First weeklong U.S. celebration stirs innovation across the country
Thousands of entrepreneurially minded Americans from coast to coast took on big ideas during the inaugural EntrepreneurshipWeek USA, which ran from Feb. 24 to March 3, 2007. During what could be the nation's largest organized event to celebrate entrepreneurship, countless young people were inspired, educated and encouraged to consider entrepreneurship and innovation in all aspects of their lives.
With the theme, "What's your BIG idea, Take it on!," the Kauffman Foundation launched EntrepreneurshipWeek USA in collaboration with the Public Forum Institute, The New York Times and Inc. magazine to ignite the nation's consciousness around the importance of being entrepreneurial.
Thousands of events and activities held in all 50 states were as innovative and diverse as the participants—entrepreneurs, government officials, university and non-profit leaders, educators and economic development officials participated in contests and conferences, policy summits and launch parties.
"Interest in entrepreneurship has been rising steadily in recent years, but after this week, it has taken on a whole new dimension," said Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation. "This event ignited the nation's awareness of the importance of being entrepreneurial and sparked an inspiration for innovation that will reverberate for years to come."
EntrepreneurshipWeek USA by the Numbers:
Here's a glance at the Big Ideas, fun and buzz created during EntrepreneurshipWeek USA:
A standing-room only crowd of more than 500 students, alumni, faculty and others at the national launch of The Week on the Stanford University campus
One national policy summit that gathered hundreds of prominent thought leaders to participate in roundtable discussions on the key policy areas to promoting anentrepreneurial economy
All 50 governors endorsed The Week during the National Governors Association winter meeting
17 governors and seven mayors signed proclamations making it EntrepreneurshipWeek in their cities and states
350 universities held at least one activity during The Week, with a vast majority scheduling daily activities throughout The Week, like Stanford University and the University of Illinois
More than 400 teams, with more than 2,000 individuals, competed in the EntrepreneurshipWeek USA Challenge, submitting video entries on how they created value from a pack of Post-Its
Two groundbreaking reports were released by the Kauffman Foundation that demonstrate the economic impact of entrepreneurship—On the Road to an Entrepreneurial Economy: A Research and Policy Guide and the 2007 State New Economy Index
Several other notable reports were released during The Week, including Where America Stands: Entrepreneurship, the first part in a series of focused analyses on the high-impact drivers of U.S. innovation capacity and competitiveness by the Council on Competitiveness
More than 1,300 partners signed up to be part of the initiative, hosting activities in their communities and promoting The Week
Hundreds of news stories were broadcast, published and posted on Web sites, including outlets such as the Chicago Tribune ("Encouraging Innovation in Chicago"), Inc. ("EntrepreneurshipWeekUSA Kicks Off with Workshops, Networking Opportunities"), CNN ("Everyone Wants to Start a Business"), MSN ("A Weeklong Festival for Entrepreneurship"), The Wall Street Journal ("Innovators Matter Most"), Los Angeles Times ("Students Learn Financial Savvy") and the USA Today ("A Force for Entrepreneurship in America")
A live web cast drew more than 3,000 attendees across the country.
Thousands of partner activities attracted a significant amount of local buzz, including: the St. Louis Race to Entrepreneurship, an adventure-style race where contestants had to snap photos of entrepreneurship landmarks using cell phone cameras; fifth-grade students creating lemonade stands in the West Virginia state Capitol building; a Cleantech Innovation competition in Colorado to combine profitability and environmental sustainability; and many others
Nearly 30 established entrepreneurs played an active role as Entrepreneurs of The Week, participating in activities online and in person throughout the initiative
More than 33,000 visits were made to the EntrepreneurshipWeek USA Web site during The Week alone and half-a-million page views during the initiative
Traffic was heavy at www.kauffman.org, the Foundation's Web site, where the number of daily visitors quadrupled, and the 2007 State New Economy Index was downloaded almost 4,000 times in the span of three days
45 aspiring young entrepreneurs crowded the stage behind Judith Cone of the Kauffman Foundation for a closing bell ceremony at NASDAQ
"EntrepreneurshipWeek USA proved inspirational for thousands of future entrepreneurs," Schramm said. "This inspiration will prove to be a powerful force in our nation's ability to compete in this global entrepreneurial economy."
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