First Steps Consulting – Startup Strategy  

Usnews.com highlights an interesting drop in entrepreneurial activity among young Americans.    While this may be alarming to some I think it represents an opportunity for existing, experienced entrepreneurs.  Want to know why and how you can take advantage of it?

First, it is no surprise that the interest in business in general has taken a hit.  The abuses of Wall Street and big business has given enterprise a seedy reputation that does not square with the idealistic views of young adults.  Add the absence of any new venture capital, and the idea of starting a fledgling business seems daunting or undesirable.   What is important to note though is that perception and the flow of money is something that can change and adapt very quickly.

What, you might ask, would change either the perception of business or the flow of risk capital?

Business addresses needs, entrepreneurs in particular address emerging or untapped needs.  We are entering a decade that will be filled with pressing needs.  From innovations in Health Care to Green Technology, there are (as Obama might state) unprecedented needs on the horizon.  As these needs become real rather than perceived, the flow of capital will adjust accordingly, and as startups solve the problems of tomorrow the reputation of business will improve.

So why is this an opportunity for experienced entrepeneurs?

If the brightest minds in the US pursue other academic fields such as law or medicine, there will be a vacuum in the market for entrepreneurs and innovators.  While there may be new entrepreneurs on the scene, they will not have had the same opportunity to learn through experience as todays entrepreneurs.  Today’s experienced entrepreneurs will be in demand.

How do you take advantage of this?

The entrepreneurs of today that will excel in this new market will be the ones who can mix experience with the emerging ideas, and technology of tomorrow.  Not only will these entrepreneurs need to be fluent in the “cutting edge” but they will need to be able to relate to those entrepreneurs who have grown up with tomorrows context.

To prepare for tomorrow, the entrepreneurs of today need to have a strategy for staying young.  For myself I have set the following objectives:

1. Play with tomorrows technology (Google Wave rather than Facebook or Twitter)
2. Interacting with tomorrows innovators (MIT Ideas rather than the National Venture Capital Association)
3. Predicting tomorrows problems (Institute for the Future rather than Google News)