Entrepreneurship grows well in a favorable ecosystem - with a little bit of....

Ateneo Professor on Entrepreneurship

Angono, Rizal PHL    |  August 15, 2013

Lecture on entrepreneurship for local businessman and officials

Tomorrow, I will be lecturing some local businessman and public officials on entrepreneurship.  On Monday, I will be receiving an award on entrepreneurship.   This is a good sign because the public sector supports entrepreneurship.  It is the kind of environment that entrepreneurship needs in order to survive.  Entrep needs a thrives on a favorable ecosystem.

State of entrepreneurship in USA

Last night, I was watching Fox News and many US businessmen are wary according to a survey of the following:  

    l.  Overregulation;

    2.  The rising cost of health care (due to Obama care)

    3.  The IRS

    4.  The growing US debt and fiscal deficit.

Are these conducive to entrepreneurship and job generation?   No wonder, the unofficial unemployment rate at US is at l4% (it is 26% in Greece and Spain)

What entrepreneurship needs according to Larry Farrell:

    l.  A little bit of education -  Short courses, not MBA works well for start ups and entrepreneur wannabees.  The only thing that we need to develop entrepreneurs is to teach wannabees how to create and produce products and services that the world needs.

     The model for this little bit of education is the Junior Achievement.  In the Phil, it is the Go Negosyo Caravan. and some elective subjects at MBA.  In my experience, the Jaycees did much to develop that little bit of entrepreneurship in me.

   2.  A little bit of money -  It does not take that much money to launch a start up.  That is why many governments have wealth funds to launch start ups as in Dhubai, Estonia and even in NY. These are the stats showing how much it cost to support:

     A year in prison  -   $45,000   (Pl, 800,000)

     A year in Harvard -  35,000    (Pl,400,000)

    A year on welfare  -  25,000    (l,000,000)

    Start up cost           -  14,000   (   560,000)

    Entrepreneurship requires the least cost.  

   In NY there was this New York City Discovery Fund with initial $10,000,000 funded by the Economic Development Council chaired by Charles Milllard..  Charles Millard proposed for the NY City then headed by Guiglani is "first do no harm" (same as Hippocrates Oath?)

    Each of the companies that I founded required only P312,500 as paid in capital which is 25% of P1, 250,000 of subscribed capital.  And yet we continue going by way to socialist route to support the poor.  Money goes down the drain.

   3.  A little bit of culture -  The government must be friendly to entrepreneurs.  But I have noted on one hand the govt says it promotes entrepreneurship;  that is the benign side.  On the other hand, the other hand, the ugly side of the govt:  the zealous technocrats of the revenue (customs and BIR), the police, the market administrators, pounce and mulct the poor entrepreneurs.

    Just a little sympathy is needed.  There are many citizens who want to be self supporting and revenue generating, independent citizens. 

   According to Koh Boon Hwee, Chairman of Singapore Telecom (part owner of Globe Telecom) and who led the successful Singapore ventures:   Singapore Development Bank, Singapore Airlines, it was government entrepreneurship that propelled Singapore to its progress.  It has maintained a friendly atmosphere  for entrepreneurs

    These countries according to the survey of Kaufman Foundation are entrepreneur friendly:

          Countries and their start up rates:

         USA        8.4  <in view of the Fox news survey, this must be changing now.>
         Canada    6.8
         Germany 4.1
         Italy         3.4
        UK            3.3
        France       l.8
        Japan         l.6

The stats on Japan jive well with the observation that bank and govt structure in that country are so against lending and supporting entrepreneurs.   

Earlier, PHL was ranked by Global Entrepreneur Monitor (GEM) (I met the Managing Director in a conference in Korea) as No. 2 worldwide in entrepreneurial activity.

Some activities of the government really piss off new wannabees.  The BOC and Philpost rascals effectively killed on line businesses in the PHL.  So is attempting to regulate the internet or ownership limitations, change in taxations.

So govts must carefully study how to maintain the delicate ecosystem if it wants to be up in the economic activity or for it to recover.