Policy by the Numbers: Supporting the entrepreneurship ecosystem: Google for Entrepreneurs

Supporting the entrepreneurship ecosystem: Google for Entrepreneurs

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Brittany Smith is a policy associate at Google.There are about as many ways to define "entrepreneurship" as there are entrepreneurs developing new businesses and creating more jobs for our economy. One definition in particular proposes that entrepreneurship is "the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled."Whether it's gaining access to capital or finding new employees, the availability of resources is a defining factor in an entrepreneur’s ability to grow and scale a business. The Internet has been pivotal in this regard, decentralizing information in such a way that not only can anyone have access to helpful information about the peculiarities of running a business, but such that anyone can be an entrepreneur. Even in countries where Internet access is limited, entrepreneurs are thriving. 150,000 Internet businesses are started each year in aspiring countries, and entrepreneurs are driving much of the growth of Internet ecosystems around the world.With that said, it takes much more than money and ideas to help these entrepreneurs sustain and grow their businesses. An entire ecosystem of elements must work together to provide the financial capital, human capital, markets, and policies that bring resources to entrepreneurs and create conditions under which resources can be the most productive. In a survey, the number of respondents who said they would be willing to start their own businesses if they had some help jumped 37%, supporting the notion that interventions at varied places in the ecosystem are necessary to give existing and would-be entrepreneurs the support they need to start a business.The launch of Google for Entrepreneurs is an exciting step in the right direction for entrepreneurship ecosystems around the world. We know that startups and entrepreneurs have the power to build technologies and creative solutions that transform the world, making more resources available to those small business owners is critical. The new site will be an umbrella for several dozen programs and partnerships around the world that support startups and entrepreneurs, bringing programs, partnerships, and Google products to startups and entrepreneurs. The growing number of programs and partnerships will help to build strong organizations to serve entrepreneurs in local communities, bring Google teams and tools directly to entrepreneurs, and helping support startups as they're getting off the ground.There's never been a better time to be an entrepreneur, and partnerships and programs like those that will evolve from Google for Entrepreneurs will open doors to new entrepreneurs and provide support for those seeking for networks and opportunities to facilitate building business around innovation.

Policy by the Numbers

Supporting the entrepreneurship ecosystem: Google for Entrepreneurs

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