insight to help women founders raise money.
Read the Story »
Women Need Sponsors, Not Mentors
Entrepreneur and YPOer Debbie Carreau encourages women to “own the confidence piece” so they don’t fall prey to the myths that still hold them back.
Read the Story »
