Media Contact:
Barbara Pruitt, 816-932-1288; bpruitt@kauffman.org, Kauffman Foundation
A Kauffman Foundation poll of entrepreneurs at the Inc. 500 Conference reveals their plans for growth and the barriers that could stand in the way
(Kansas City, Mo.) Sept. 29, 2011 - Entrepreneurs heading some of America's fastest growing privately held companies have told the Kauffman Foundation that they plan to continue to grow in the United States provided they are able to find qualified people to add to their firms.
The poll was conducted during the Inc. 500|5000 Conference & Awards Ceremony held Sept. 22-24, 2011, in National Harbor, Md. Entrepreneurs attending the event shared their views on the prospects for continued growth, their plans for expansion and the barriers that could stand in the way.
Among the key results:
- Nearly all of the entrepreneurs who responded (96 percent) plan to add employees in 2012. Many (41 percent) say they expect to hire more than 20 people next year.
- Finding qualified people is the biggest obstacle standing in the way of continued growth for 40 percent of companies. Managing fast growth (21 percent), accessing capital (16 percent) and the sluggish economy (13 percent) are also obstacles. Regulatory uncertainty and taxes were only 3 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
- The vast majority of the respondents (71 percent) say they do not outsource any of their business operations outside the United States. Those that did are most likely to seek technical development internationally.
- Looking to the future, the respondents predict that mobile applications, cyber security and healthcare will be among the hottest industries.
The Inc. 500 survey findings reinforce the results of Kauffman research that demonstrates the central role that high-growth startups play to strengthen and grow the U.S. economy. Kauffman studies attest to the benefits of startups: Virtually all of the growth in U.S. jobs has been driven by the formation of firms less than five years old, and these new firms have been disproportionately responsible for commercializing the cutting-edge innovations that characterize modern life.
