There is a saying in California that I used to hear often. “If something is hot, pour gasoline on it”. It’s a good motto for nurturing an innovation ecosystem. Data from the Kauffman Foundation shows that most jobs are created when companies move past the incubation stage and into the sales growth or “gazelle” stage….
Category: economic development
The Gig Economy
A recent longitudinal survey on employment duration from the Bureau of Labor Statistics almost nailed down my work history. And I quote, “young adults born in the early 1980s held an average of 7.2 jobs from age 18 through age 28.” That’s a new job every 17 months! This stat surprises most baby boomers, especially…
Trade Fact of the Week
The Trade Fact of the Week is administered by Progressive Economy, which is a project of the Global Works Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) joined in the campaign to eliminate global poverty. I love their work. A recent fact they published left me unsurprised, but interested to learn more. According to the Pew Research Center, the…
Data.gov Innovator
I recently came across an interesting federally-funded challenge where Americans are encouraged to share any ideas where innovations in technology can be applied to improve disaster preparedness. All you have to do is email disastertech@ostp.gov your idea and hope for a response. Below is the email I sent today. Thanks for the opportunity to share…
Recovery Pledge, Inc.
I had and I now have the opportunity to launch a crowdfunding campaign in partnership with many great companies. While working in New Orleans after the oil spill, I quickly learned that recovery efforts failed many business owners. I realized that small businesses need to stabilize their sales immediately after a disaster in order to…
Stop Playing the Zero-Sum Game
On every campaign trail and in every smoke-filled room there is a politician talking about “jobs”. The television sound bites and the radio spots we often hear tout a political candidate’s ability to create jobs. However, the question of how jobs are actually created rarely seems to be asked or even answered correctly by a…
The Republican Millennial 