We are shifting into a network society that is a product of the post-information era. Startups, and entrepreneurs, are at the core of this reinvention of the way we work and live.
Recently, Bono admitted to “humbling” realizations about foreign aid: “job creators and innovators are ... the key, and aid is just a bridge.” It’s no secret: the world needs jobs.
A successful microeconomic strategy draws on a region’s unique strengths, then integrates the value chain to create ecosystems of entrepreneurship that support innovation and new business formation.
An entrepreneurial ecosystem has sprouted in what some would say is a most unexpected community. It has all the elements of a large city effort, including support for technology startups as well as the 98 percent of startups that are not technology-based.
Imagine a place where high-impact entrepreneurs are so pleased that they don’t complain. Would those be entrepreneurs living in Silicon Valley perhaps? Not so.
Some 88 million young women and men worldwide are unemployed — 47 percent of the unemployed globally. Economic leaders have been stumped as to what to do about it. Now Generation Y is taking matters into its own hands.
Shortly after the Icelandic economy crashed in 2008, we founded our first company. Call us crazy, but in the midst of thousands losing their jobs and the first en masse public protest against the government since Iceland’s induction into NATO in 1949, we decided to start a board game company. It was a blast.