Kauffman Foundation News (8/30/11): Typecasting the Entrepreneur - Ideas at Work

Ideas and Insights

This edition of Ideas at Work features an essay by Steve Blank, who founded a series of successful high technology companies and moved from being an entrepreneur to teaching entrepreneurship to both undergraduate and graduate students. Blank’s essay outlines a clear definition of four entrepreneur “types” and identifies the tools and support they need to succeed.

Typecasting the Entrepreneur

By Steve Blank

Serial Entrepreneur and Author

“Entrepreneur” has become one of those buzzwords (like “globalization”) that often means different things to different people. This is understandable, given that there are four distinct organizational paths for entrepreneurs: small businesses, scalable startups, large companies, and nonprofits. All of the individuals who start these organizations are “entrepreneurs,” yet those in one category often think the others aren’t “real” or “genuine.” The confusion can be compounded by the teaching of entrepreneurship in colleges and universities, where little distinction is drawn between the four types of entrepreneurs.

For budding entrepreneurs, the first order of business is to methodically think through which one of the four categories they want to be in. Once that decision has been reached, the proper tools can be selected, and the process of entrepreneurship can move ahead.

Read the Essay…>>http://www.kauffman.org/Entrepreneurship/typecasting-the-entrepreneur.aspx

More news from the Foundation:

Kauffman School Welcomes Students

The Ewing Marion Kauffman School opened its doors for the first time this month, welcoming its first class of fifth grade students on August 29. The Kauffman School is devoted to offering a rigorous college preparatory education, providing students with the academic and life skills needed to succeed in college and life beyond the classroom. The inaugural 100 fifth-grade students will be joined each subsequent year with a new class of fifth-graders until the school is complete from grades five through twelve. As a public school, the Kauffman School is tuition-free and open to all students living within the Kansas City, Missouri School District.

Learn More…>> http://www.kauffmanschool.org/

Deadline Nears to Submit Startup Moment

Entrepreneurs have until September 15 to submit their “startup moment” in the Startup Open, a featured competition of Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW). The competition is open to entrepreneurs who had a “startup moment” in the past year. A startup moment is defined as any action related to launching a new business, such as incorporating a company; officially opening the doors for business; completing a first sale; or securing outside funding. The Startup Open will recognize the “GEW 50,” a group of fifty companies deemed to have the greatest chance of growing into game-changing firms that will move markets and create jobs.

Learn More…>> http://startupopen.com/

I-Corps to Boost Impact of Scientific Discoveries

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has introduced a new effort to help develop scientific and engineering discoveries into useful technologies, products, and processes. The NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program, a public-private partnership supported by the Kauffman Foundation and the Deshpande Foundation, connects NSF-funded scientific research with the technological, entrepreneurial, and business communities. The goal is to help create a stronger national ecosystem for innovation that couples scientific discovery with technology development and societal needs.

Learn More..>> http://www.kauffman.org/newsroom/kauffman-foundation-joins-with-nsf-and-the-deshpande-foundation-to-form-innovation-corps-program.aspx?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Opticast&utm_campaign=Ideas_At_Work_08_2011

Paper Examines Transition Gap in Conflict-Stricken Areas

The latest installment in the Kauffman Foundation’s Expeditionary Economics Research Series suggests that closing the “transition gap” in conflict environments is necessary to build strong local governments and enable economic growth. Written by Brock Dahl, a 2010 Arthur C. Helton Fellow for the American Society of International Law, “Closing the Transition Gap,” contends that intervening forces, whether officially “occupiers” or not, have a duty to create or support existing rule of law institutions in post-conflict states.

Learn More…>>http://www.kauffman.org/newsroom/intervening-nations-have-strategic-moral-obligation-to-support-rule-of-law-in-post-conflict-states.aspx?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Opticast&utm_campaign=Ideas_At_Work_08_2011

iStart Launches New Profiles Feature

Aspiring entrepreneurs can now showcase more of their businesses online to build a stronger network of resources, get constructive feedback, and meet potential partners thanks to the enhanced profiles feature added to iStart, the leading online community for business competitions. iStart currently has more than 1,300 profiles with business ideas posted by entrepreneurs from forty-four countries. Entrepreneurs can post what they need to start or grow their businesses, including mentoring, marketing analysis, human resources, legal help, and hiring.

Learn More…>> http://www.kauffman.org/newsroom/istart-business-profiles-now-more-accessible-interactive.aspx?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Opticast&utm_campaign=Ideas_At_Work_08_2011

Economics Bloggers Expect the Economy to Continue to Lag

Respondents to the Kauffman Foundation’s quarterly survey of top economics bloggers expect weak employment growth and higher annual deficits ahead. Fully 95 percent of respondents view current economic conditions as “mixed” or “facing recession,” an increase of 10 percent from second quarter, and a third predict a double-dip recession during 2012.

Learn More …>> http://www.kauffman.org/research-and-policy/extend-the-debt-limit-without-conditions-say-a-majority-of-leading-economic-bloggers.aspx?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Opticast&utm_campaign=Ideas_At_Work_08_2011