Vermont Business Magazine Vermont SBA is working with a team in support of the Kauffman Foundation’s engagement with the City of Burlington to improve conditions for entrepreneurs. Through Kauffman, a research survey is being launched to map Vermont’s business spinoff history. VT SBA is trying to get the word out about the survey so that those business owners that started a spinoff will take the survey. In other words, the survey attempts to find those entrepreneurs who once worked for another company. Examples include IDX, IBM, Ben & Jerry’s, Magic Hat, JDK, Gardener’s Supply, etc. The more spinoffs SBA can record, the better the research will be – it is a snowball effect survey. It relies on businesspeople to reach out to those they know who fit the spinoff definition and get them to also take the survey. The survey is live now and the link is below.
Survey Request
Through the support of the Kauffman Foundation, a new research project is being launched to get a better sense of the unique characteristics of Vermont and how its entrepreneurial ecosystem has developed and evolved over time.
The creation of new firms, often in the form of spinoffs, is an important dynamic in entrepreneurial ecosystems. In this context, spinoffs are defined as firms that are started by former employees of private or public companies, laboratories, universities or federal, state and local governments.
Traditional data sources do not provide sufficient information about the sources and backgrounds of entrepreneurs who are starting new spinoff firms. This spring, a survey will go live to reach and collect information from founders of spinoffs within the state of Vermont. The data collected will help build a genealogy map representing the region’s spinoff activity. You can find an example of what this map will look like below (the result of the same research project in the Kansas City metropolitan area from 2012.)
The outcomes and benefits of this research project are:
1. It will aggregate data on the origins and frequency of spinoffs in Vermont.
2. It will provide data that will illustrate characteristics of Vermont’s ecosystem.
3. It will obtain comparative data about ecosystems in other U.S. metros.
4. It will produce a white paper(s) containing action items and/or policy recommendations supporting the continued development and maintenance of Vermont’s ecosystem.
Your assistance in disseminating this survey to your network is requested. Please see the below link to the survey, which will go live until May 30. The survey will take no more than 15 minutes to complete. If you have any questions about this project, please contact the lead researcher, Elizabeth Mack, at [email protected].
In October 2015, the city of Burlington announced an 18-month engagement and partnership with the Kauffman Foundation to improve conditions for entrepreneurs in Burlington. In collaboration with the Community & Economic Development Office in the City of Burlington and other community partners, the Kauffman Foundation will bring a combination of up to $500,000 in Burlington-specific grants, technical assistance and research to strengthen the City’s capacity to support entrepreneurs. The Kauffman Foundation has similar engagements with the cities of Albuquerque, NM and Nashville, TN, where this research project is also being deployed. The Kauffman Foundation is a private, nonpartisan foundation that aims to foster economic independence by advancing educational achievement and entrepreneurial success. Founded by late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman, the Foundation is based in Kansas City, Mo., and has approximately $2 billion in assets.
