With the economy finally gaining steam after four years of a stop-and-start recovery, the Kauffman Foundation kicked off its “America's New Entrepreneurial Growth Initiative” at the fifth annual State of Entrepreneurship Address. The main output will be a New Entrepreneurial Growth Agenda by early 2016.
With all the dreary news recently about a weak jobs report, it is easy to be less bullish on the future of the American economy. Over the past few years at the annual State of Entrepreneurship event in Washington DC, the Kauffman Foundation has presented specific actionable ideas such as suggestions for a startup act in Washington and startup acts for the U.S. states and kept us focused and forward leaning. This month’s address remained true to that tradition.
As Kauffman’s CEO Tom McDonnell outlined, over the past century and a half, the pain of economic downturns has typically been a forge of future entrepreneurs. In fact, research has shown that over half of the Fortune 500 companies were founded during recessions or bear markets.
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