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8 ways to use the new Kauffman Index of Growth Entrepreneurship

Learn more about entrepreneurial growth and how to navigate the Kauffman Index.

Written by Arnobio Morelix and Josh Russell

The Kauffman Foundation recently launched the first-ever Kauffman Index of Growth Entrepreneurship, the first and largest index tracking growth entrepreneurship across the United States, all fifty states, and the forty largest metropolitan areas. This is the latest release in the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurship Series.

Here are 8 ways to use the Kauffman Index of Growth Entrepreneurship:

  1. Understand national trends in growth entrepreneurship
  2. Understand state trends in growth entrepreneurship
  3. Understand metropolitan area trends in growth entrepreneurship
  4. Saving and sharing growth entrepreneurship profiles
  5. Understand industry trends for high-growth companies
  6. Inform how you think of policies for entrepreneurship
  7. Explore entrepreneurship support programs
  8. Dig deeper

1) Understand national trends in growth entrepreneurship

• On KauffmanIndex.org, hover over PROFILES and select National Profile.

• On the Select a Report Dropdown, select Growth Entrepreneurship, and press Reload Visualization. 



• You can also select the Main Street and press Reload Visualization to see those reports.
• Scroll down to see the chosen report.
• These visualizations are interactive. Hover over data points on the graphs to see more detailed information.



• A pdf copy of the report can be accessed here.

2) Understand state trends in growth entrepreneurship
• On KauffmanIndex.org, select State Profiles from the top menu.



• To view a specific state, select it on the Select a State dropdown.



• On the Select a Report Dropdown, select Growth Entrepreneurship, and press Reload Visualization.



• You can also select the Main Street or Startup Activity Report, and press Reload Visualization to see those reports.
• Scroll down to see the chosen report.
• These visualizations are interactive. Hover over data points on the graphs to see more detailed information.



• A pdf copy of the report can be accessed here.

3) Understand metropolitan area trends in growth entrepreneurship
• On KauffmanIndex.org, hover over PROFILES and select Metropolitan Area Profiles.

• To view a specific Metropolitan Area, select it on the Select a Metro Area dropdown.



• On the Select a Report Dropdown, select Growth Entrepreneurship, and press Reload Visualization.



• You can also select the Main Street or Startup Activity Report, and press Reload Visualization to see those reports.
• Scroll down to see the chosen report.
• These visualizations are interactive. Hover over data points on the graphs to see more detailed information.



• A pdf copy of the report can be accessed here.

4) Saving and sharing the growth entrepreneurship profiles
• Scroll to the bottom of the profile you want to save or share.
• To save a profile, select Download.



• Select the PDF option.



• This will open a dialogue box above. To make the profile fit on a single page, select:
o Layout: Portrait
o Paper Size: Letter
o Scaling: Automatic
o Content: This Dashboard
o Sheets to Download: Kauffman Ind…



• Select Download
• After processing, another dialog box will appear. Select Download again, and the selected Profile Sheet will be saved to your computer.



• There are two ways to share the profiles; Sharing a Direct Link or Embedding the profile into your content.
• To share the direct link to a profile, select Share.



• There are four ways to share the direct link.
o Copy the Link Code and share it via email or social media sites.



 o Use the Email Button to open a new email with the link already in place. 

 o Use the Twitter Button to share the link with your followers on Twitter. 

 o Use the Facebook Button to share the link with your friends on Facebook. 

• To Embed the profile, select Share. Copy the Embed Code and enter it into your content.



5) Understand industry trends for high-growth companies
• On KauffmanIndex.org, hover over PROFILES.

• Under Industry Characteristics, select National, State, or Metropolitan Area to view the corresponding industry data.

• On the National Industry Characteristics page, select the indsutry you are interested in viewing from the Select an Industry dropdown. Then select Reload Visualization.



• On the State Industry Characteristics page, first select the state size category via the Select State Size dropdown. For the State report, we have split the fifty states into two groups by population size.



• Then select the industry you are interested in viewing via the Select an Industry dropdown and select Reload Visualization.



• On the Metropolitan Area Industry Characteristics page, select the industry you are interested in viewing via the Select an Industry dropdown and select Reload Visualization.

Ways to Use the Data to Change Your Entrepreneurship Ecosystem

6) Inform how you think of polices for entrepreneurship
In conjunction with the Kauffman Index, we also recently published an Entrepreneurship Policy Digest on the economic impacts of high-growth entrepreneurship. Check out the Policy Digest to learn more about high-growth startups and explore policies that will help more entrepreneurs grow their businesses. Also, view the Kauffman Entrepreneurship Policy Map and create your own to help understand policies in your community that can support entrepreneurship.

7) Explore entrepreneurship support programs
1 Million Cups brings together early-stage startups to present their companies to a diverse audience of peers, mentors, educators, and advisors. As of January 2016, there are more than 77 1 Million Cups communities spanning the United States and Puerto Rico. Search the complete listing of 1 Million Cups communities.

Kauffman FastTrac is a global provider of training and equips aspiring and established entrepreneurs with the business skills and insights, tools, resources, and peer networks necessary to start and grow successful businesses. Search for a FastTrac program in your community.

Kauffman Founders School is an online educational resource dedicated to entrepreneurship. Through online lectures and a rich curriculum, entrepreneurs can acquire the necessary skills and tools to build their ideas into something big.

8) Dig deeper
At the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Congress, Kauffman Foundation’s Arnobio Morelix presented on Measuring Entrepreneurship Ecosystems and Four Indicators for a Vibrant Entrepreneurship Ecosystem. View four key indicators communities can use to measure an entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The specific indicators from each Kauffman Index report help tell the story of American entrepreneurship. View the Startup Activity, Main Street Entrepreneurship, and Growth Entrepreneurship Indices at the national, state, and metropolitan area at kauffmanindex.org.

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