The principals of some of the leading US entrepreneurship organizations in the United States will join a discussion led by GEN’s President Jonathan Ortmans around identifying key priorities for advancing entrepreneurship in the United States over the next 10 years.
Join the discussion as GEN’s key collaborators in this mission explore whether there is common agreement on where the US ecosystem should focus its time and energy leading into 2035.
(AI-generated session recap made available by Google NotebookLM)
Feeling inspired and ready to dive deeper? This session brought together key leaders in the U.S. entrepreneurship ecosystem to discuss the most pressing priorities for advancing opportunity across the country over the next decade. Don't miss the full session audio or video for the complete conversation!
Brief Summary
This dynamic panel, featuring leaders from influential organizations like the Kauffman Foundation/EHIP Alliance, Startup Champions Network, IEDC, SourceLink, and Right to Start, explored the critical issues and opportunities facing the U.S. entrepreneurship ecosystem. Prompted by feedback on the need for more networking and a call to define collective priorities, the discussion centered on bridging divides between economic development and entrepreneurship fields, fostering inclusivity and equity, recognizing the shift into a new societal era, and crucially, changing the national narrative around entrepreneurship to emphasize its fundamental role in the American dream and collective prosperity. The session culminated in the preview of an exciting new campaign to celebrate America's 250th birthday as "America's startup birthday" and a collective call for ecosystem builders to be bold, assertive, and united in their mission.
Outline
Introduction of Panelists and Organizations
Featuring leaders from EHIP Alliance (formerly EBLN), Startup Champions Network, IEDC, SourceLink, and Right to Start.
Defining Top Priorities for Advancing U.S. Entrepreneurship
Panelists share their individual perspectives for the next 10 years.
Maria L. (SourceLink): Strengthening the connection between entrepreneurship and economic development attraction efforts, particularly for supply chain and manufacturing growth, by facilitating connections and capital access for small businesses.
Nathan (IEDC): Bringing the fields of traditional economic development and entrepreneurship ecosystem building together, recognizing their interconnectedness and mutual support needed to drive innovation and community thriving.
Mark (Startup Champions Network): Maintaining focus on building inclusive and equitable entrepreneur ecosystems despite political noise, ensuring access to resources and hope for all communities, not just tech hubs.
Iffy (Philanthropy perspective): Emphasizing inclusivity and equity by actively seeking out and bringing in those not yet at the table, ensuring they are part of the main conversation, not relegated to the "kitty table". Encouraging deep local work shared nationally.
Andy Stoll (EHIP Alliance): Recognizing the large-scale societal shift driven by technology, connectivity, and diversity, and focusing on how to make entrepreneurship accessible to all as the way to bridge to this new era. Highlighting ecosystem builders as the crucial community infrastructure builders.
Victor Hang (Right to Start): Addressing the fundamental issue that "we've got the story wrong" about entrepreneurship in the U.S., dividing ourselves into silos and being relegated to the "kitty table" of national debate. Calls for a narrative shift to unify different parts of the ecosystem and connect entrepreneurship to the American dream and national prosperity ("When the entrepreneur spirit thrives, America thrives").
Changing the Narrative and Reaching the Public
Discussion on how to convey the importance of entrepreneurship to the rest of the United States.
Victor previews the "America the Entrepreneurial" campaign for America's 250th birthday, an open platform for organizations to unify messaging and activities.
Jen (Global Entrepreneurship Week) and EHIP Alliance commit to partnering on this campaign.
Emphasizing ecosystem building as a team sport requiring collaboration across diverse sectors and roles.
Connecting the campaign to the founding spirit of America ("we the people") and its ongoing promise, countering the "story of me" narrative.
Reaching Excluded Communities and Capacity Building
Further discussion on actively including those left behind.
Recognizing community champions and the resilience of those working with minimal resources.
Advocating for capacity building (training, connections, support) for local support organizations, not just funding.
Broadening the understanding of "tech" and successful businesses beyond venture-backed startups.
Intentionally addressing historical exclusion and finding creative, experiential ways to reach the "unconverted" public.
Measuring Impact and Metrics
Discussing the challenges and opportunities in evaluating the success of entrepreneurship efforts.
Need to measure impact beyond scale, recognizing the significance of small job creation.
Challenges with standard data sets and the need to collect data from support organizations.
Examples of successful local measurement (jobs created, daily starts in Kansas City) and the insights they provide.
Need for innovative and potentially new metrics, including measuring the impact on community health.
Agreement on the need for better data and collective effort in measurement.
Call to Action and Concluding Thoughts
Panelists share final insights and encourage continued engagement.
Encouragement to learn from successful metric models.
Highlighting upcoming relevant sessions and opportunities (e.g., youth entrepreneurship, policy summit).
Call for collaboration among funders (EFN).
Recognizing the current period of change as a moment of massive opportunity for entrepreneurs and ecosystem builders.
Victor's powerful closing statement about the country's hunger for the unifying work of entrepreneurship.
Final call to "be bold" and assertive in the collective mission.
Notable Quotes
"I think entrepreneurship and attraction have to come stronger together if we're going to build what we want to build in the US." – Maria L.
"...we just got to keep our eye on the north star on building inclusive and equitable entrepreneur ecosystems no matter what the noise is..." – Mark
"...the people who are building the communities that help people with ideas are the people who are building the social and community infrastructure that are going to take us all to the next era." – Andy Stoll
"When the entrepreneur spirit thrives, America thrives..." – Victor Hang
Key Takeaways
Bridging Silos is Essential
Connecting traditional economic development and entrepreneurship ecosystem building is not just desirable, but necessary for driving innovation, supporting businesses of all sizes, and enabling communities to thrive. This requires mutual understanding and support.
Inclusivity and Equity Must Remain the "North Star"
Despite challenges, the focus on building ecosystems that provide access and opportunity for everyone, especially those historically excluded, is non-negotiable for robust local economies. This involves intentionally reaching out and lifting up champions from all communities.
The Narrative Needs to Change
The importance of entrepreneurship is often misunderstood by the general public and even national leaders. A collective effort is needed to unify the message, connect entrepreneurship to the core American narrative of opportunity and prosperity, and move it from the "kitty table" to the center of national debate.
Capacity Building is Critical
Supporting local entrepreneur support organizations goes beyond funding; it requires providing training and resources to help them effectively lead, connect, and navigate the ecosystem.
Measuring Impact Requires Innovation
Standard metrics don't fully capture the breadth of entrepreneurial activity and its impact, especially at the local level and beyond venture-scale outcomes. The field needs to collectively develop and implement new ways to measure impact, including social outcomes like community health.
This Moment of Change is an Opportunity
While the current environment presents challenges, it is also a time of massive opportunity where innovators and entrepreneurs are crucial, and the country is "hungry" for the unifying work of the entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Resources Mentioned
EHIP Alliance: The new name for the Ecosystem Builders Leadership Network (EBLN). Committed to the "America the Entrepreneurial" campaign.
Startup Champions Network: Represents entrepreneur support organizations. Hosts events around the country.
IEDC (International Economic Development Council): Has an Entrepreneurship Economic Development certification program.
SourceLink: Supports entrepreneurship and economic development, including work on metrics.
Right to Start: Focused on the narrative and policy environment for entrepreneurship. Leading the "America the Entrepreneurial" campaign.
Jen (Global Entrepreneurship Network): Hosts GEC, runs Global Entrepreneurship Week. Partnering on the "America the Entrepreneurial" campaign.
EFN (Entrepreneurship Funders Network): Network for foundations supporting entrepreneurship.
Words That Work by Frank Luntz: A book about language that resonates with the public.
Recreate in KC reports: Maria L.'s work on measuring entrepreneurial impact in Kansas City.
Ecosystem maps on the wall: Visual representations of ecosystems for feedback.
IEDC Entrepreneurship Economic Development certification: A program designed to integrate entrepreneurship into economic development strategy.
Action Items
Continue networking and informal conversations during the conference and beyond.
Check out Maria L.'s work on metrics, specifically the Recreate in KC reports.
Visit and provide feedback on the ecosystem maps displayed in the hall.
If attending GEC, participate in upcoming sessions, including the Youth Entrepreneurship panel (tomorrow) and the State/Local Policy summit (Thursday).
Encourage foundations that fund entrepreneurship to join the Entrepreneurship Funders Network (EFN).
Consider participating in IEDC's Entrepreneurship Economic Development certification program, whether you are a traditional economic developer or an ecosystem builder.
Be bold in advocating for entrepreneurship, recognizing the power and potential of the collective community.
Engage in the "America the Entrepreneurial" campaign starting next year for America's 250th birthday, using the provided toolkit and platform to host local activities and amplify the unified message.
Actively invite people outside your usual network, industry, or sector to join in the team sport of ecosystem building in your local community.
