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Kenan Institute 2024 Grand Challenge: Business Resilience
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Market-Based Solutions to Vital Economic Issues

entrepreneurial ecosystems

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More than four years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we examine the essential elements that build small-business resilience, emphasizing the importance of personal fortitude and intangible resources in ensuring business survival.

Join NCGrowth for the South Carolina Small Rural Business Workshop in Walterboro, S.C., on Saturday, July 27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. EDT.

In addition to academic presentations, the Conference on Market-Based Solutions for Reducing Wealth Inequality took participants out of the classroom and into the community for a walking tour and on-site discussions in nearby Durham, N.C.

As venture capital markets have surged in recent years, early access to capital remains highly localized. We examine changes that can help investors connect with underrepresented entrepreneurs outside traditional funding hubs, from innovative organizations to improvements in transportation.

Don’t believe the myth that a startup with a single founder is bound for trouble. According to a piece in the Harvard Business Review by UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Professors Chris Bingham and Brad Hendricks, and UC-Irvine Paul Merage School of Business Professor Travis Howell, solo founders succeed with critical assistance from people and organizations who aren’t official co-founders and don’t require substantial equity.

Maryann Feldman, the S.K. Heninger Distinguished Professor in the UNC Department of Public Policy and faculty director of Kenan Institute affiliated center CREATE, testified before the House Subcommittee on Research and Technology on Wednesday.

Does the quality of startups increase when the quantity drops? Does entrepreneurial experience help or hurt a corporate job candidate? Do diverse teams make for better startups? The 2022 Trends in Entrepreneurship report brings together our global network of affiliated experts to address these questions and more – with key findings highlighted in this week’s insight.

CREATE, an economic development center at the institute, worked with civic and business leaders in Rocky Mount last summer to plan a Black Business Matters District downtown in an effort to address the racial wealth gap in the area. Executive Director Mark Little will join CREATE’s Rocky Mount partners on a panel at 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 24 to share their work as part of Carolina’s Engagement Week.

This session delves into three critical aspects of smaller/regional funds. First, is their role in increasing diversity among both capital allocators and entrepreneurs who receive funding. Second, is how pooling capital in diversified vehicles that can invest locally can promote investment by larger VCs/investors. Third, is how regional funds can bridge the divides in communities that lack robust VC ecosystems.

Total funding in North Carolina hit a record $3.4 billion in 2020 with the potential to hit $4 billion in 2021, along with a 10% increase in the number of companies funded, but it’s often a challenge to get cash cycled into new companies and new investments.

This session delves into three critical aspects of smaller/regional funds. First, is their role in increasing diversity among both capital allocators and entrepreneurs who receive funding. Second, is how pooling capital in diversified vehicles that can invest locally can promote investment by larger VCs/investors. Third, is how regional funds can bridge the divides in communities that lack robust VC ecosystems.

Kenan Institute experts, industry leaders and researchers came together to discuss the broad societal impact of entrepreneurs – including entrepreneurial ecosystems, funding and America’s untapped assets – and some of the biggest trends currently seen in the industry.