What holds people back from starting a business? How does lifting financial constraints help promote entrepreneurship?

A recent survey of millennials by professional services firm Ernst and Young (EY) provides insights into how the generation is aging — and bucking some long-held assumptions. Evaluating the generation’s trends in living arrangements, lifestyle and career preferences, financial health, and social perspectives, EY found that some of the assumptions about millennials are not holding.

Entrepreneurship in the U.S. has declined significantly over the past four decades, which has contributed to an annual productivity growth of 3 to 4 percent less than it would be if entrepreneurship had remained unchanged since the early 1980s. Those are among the findings a report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which points to three contributing factors for the decline and outlines measures policymakers could put in place to help spur entrepreneurship.

While startups consistently create more jobs than older firms, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis took a look at the trends in startup’s share of jobs and found that startup employment share has been declining for more than a decade. The Fed story provides an overview of startup employment dynamics between 1994 and 2018.

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech) — the state agency responsible for strengthening the commonwealth’s position as a leading hub for innovation and entrepreneurship — recently released the 2019 edition of its annual report, The Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy, which includes an updated list of the 10 leading technology states  and a detailed special analysis on entrepreneurial ecosystems. As a globally recognized center of science- and technology-based innovation, communities across the U.S.

A recent report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) focuses on increasing participation in entrepreneurship from underrepresented and disadvantaged groups such as women, immigrants, youth, seniors, the unemployed, and people with disabilities.

Entrepreneurial support and capital access remain key concerns for regional innovation economies, as evidenced by the abundance of new activity in 2019. From accelerators, many of which are sector-specific, to seed funds, we highlight 26 of the most interesting developments from the past year. This is the latest in our series of articles highlighting innovation system activities in states across the country in 2019.

Many of the most successful technology, life science and advanced companies in the country received financing in the form of an equity investment during their rapid growth and scaling stages of development.  Whether viewed as valiant, villains or vultures, the presence of individuals and firms willing to provide capital to companies when they have few physical assets or revenues is strongly associated with healthy regional innovation economies. As a result, considerable policy attention has been focused by states on increasing the amount of risk capital flowing to local startups.

The strength of personal relationships and social connections are the most important factors for accessing capital markets according to a recent working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

In the largest single gift in the history of Missouri higher education, $300 million has been donated to support Missouri S&T that will enable the university to establish a new school of innovation and entrepreneurship, among other things. The benefactors are St. Louis businessman Fred Kummer, a graduate of the school who credited the education he received there with his success, and his wife.

Fighting stereotypes, finding capital and scaling up are just some of the techniques outlined in a new playbook designed to bring more women in entrepreneurship roles and revitalize the U.S. economy. Elevating Women in Entrepreneurship, by Erika R.

Too many communities continue to focus on business attraction in lieu of entrepreneurial support, according to the Kauffman Foundation leadership in their 10th annual State of Entrepreneurship Address. To increase the focus on entrepreneurs, the foundation indicated it plans to help 200 communities across the country, and 200,000 entrepreneurs in these communities over the next five years, with an emphasis on the middle of country and underrepresented populations, but it did not provide specific details on how it would provide that assistance. As part of the effort, Kauffman also released a checklist highlighting barriers and breakthroughs in entrepreneurship, as well as ways individuals can help grow more inclusive and innovative local economies. In the week leading up to the address, Kauffman also introduced four indicators at the national, state, and metropolitan levels as part of its new approach to tracking early-stage entrepreneurship.

A new report from the Kansas City Federal Reserve and Opportunity HUB (OHUB) reveals the importance of building an inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem. Authored by Dell Gines of the Kansas City Federal Reserve and Rodney Sampson, chairman and chief executive officer of Opportunity Hub, the report examines how entrepreneurship ecosystem building has lacked an emphasis on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.

The share of the nation’s economy stemming from small businesses — “the lifeblood of the U.S. economy” — has waned since 1998, according to a new report by Kathryn Kobe and Richard Schwinn on behalf of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. Despite overall growth in small business GDP, the number of small businesses and their employment levels have not yet recovered from their pre-recession value.

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Start Us Up coalition announced an update to the America’s New Business Plan platform to advance entrepreneurship. The update places a strong emphasis on the importance of addressing the historical inequities of the American economy, as well as the urgent concerns of the coronavirus pandemic. The lead-in to the specific policy proposals also acknowledges the importance of providing sufficient support to new companies, not just all small businesses.

The Blackstone Charitable Foundation has announced a $40 million commitment to expand the Blackstone LaunchPad program to support underrepresented students and communities. Going forward, LaunchPad will focus on colleges and universities that have a majority diverse population or are serving under-resourced communities, increasing the program from 30 to 75 campuses over the next five years. The LaunchPad program mentors college student-founders from idea to growth stage and provides other mentoring to students interested in entrepreneurship.

Nearly 1 in 6 adults carrying outstanding student loan debt (1 in 3 among 18 to 29 year olds), with both the number of borrowers and the debt amount increasing in recent decades.

Taking what Gov.

Two recent reports feature evidence demonstrating the importance of early-stage entrepreneurship for the United States economy. The first report from the Kauffman Foundation released four indicators used to track early-stage entrepreneurial development. The second report from the Economic Innovation Group studies how dynamic the U.S. economy is and recommends ways to increase the economy's dynamism, many of which center around startups and new small businesses. Both reports highlight new ways to measure early-stage entrepreneurship and offer ways to expand these businesses.

Missouri has a new tool to support the advancement of entrepreneurship and innovation across the state. The Missouri Technology Corporation (MTC), in partnership with TEConomy Partners LLC., identified strategic recommendations and actions to drive innovation and entrepreneurship in Missouri developed under the Missouri Innovation and Entrepreneurship Strategy Steering Committee.

Leveraging new data from the Census Bureau, the Kauffman Foundation recently released the second part of its new Indicators of Entrepreneurship series.

A recent report from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation examined the changing makeup of entrepreneurship over the period of 1996 to 2019, finding that older people, immigrants, and minorities are becoming new entrepreneurs at increasing rates.

The Kauffman Foundation has announced 17 organizations will share the $1.5 million in funding allocated through their Heartland Challenge. These grantees will work to solve specific challenges entrepreneurs in the heartland region — comprised of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas — face, and will participate in facilitated, peer-learning communities of practice to share knowledge across the region.

Last week, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced $100 million in grants for the Community Navigator Pilot Program that will be distributed to 51 organizations to connect entrepreneurs with government resources to help recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Department of Homeland Security has recently announced its withdrawal of the previously proposed removal of the International Entrepreneur Parole Program. The program allows for DHS to use its parole authority to grant foreign entrepreneurs a period of authorized stay within the United States with the aim that their start-up business can serve as a public benefit through job creation and economic development.