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Technical.ly
09-06-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
Global Entrepreneurship Network
Meet Global Entrepreneurship Network Founded by trained-economist Jonathan Ortmans and backed by the entrepreneurship-focused Kauffman Foundation, the Global Entrepreneurship Network has its roots in the early 2000s. The organization promotes Global Entrepreneurship Week and a series of events, most prominently its international Global Entrepreneurship Congresss.
Technical.ly
09-06-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
GEC 2025: What the Global Entrepreneurship Congress says about American entrepreneurial leadership
Among the greatest of American exports, hip-hop and basketball have gone entirely global. Entrepreneurship too. Back to antiquity, the first businesses were in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The modern corporation is a European invention, and the longest running company is Japanese. But the Americans made it cool. From the 1980s-era 'greed is good' to post-Great Recession social entrepreneurship, the United States put get-rich businesses on magazine covers and humble small business owners on primetime reality TV. Fitting, then, that the Global Entrepreneurship Congress is an American product that has been mostly held abroad. With origins in the early 2000s, this first-of-its-kind globally-minded pro-startup conference was held in 2009 for 200 attendees in Kansas City, with funding from the entrepreneurship-obsessed Kauffman Foundation. Founded by trained economist and policy wonk Jonathan Ortmans, the conference is organized by what is now called the Global Entrepreneurship Network (or GEN, pronounced like the name Jen), which Ortmans leads. This year boasted more than 3,000 attendees. 'Entrepreneurs are the new diplomats of the world.' Jonathan Ortmans, Global Entrepreneurship Network Over the following 15 years, the Congress was held the world over, including Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Australia. Last week, GEC was held in the United States for the first time since its start — in Indianapolis, a growing city in a Midwestern state with bipartisan support for business growth and a hook into federal research dollars. 'Entrepreneurs are the new diplomats of the world,' Ortmans said on stage. His opening remarks lamented fading enthusiasm for an interconnected global economy. Elsewhere, he spoke optimistically of what remains bipartisan support for business creation. In the conference's keynote conversation with entrepreneur-turned-celebrity investor Mark Cuban, Ortmans boasted that GEC was held in Moscow in the weeks that followed the Russian invasion of Crimea. Back in March 2014, for the conference-attending entrepreneurs and their supporters from around the world, 'nothing was different.' Whether that sounds like a hardworking ethic or aloof indifference, Ortmans argues entrepreneurs crave stability, clarity and transparency, which benefits everyone else. Alongside Ortmans, Cuban presented as even more optimistic, and idealistic, for Entrepreneur The Diplomat. Cuban gushed about the promise of artificial intelligence to unlock the entrepreneurial spirit around the world, leveling the playing field with just an internet connection. Famously, Silicon Valley notables broke toward supporting Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, but Cuban was a prominent outlier and frequent MAGA critic. He was less directly critical at nonpolitical-striving GEC, and Ortmans encouraged him to widen his lens to consider a global audience in the convention hall that came from at least 130 countries. Tellingly, there was no formal delegation from the American federal government, nor its DOGE-cost-cutting Small Business Administration. (One member of a GEC advisory group politely declined to comment and sensibly encouraged this reporter to focus on the international presence and bipartisan support among state and local American officials.) 'There are plenty of places to talk about politics. If you're an entrepreneur, be an entrepreneur. If your business succeeds, the politicians will come to you,' Cuban advised. 'You want your business to outlast any one politician.' In some sense, it's a hopeful throwback to a more innocent time when a jet-setting elite believed commerce would lead to peace and prosperity. That's the optimistic worldview that led the American government to welcome the Chinese Community Party into the World Trade Organization, and the same that encouraged the German government to rely on the Russian state for its energy security. In recent years, there's been a reversal: Global citizens of international capitals have been humbled into a choice, say more, or say less. During the pandemic, social justice protests demanded that entrepreneurs speak out on a growing list of political issues. Ortmans, Cuban and the spirit of GEN's GEC seem to say something different. As one GEC collaborator has told me: 'Entrepreneurship is my politics.' Informed by the modest, Midwestern style of the Kauffman Foundation, the conference was filled with practical advice for entrepreneurs and local economic development leaders. Common-sense policy discussions happened alongside meet-and-greets between commerce ministers from dozens of countries. Each GEC features a dedicated 'compass room' with a UN-style circular white table with microphones. Its orientation stands in contrast to the Silicon Valley investor-catwalk startup conferences, Austin's hipper-than-thou SXSW and and the sprawling and showy Las Vegas consumer technology shows. Ortmans hopped between sessions and off-site events. He addressed both the launch of a national campaign to center entrepreneurs in next year's anniversary of the American Revolution and at a working session of 'national ecosystem resource providers' — of which Technically is one. 'This is one way back,' Ortmans said of a more pro-growth time. 'Customers matter. Failure doesn't.' Mark Cuban Cuban, who knows something about hip hop and basketball, embodies a brighter optimism than most American elites of late. A thousand of us overflowed conference chairs, and clapped and chuckled at his folksy charm, embodied by the carefully chosen polo-shirt he wore from his Indiana University alma mater,. As ready-for-TV as Cuban is, he still offers practical advice for founders: 'Raising money isn't an accomplishment. It's an obligation.' And in practiced, self-effacement: 'Customers matter. Failure doesn't.' (In contrast, another main-stage panel of Colorado-bred tech startup notables was a snoozefest of self-congratulation from a bygone era.) Cuban advised policymakers and economic development leaders to invest in community, rule of law and lifestyle to attract and retain entrepreneurs: When he chose where to start his businesses, first Indiana and later Texas, 'not one single time did I look at the tax rate first.' Speaking to a crowd with attendees from countries including Iraq, Nigeria and France, he personified his role as the commonsense sage of American-style center-left techno-optimism. Said Cuban: 'An entrepreneur is always an entrepreneur first.'
Technical.ly
08-06-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
How local governments can back the entrepreneurs building their regions' futures
Entrepreneurship is increasingly viewed as the most dependable source of broad-based economic gains. Nearly all net new jobs come from new companies and a 1% rise in entrepreneurial activity correlates with a 2% decline in poverty. Post-pandemic growth — led by women, particularly women of color — shows investments in 'inclusive entrepreneurship' worked, but systemic barriers to capital, networks and opportunity still limit would-be founders. A policy 'field guide' recommends redirecting 5% of procurement to firms under five years old, eliminating early registration fees, reforming noncompetes, strengthening libraries as entrepreneurial hubs, designating a clear entrepreneurship leader and elevating existing ecosystem efforts rather than duplicating them. Entrepreneurship can sound like rich people's problems. In certain settings, talking about business starts and business growth all sounds like the cavorting of the well to do. A growing coalition says that's all wrong. 'Entrepreneurship is not just about starting companies,' said Victor Hwang. 'It's about enabling people to solve problems in their communities with innovation and drive.' Hwang refined his bookish charm and pro-entrepreneurship pitch while an executive at the Kansas City-based Kauffman Foundation, which is widely credited for advancing the research and the field of new-business support. This work now gets called ecosystem building, or place-based, entrepreneur-led economic development. Hwang's policy-focused Right to Start nonprofit has just kicked off a national campaign called America the Entrepreneurial, to put entrepreneurs at the center of next year's 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. Hwang is also among my co-hosts of Builders Live, a monthly podcast on ecosystem building. Ahead of the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, in our most recent episode, alongside investor Brian Brackeen, we checked in on the most surefire policies Right to Start recommends for state and local officials. Entrepreneurship is not a distraction from well-rounded and inclusive economic policy. It's increasingly recognized as the most dependable source of gains, including the following: Nearly all net new jobs come from new companies Every 1% increase in entrepreneurial activity in a county correlates with a 2% decline in poverty — and average household income increased by $500 41% of Americans say they'd launch a business if they could, but just 2% actually do One key input of economic mobility is access to information about the programs and resources (a role we at Technically play) Investments into what has been called 'inclusive entrepreneurship' in the 2000s and 2010s worked. Entrepreneurship has popped post-pandemic, led by women, especially women of color, but barriers remain. 'The reason I founded Right to Start was to change the narrative and the policies that limit entrepreneurship in this country,' Hwang said. A checklist for policymakers to support entrepreneurship Though more is to come, his Right to Start launched ' field guides ' for policymakers, at the local, state and federal levels. A few of their most common recommendations, mixed with a couple from own reporting: 5% to start: 'Dedicate a small percentage of current funding to new entrepreneurs and young businesses, and track the impact…Redirect 5% of government procurement dollars to businesses under 5 years old.' Identify an entrepreneurship leader: This could be an existing lead (like a commerce director), provided they truly prioritize entrepreneurship. Zero barriers to launch: ' Reduce or eliminate registration costs and fees for new businesses in their critical early years,' relying financially on more established firms. Separate new business from small, medium and large businesses: They need different things, and it is the 'new' that create the most positive economic outcomes. Easy access: 'Strengthen local libraries as hubs of knowledge and digital tools for entrepreneurs.' Noncompete reform: 'Unleash entrepreneurs who want to create new jobs by freeing them from unfair bans and noncompete restrictions.' Support existing efforts: Most states and regions have existing 'ecosystem building' efforts. Rather than recreate them, elevate and redirect residents there. This mirrors advice we've given mayors in the past. To support entrepreneurship: Remove barriers, invest in workforce, celebrate homegrown solutions and amplify the priority. (We've made more general tech policy recommendations too) Entrepreneurs start alone, but don't grow without help Many of these steps are intentionally modest. Hwang, though, has a far more ambitious plan: for entrepreneurship to be at the very center of all economic policy. Brackeen, managing partner of Lightship Capital, echoed that idea. 'The barriers that exist for entrepreneurs, especially those from underrepresented communities, are systemic, and we need systemic change,' Brackeen said. 'It's not about handouts. It's about access — access to capital, access to networks and access to opportunity.' The best economic policy doesn't pick industries, it supports entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs don't pick places to start businesses, they pick places to live and then start businesses there. The ' Ecosystem Stack ' prioritizes both lifestyle issues (like housing) and amplifying these successes. This works. According to new analysis, regions with a dedicated news outlet covering startups earn 60% more media coverage and, over a decade, grow their ecosystems twice as fast as similar peers. The takeaway? Entrepreneurs may start alone, but their companies don't grow that way. Policy, platforms and narrative all shape what happens next. 'If we want more startups,' Hwang said, 'we need to fix the system so it doesn't favor big businesses at the expense of new ones.'
Technical.ly
05-06-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
Startup leaders kick off national ‘America the Entrepreneurial' campaign
A new initiative rooted in the aspirational goals of the Declaration of Independence places entrepreneurs at the forefront of the country's semiquincentennial celebration. In 1893, the United States was in the midst of an economic depression that contrasted gaudy, gilded-era wealth with struggling labor. Emerging communications technology mesmerized and threatened jobs, powering an insurgent populist political movement. Americans debated over the country's global role and confronted the vile stain of racial inequity, just a generation removed from a Civil War. That summer, New England professor Katharine Lee Bates took a wagon trip up Pike's Peak in Colorado. So moved by the view, and overcome by a sense of ideals amid a storm of unease, Bates wrote what would later become an enduring patriotic ballad: 'O beautiful for spacious skies / For amber waves of grain / For purple mountain majesties / Above the fruited plain!' This July 4 will mark 130 years since 'America the Beautiful' was first published. Right to Start founder Victor Hwang has another anniversary on his mind: To mark next year's 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, his national nonprofit launched on Thursday a new campaign: America the Entrepreneurial. 'The country we are in is different than the country we are told we are,' said Hwang, drawing from three cross-country road trips visiting entrepreneurs. (No bus was involved) 'It's a more hopeful one. More need that chance.' The campaign was announced in a crowded rooftop bar near the Indianapolis Convention Center, where Global Entrepreneurship Congress is being held in the United States for the first time since its founding in 2009. (Full disclosure, this reporter had four arancini and an extra shrimp cocktail.) Like Hwang's Right to Start, GEC is part of a suite of initiatives spun out of the Kansas City-based Kauffman Foundation, which funded a generation of pro-entrepreneurship research. Hwang was once a Kauffman vice president credited with championing much of 'field building' for what insiders call 'entrepreneurial ecosystem building.' Now he leads Right to Start, which is guiding policymakers on entrepreneurship-boosting policy — and moonlights as a podcast host. Hwang developed the new initiative with his board member and former White House policy advisor John Bridgeland, and it will be led by Right to Start's COO Kim Lane. 'America was made by builders, dreamers, and risk-takers,' Hwang said. 'Yet today we have a system that too often works against entrepreneurs.' The campaign outlines three key actions: Creating a level playing field: Tackling outdated regulations, inequitable access to capital, and procurement rules favoring large incumbents. Spreading entrepreneurial knowledge: Offering nationwide access to skills training, practical education, and community networks. Supporting entrepreneurial households: Advocating policies that ease healthcare, childcare, and financial burdens for entrepreneurs and their families. 'The most courageous startup the world has ever seen' To be clear, entrepreneurship is already booming in the United States, at least compared to pre-pandemic trends. That boom in business starts is being led by women, especially women of color. But Hwang, like his tribe of Kauffman-affiliated spinouts, thinks in terms of a much more sustained and complete change of economic development and policymaking at all levels. Sounds like a revolution. 'In 1776, America didn't just declare independence,' Hwang is credited with saying in a followup press release. 'America launched the most courageous startup the world has ever seen — a country conceived and dedicated to the promise of opportunity, enterprise, and self-determination.' The 'America the Entrepreneurial' campaign plans to mobilize more than 250,000 Americans in coalitions spanning all 50 states by the end of 2026. Engagement will be facilitated through local events, storytelling initiatives and a comprehensive toolkit available through the campaign's website, per the group. For Hwang, this initiative builds on decades of foundational work advocating entrepreneurship and ecosystem-building. He routinely cites two cornerstone bits of research: that new business drives all net new jobs and that every 1% increase in entrepreneurial activity in a state correlates with a 2% decline in poverty. 'This is effectively saying the whole country, all of society, should care about entrepreneurship and be involved in it,' Hwang told before the launch. 'We've been missing that message because it's effectively been a conversation amongst ourselves.' Entrepreneurship, Hwang argues, is more than just economic activity — it is central to America's identity and future. I've spoken with Hwang about 'America the Entrepreneurial' a half dozen times in the last couple months. Each time he says the name with an uplifting tone, raising his hand to match. At the launch he joked that he hears music when he does. 'If you want a strong America, you have to have strong entrepreneurship,' Hwang said. 'When the entrepreneurial spirit thrives, America thrives.'More details about the campaign are available at americatheentrepreneurial.o rg.
Business Journals
01-06-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Kauffman Foundation Project grants awarded to advance education, workforce, and entrepreneurship initiatives
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation awarded Project grants to 27 organizations that have the potential to close economic mobility gaps in the Kansas City region. Project grants represent more than $32 million in total funding being disbursed during the next three years. This funding was highly competitive with more than 250 organizations applying for the funding and 25% advancing from the letter of interest (LOI) stage to the full application stage; ultimately, 10% of those were selected for funding. Those that advanced are especially focused on unique approaches to advancing economic mobility in Kansas City. 'This funding acknowledges the importance of bold, strategic efforts,' said DeAngela Burns-Wallace, Ed.D., president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation. 'Project grants allow organizations to pilot new ideas, scale proven models, and create momentum around programs that support long-term community transformation. They serve as catalytic investments – fueling innovation, fostering collaboration, and amplifying the impact of initiatives that are deeply rooted in the needs and strengths of the communities they serve.' expand Meet the inaugural Project grantees Accelerator for America: Project connects workforce and training providers in the skilled trades industry in the KC region. The Aspen Institute: Project helps emerging KC leaders build civil discourse skills through connection and cultural exchange. Beacon Media, Inc.: Project creates a hub on automated uploads of public meeting data, and training for local editorial staff. CHWC, Inc.: Project creates a Small Contractor Loan Program for small contracting companies in Wyandotte County. Community Capital Fund: Project funds an intermediary to strengthen nonprofits driving economic mobility in the KC region. ConnectED: National Center for College and Career: Project ensures equitable access to high-quality college and career learning in North KC schools. Credit & Homeownership Empowerment Services: Project expands Porterhouse KC's 811 retail incubator program to reach unmet demand. The Curators of the University of Missouri (KC STEM Alliance): Project funds KC STEM Alliance career preparation activities. El Centro, Inc.: Project supports expansion of the Economic Empowerment program serving digital literacy, GED classes, and business support. Generating Income for Tomorrow: Project expands technical assistance to support 33% more East Side Kansas City business owners than currently served. Greater Kansas City Community Foundation: Project supports the Hispanic Development Fund's Family College Prep Program and bilingual college advising. Goodwill of Western Missouri & Eastern Kansas: Project scales adult basic education programming to increase the number of working age adults with a high school diploma. Literacy Kansas City: Project sustains and expands adult education and literacy (AEL) programs. Kansas State University: Project expands the Kansas State College Advising Corps program to 12 KC area schools. Keystone Community Corporation: Project implements and scales programming to remove barriers for underrepresented groups and reduce fragmentation within the innovation-led startup ecosystem. The Metropolitan Community College Foundation: Project launches a Diesel Technology Degree in the Fall of 2026. Mid-Continent Public Library: Project supports expansion of the existing Excel Adult High School program, focused on library patrons interested in starting businesses and those interested in pursuing better career options. Operation Breakthrough, Inc.: Project scales and expands youth career and entrepreneurship programs. Ownership Works, Inc.: Project expands a new national model that will increase employee-owned businesses and create wealth for employees with potential for impact in KC. Partnership for Regional Educational Preparation – Kansas City, Inc. (Prep KC): Project expands in-school college access and exposure programs starting as early as elementary school. Per Scholas, Inc.: Project provides nationally recognized IT skills training, professional development, and employment support to students in the KC region. Show Me the World Project: Project expands its youth global education, international travel, entrepreneurship, and STEM learning to the Kansas City Public Schools. Truman Heritage Habitat for Humanity: Project will give construction entrepreneurs a pathway to economic mobility by improving access to work on public construction contracts. TNTP, Inc.: Project seeks to increase the post-secondary readiness of a focus cohort of approximately 1,000 students entering four KCKPS middle schools next year through their 11th grade year. University of Kansas Center for Research, Inc.: Project elevates a university-community partnership model providing career readiness technology education for justice-impacted women in the greater Kansas City area. Western Governors University: Project supports the development of community-led nursing pathways through a unique one-year Bachelor of Nursing program for RNs who do not currently hold nursing degrees. Youth Ambassadors, Inc.: Projects prepares youth ages 14-18 with career skills through ACT WorkKeys Assessments and programming. 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, Missouri-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.
