Kauffman encourages Entrepreneur’s Pledge to build a stronger America
Since the mid-1960s, the Kansas City-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation has been on a mission to advance entrepreneurship and innovation, as well improve the education of children and youth alike.
Now, they are spearheading the first-ever movement of its kind to push their mission and entrepreneurs under one roof. They're calling it the Build a Stronger America movement.
More than 10,000 entrepreneurs have joined the movement, which was launched live on September 23, 2009, at the Inc. 500 Conference in Washington D.C.
In addition to acknowledging the important role entrepreneurs play, supporting fellow entrepreneurs, sharing your success story and striving to give back to your community, you are pledging the following:
The Entrepreneur's Pledge
I am an Entrepreneur.
I am following a dream, pursuing an opportunity, taking charge of my own destiny.
I am bringing something of value to society, making a job for myself and for others, and creating wealth that benefits my family, my community, my country, my world.
I am one of a movement of millions of entrepreneurs and innovators who made America great and who will continue to keep our economy going...and growing.
I am what I am because many people have helped me along on this journey.
Therefore...
I will tell my story, sharing my successes and failures, so that others taking the entrepreneurial path can learn.
I will strive to mentor an aspiring entrepreneur.
I will make my voice heard by those who make policy decisions that affect me and my business.
I will appreciate and celebrate my accomplishments and the accomplishments of all my fellow entrepreneurs.
I will give back to the society that helped me to be successful.
I will build a stronger America.
The pledge, which serves as a way for entrepreneurs to express their cause and business, recently became a major component of the movement on May 13 at the Summit Series conference, also in Washington D.C.
Thom Ruhe, director of entrepreneurship, said entrepreneurs are the "white noise" of the economy.
"They're there but you really don't pay attention to them," Ruhe said. "They are definitely noticeable when they are absent."
And they are key to the economy's well-being.
"Entrepreneurs are a source of new job growth in this country," Ruhe said. "They are the source of wealth creation in this country."*
If you would like to learn more or sign the pledge and join the movement, visit buildastrongeramerica.com.
Here's a recently-released video from the Kauffman Foundation that captures the essence of the pledge:
*This post was updated on June 24 with a quote from Thom Ruhe, director of entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation.
ARCHIVED COMMENTS
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Good article Andrea. I like the entreprenerus pledge! These people have been key in building a stronger America. Sign the petition for a National Entrepreneurs day to recognize them at http://entrepreneursday.org/
For those entrepreneurs participating in building a stronger America who are also in the market for funding, you now have a chance to stand up and be counted representing your state in the U.S. as part of a collective in the appeal for stimulus and private funding to rehabilitate the American economy via small business growth and development. Stake your claim by registering your company and funding requirements at www.startupsacrossamerica.com. It is free and only takes a couple of minutes. Help build a stronger America by being part of this nationwide collective voice that will appeal to the governmental and private purse strings of America's small businesses.
Many governments take a misguided approach to building entrepreneurial movements/ecosystems, within both industrialized and developing countries, by pursuing unattainable ideas because they simply do not realize how truly complex such a task is. Doing so is extremely complex.
Building an entrepreneurial ecosystem literally takes tens of thousands of hours of research into the landscape of the particular area. The goal of that research is understand all of disparate pieces of the “puzzle” – every micro and macro intricacy that could become a challenge to the well oiled machine.
When the idea of New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW) began floating around NYC it was thought such an idea was impossible to execute upon. However, when you take the time to understand every piece of the puzzle (among others) – entrepreneurs, investors, competitive industry dynamics, NGOs, local gov’t, stage gov’t, federal gov’t – you then begin to see the interweaving of the ecosystem. Most governments and NGOs stop there, thinking they have enough data to build a holistic framework. Unfortunately they do not.
The 20% that makes 80% of the difference when building an entrepreneurial ecosystem is also understanding things that cannot simply be inputted into an excel spreadsheet – culture and the interpersonal relationships stakeholders within the ecosystem have.
Meaning, the culture in which someone is raised affects the lens in which they view the world. Everyone comes from somewhere different – therefore, it’s a micro data point that’s not easily quantifiable, but makes all the difference in the world. Understand how each stakeholder views the initiative, and in particular, their own viewpoints on how the ecosystem works and what it needs.
Second, we are all human – there are situations when certain people do not like certain people (for whatever reason). Unless you understand who likes who or who doesn’t get along with who – you’re creating your own self-made landmine that could destroy all of your progress to that point. Once again, it’s a micro data point, but one which makes 80% of the difference.
There is a case study about NYEW and how a holistic community was built in the hypercompetitive market of New York City. I would encourage anyone who’s interested in building communities to research it and get in touch.
Best regards,
Gary Whitehill