For the last or one of the last blog posts of the year, I wanted to highlight three things we should resolve to implement in 2010 to build the entrepreneurial economy both nationally and locally.

Nationally

Startup Visa: This idea has picked up steam. I am an opponent of illegal immigration but believe we need a coherent policy to address legal immigration. The startup visa makes sense. Bring the best and brightest from around the world here if they will start a company and employ Americans.

Entrepreneurship education in schools: The skills of an entrepreneur are skills that can help someone throughout their life. If we focused on training people early in their lives, these skills and the concepts of risk versus reward, then we would set up a large portion of our population to be self-sufficient and productive. Everyone would benefit from this. This includes adding some entrepreneur classes or a program to PhD programs.

Locally (Kentucky)

Expand State SBIR/STTR matching funds program: This program is unique and sets the state apart. This type of non-dilutive funding is critical for the growth of these startups and provides lots of high-quality job creation. Funding for this program has always been minimal and the state should set a goal to match every award made to a Kentucky company or one willing to move here. The impact of this is much greater than the traditional type of economic development, which is ineffective.



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