“A recent study by the Kauffman Foundation reports 2009 had the most business start-ups in 14 years — even exceeding the number of start-ups during the peak 1999-2000 technology boom,” according to AOL news reporter Kaitlin Madden. But, there is more to the story.
Traditionally, start ups are created by men and women aged 35-44. You know the profile: mid career, skilled, and recently laid off or fired. With few jobs available and unemployment benefits almost gone, they take a swing at entrepreneurship.
Yet, hidden within that stat is the fact that many new college grads are battling to enter the workplace and most can’t even get arrested. These younger types are fearlessly taking the plunge into new venture creation. Unlike the “older” folks, the Gen Y entrepreneurs have little or nothing to lose. Most of them have college debt rather than assets and most have dreams that need to be lived.
While some of us might be saying that the 2008 to 2010 downturn will be remembered as the “Great Recession”, history may pen it as the “Gen Y Start Up Boom.” OK, I can use a better name than that, but you get the picture.
John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2010
All rights reserved.