Entrepreneurs and young businesses create nearly all net new jobs in America, and 20 percent of gross job creation.

Yet, entrepreneurship has been in generational decline – new firms represented as much as 16 percent of all firms in the late 1970s, but declined to 8 percent between 2005 and 2010.

So, how do we revive American entrepreneurship to create a new, grassroots economic model with entrepreneurs at its heart?

We need ecosystem builders. We need people to help build communities that make entrepreneurship accessible and inclusive – that attempt to put Zero Barriers in the way of innovators and job creators.

7 Goals for Ecosystem Building

  1. Inclusive Field.
  2. Collaborative Culture.
  3. Shared Vision.
  4. Connected Networks.
  5. Quantify Methods.
  6. Universal Support.
  7. Sustainable Work.

Read the full article about ecosystem building by Julie Scheidegger and Mona Ahmed at Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.