About
Mission
To promote and improve entrepreneurship through data gathering and analysis
Objectives
We designed the Entrepreneur’s Census with several objectives in mind:
- Bring attention to the vital field of entrepreneurship and innovation
- Record benchmarks for entrepreneurs throughout the United States
- Compare the circumstances facing entrepreneurs in New York, Boston and Silicon Valley
Background
The study originated in January 2010 as a project to understand the recent increase in entrepreneurial activity and investment in New York City. Initially, we set out to provide information to the policy makers that affect the entrepreneurs and investors of New York.
From January through March, we conducted interviews with approximately 50 of New York City’s brightest entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, lawyers and strategic investors. We asked the leaders of New York’s venture community to offer ideas as to how the New York City Government could issue policies and initiatives to buttress the recent (and dramatic) increase of entrepreneurial activity and investment in New York City. Some innovative and potentially effective ideas emerged from these conversations.
In March, we undertook the task of gathering granular information regarding the venture communities in Boston, Palo Alto and New York. We did so with the intent to verify the potential effectiveness of the solutions suggested in our initial conversations and provide useful data to entrepreneurs throughout the country.
We sincerely thank those who shared their time and input. Without their efforts, this project, which was unfunded, would not have been possible. We recognize these leaders and some of their ideas below.
Methodology
We distributed the Entrepreneur’s Census through educational alumni groups, entrepreneurial networking groups, related blogs, and pre-investment incubators. Thirty-four organizations distributed, promoted or published articles on the Census. Distribution began on Tuesday, April 6th, 2010, with an announcement at NY Tech Meetup and ended on Saturday, May 8th, 2010. Respondents used Qualtrics, an electronic survey platform available at www.qualtrics.com.
We did not distribute the Census through venture capital firms. Representatives of many funds contributed to the survey design. However, because much of the content measured the funding environment in three distinct markets, we believed that use of such distribution would create a selection bias. We feared, for example, that if we were to approach two equally sized portfolios in New York and Silicon Valley, a disparity in the number of responses would inaccurately skew our findings.
Contributors
Matt Shapiro, a recent graduate of Yale School of Management, Venture Consultant with LaunchCapital, a seed stage venture capital firm, and Chief Executive Office of Tooble, a new educational software venture, authored the Entrepreneur’s Census. Olav Sorenson, Professor of Organizational Behavior at Yale School of Management, has advised the census. Countless networking organizations, venture capital firms, entrepreneurs, lawyers and others involved in venture community have donated their time and input to this project. Their efforts are recognized on the “partners” page.
Feedback and Questions
