Great HBR podcast on the ways that governments can encourage entrepreneurship (http://blogs.hbr.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/7390).

The bullet point summary:

Governments can’t imitate Silicon Valley.  It was the product of a very patricular set of circumstances in a particular time period.  Silicon Valley probably couldn’t imitate itself again today.

The desire for Governments to create a similar entrepreneurial hotbed is commendable because it points to the acknowledgement of small growing companies and their role in contributing disproportionately to economic growth.

A healthy ecosystem for entrepreneurship must include:

  • Public leadership
  • Supportive regulation and policy
  • Conducive social norms
  • Capital availability
  • Large customers willing to work with small suppliers

Many countries have strong elements of this ecosystem but few have all.  Among the best countries for entrepreneurship are:

  • Taiwan
  • Israel
  • Denmark
  • Chile
  • Rwanda

Regarding the effectiveness of microfinance, we need to help micro-financed businesses take a more aggressive approach allowing them to grow and expand in a big way.  Large successes in entrepreneurial companies have a very important stimulating effect on the community, in the same way that Skype helped stimulate entrepreneurship in Estonia.

It can be said that the biggest mistake countries can make is looking outside of their boarders too much.  Entrepreneurship is part of the human spirit and is a form of self expression in the same way art is.  Governments need to encourage entrepreneurship from their people and stoke that fire.  By encouraging and empowering the people these governments will see the best results.

{ 0 comments }

Venture Mechanics

May 18, 2010

Venture Mechanics is an interesting group that brings a new perspective to the Angel Investor/Venture Capital model.  I am currently helping the partners and learning quite a bit.  I suggest taking a look at the site. www.VentureMechanics.com

Read the full article →

“Jill Bolte Taylor’s Stroke of Insight” and Chauncey Bell’s blog response

March 25, 2010

I would suggest Jill Bolte Taylor’s TED talk, to anyone interested in discussions of the cognitive sciences or discussions of human perception and thought.  After watching the video, make your way to ChaunceyBell.com and read his post responding to Taylor’s presentation. In the video Taylor discusses her experience, as a brain scientist, when she witnessed [...]

Read the full article →

Do we have China over a barrel?

March 15, 2010

A recent article from the Business Insider argues that the US may currently have a leg up on China. The argument goes, China holding a large portion of US debt is not necessarily bad for the US and may give the US leverage to use to pressure China into allowing its currency to float. The [...]

Read the full article →

WSJ Careers Article “Business Schools Tap Veterans”

February 18, 2010

Link: http://bit.ly/cfgy4N The Wall Street Journal has posted an article on the higher rate of selection of Veterans for business schools in the recent year. These business schools site respect, teamwork, and discipline among other aspects that appeal to the schools. Particularly the ability of Veterans to bring a wealth of experience into the classroom [...]

Read the full article →

Resolution progress can be similar to that of the financial markets

January 28, 2010

The new year is under way and many people have fallen back into the routines that they promised to change as part of a new years resolution. Now is the time to take a look at how your grand plans have been progressing.  Whether you have fallen off the horse or not, take stock, and [...]

Read the full article →

Technorati Blog Claim

January 17, 2010

AYXBJEYW87ZC

Read the full article →

Google.cn

January 13, 2010

Google has announced that it will be considering closing up its operations in China (permalink).

Read the full article →

New Year’s Resolutions

December 31, 2009

ZenHabits.net author Leo just put up another site on choosing and maintaining New Year’s Resolutions. The new site, 6changes.com, provides some interesting advice regarding success in sticking to behavioral changes after new years. The slow and thought-out approach in 6changes.com certainly seems better than the full-bore attack we usually use when confronting personal improvement in [...]

Read the full article →

December 24, 2009

Merry Christmas Eve!

Read the full article →