CICP

Clearly, entrepreneurial companies will play a tremendous role in pulling the U.S. out of the recession – these businesses create an estimated two of every three new jobs and are the major source of innovation and productivity growth in today’s economy. 

A recent study by the Kauffman Foundation may make us take another look at what the next generation of entrepreneurial pioneers who will forge a path out of the slump will look like.  The popular image of the entrepreneur is young – the Silicon Valley whiz kid, or the ‘creative class’ guru ready to strike out on his own.  But the Kauffman report – “The Coming Entrepreneurial Boom” – turns this picture on its head:  In every year over the last decade, the rate of entrepreneurial activity has been highest among Americans aged 55 to 64, far outpacing their younger (20-34 year old) counterparts.

Cementing this data, Kauffman conducted a survey of 5,000 young companies (launched in 2004) and found that two-thirds of their founders were between the ages of 35 and 54.

Kauffman attributes the rise of the older entrepreneur to a number of factors, including increasing job turnover among Americans of all ages and a desire for second or third careers within a workforce that’s staying healthier and living longer.

From my anecdotal perspective, this makes sense.  Working with our TechPoint initiative in particular, I’ve encountered any number of ‘serial entrepreneurs’ who are still starting and mentoring new firms at an age when our fathers and grandfathers would have been settling in for the stretch run towards retirement.  They bring invaluable experience to these new ventures from having been ‘around the block.’

For Indiana, attracting and retaining young college-educated workers must still be the top economic development priority – we desperately need to increase the educational attainment of our workforce, starting by catching those who are dropping out of high school or failing to pursue education beyond 12^th grade.   But we shouldn’t ignore the entrepreneurial ambitions of the 1.6 million Hoosiers between the ages of 45-64; according to Kauffman, they could represent a significant opportunity for new business growth.