Are Millennials the new entrepreneurs?

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The next generation of leaders are making headlines for their entrepreneurial attitude – are millennials driving a new startup revolution?

 Millennials came of age in a world powered by the products of rockstar entrepreneurs – Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Alexis Ohanian. TV Shows like Shark Tank, highlighting the aspirations and potential success of entrepreneurs, drew audiences of over 6 million. Meanwhile, the 2008 recession threw the stability of traditional career paths into question. It’s no wonder, then, that millennials seem to look very favorably upon entrepreneurship. But is this younger generation actually more entrepreneurial than preceding generations? The data is split. In this final article in my series on how millennials are transforming the workforce, I explore what entrepreneurship really means to millennials.

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11 surprising and insightful statistics about startups

 

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The rate at which a startup grows has long been a big determinant of startup success. While growth matters, over 70% of startups fail because of premature scaling. This finding and 10 more listed below will help you make wiser decisions based on previous failures, successes and data-backed conclusions.

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Why becoming a ‘company of one’ is all the rage

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I recently left the corporate world. After working roughly 20 years in mega-large companies with revenues in the billions I am now a company of one. It’s me and only me.

I do all my own stunts, too. Whether it’s booking travel or sending invoices or writing reports, there is no one to lean on, no one to manage. If I’m being truthful, I’m really enjoying life in my company of one.

Which brings me to Paul Jarvis, author of the fantastic book, Company of One.

The premise is simple. Keeping your business small—versus growing it at all costs—brings you a level of sanity and independence. Growth is not the objective; building something slowly and methodically that is “remarkable and resilient” over the long-term is the name of the game.

In summary, staying small is the next big thing for business.

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A massive new study says these 5 fears separate people who take risks and follow their dreams from those who never try

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It’s a funny thing, fear.

Nearly one in five full-time employees in this country has a dream–and that dream is to no longer be a full-time employee.

But there’s something holding back the vast majority of them.

A new survey by cloud-based accounting software firm Freshbooks concludes that 24 million U.S. workers truly want to become their own bosses–but only about two million of them actually managed to quit their jobs last year to launch their own companies.

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Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt listed the ‘3 big failures’ he sees in tech startups today

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Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, gave the Centre for Entrepreneurs lecture in London this week.

In a draft of the speech, seen by Business Insider, Schmidt outlined what he sees as the three big market failures holding back tech entrepreneurship today.

He said tech startups need to be more diverse, less product driven, and more willing to partner early.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has listed the three “big failures” in tech entrepreneurship around the world.

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Trading in your Soul for Venture Capital

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In the tech industry, we celebrate raising money as a victory second only to that of a successful exit.

And while I recognize that venture capital is often an unavoidable requirement for growing a business, most entrepreneurs, and the tech community at large — who often seem to push people into raising VC — would be better served viewing it as a necessary evil as opposed to an absolute win.

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The Swasthya Slate – an affordable diagnostic machine that could disrupt health care

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Kahol built a prototype of a device called the Swasthya Slate (which translates to “Health Tablet”).

Kanav Kahol was a member of Arizona State University’s department of biomedical informatics. He became frustrated at the lack of interest by the medical establishment in reducing the costs of diagnostic testing, and seeing almost no chance of getting the necessary research grants he returned home to New Delhi in 2011Kahol had noted that, despite the similarities between most medical devices in their computer displays and circuits, their packaging made them unduly complex and difficult for anyone but highly skilled practitioners to use. And they were incredibly expensive — costing tens of thousands of dollars each.

 

 

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There are more women-run businesses than ever, but why aren’t they making millions?

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Setting ambitious goals goes a long way in a company’s development.

There is a big disparity when it comes to the gender wage gap. But there is even a bigger disparity when it comes to how much male- and female-run businesses make. There are more women-run businesses now than there ever was, but they still aren’t making as much money as their male-run competition. Here’s how to change that.

 

 

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Chuck Feeney, an unconventional billionaire who is revolutionizing philanthropy by closing his foundation

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Chuck Feeney

Chuck Feeney is a self-made billionaire who is an extreme philanthropist. He believes that charity shouldn’t go on forever and his fellow billionaires, from newly minted Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, are learning from his example.

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What sharing-economy startups know that you don’t

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What goes on behind the scenes that the general public or entrepreneurs don’t see?

Whatever you want to call “the sharing economy” or “marketplace startups,” peer-to-peer marketplaces continue to gain popularity, with a flurry of startups growing rapidly to keep up with all of this “on-demand” demand.

 

 

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Why startups fail

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Many startups build things people don’t want with the irrational hope that they’ll convince them otherwise.

When a startup shuts its doors, it is customary to write an essay that tells the rest of the community what went wrong, called a failure post-mortem. It’s estimated that nine out of 10 startups fail, which is why the technique has become so common as to be a Silicon Valley cliché.

 

 

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Crowdfunding will provide $65B to boost the 2014 global economy

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A new law will allow entrepreneurs to equity crowdfund from anyone with the cash and the interest.

Crowdfunding is really big and it’s only going to get a whole lot bigger.  If you’ve been skeptical of all the crowdfunding buzz, consider this: By the end of 2014, crowdfunding is estimated to add at least 270,000 jobs and inject more than $65 billion into the global economy, according to estimates from crowdfunding platform Fundable. (Infographic)

 

 

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