Presented at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Johannesburg, South Africa.

1. www.kauffman.org
© 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Entrepreneurship
March 2017

2. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
"Plans are only good intentions unless they
immediately degenerate into hard work."
Peter Drucker

3. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
ENTREPRENEURSHIP STRATEGY OVERVIEW
PROBLEM
National entrepreneurship rates have generally been in decline, and there are a number of potential causes that the Foundation is well-positioned to
address. Specifically, there exist:
• Significant barriers for new and emerging entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses;
• Certain populations (demographic, geographic - including KC, socioeconomic, sectoral) that begin at a disadvantage when seeking to be
entrepreneurial;
• Few proven, practical tools and guides for leaders who want to support entrepreneurship;
• Few empirically-proven ways to measure and impact entrepreneurial success at both individual and ecosystem levels; and
• A lack of leadership from others in the field.
INITIATIVES & STRATEGIES IMPACT
Across the nation,
individuals achieve
economic
independence through
entrepreneurial success
GOALS
Increase rates of new business starts and successes, with
short-term impact in target communities and long-term
impact nationally
Founder education,
an online and offline
learning platform,
enables
entrepreneurs to
engage in interactive
peer-learning and
collaboration to
start/grow firms
Barriers to
entry for
underperfor-
ming groups
are reduced,
closing
systemic
market gaps
Ecosystems
to support
entrepreneurial growth
are understood and
measured, leading to
proven tools that
improve
entrepreneurial
starts/successes
As a convener, the Foundation has increased recognition as a leader
in the field by generating new ideas, creating communities of practice,
and contributing to greater program effectiveness
Research and Experimental Innovation initiatives generate
new insights, tools, rapid prototypes, and innovative strategies
that contribute to the progress of entrepreneurs
Policy improvements at the local, state, and national levels
reduce impediments and provide support for entrepreneurial
starts and successes
Founder
Education
• Interactive
learning
• 1MC
Market
Gaps
• Excelerate
• Inclusion
• Support
orgs
Ecosystems
• Tools and
playbooks
• Metrics
and rulers
• Summits
Convening & Engagement
Research / Experimental Innovation
Policy

4. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
overview
1. Research/Policy integration
2. General strategy updates
3. Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
4. Grant Overview: KC Accelerator Challenge

5. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
research & policy integration update
Teams operating together as of January 1
• Strategy: focus on problem-solving.
• Integrated budget.
• Search for R&P Director progressing.

6. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
integrated org chart
VP
Victor Hwang
+1 staff
Founders Education
Wendy Torrance (interim)
John Lusk (consultant)
+6 staff
Research & Policy Wendy Torrance (interim) +7 staff
Convening &
Engagement
Mark Beam
+0.5 staff
Ecosystems &
Market Gaps
Philip Gaskin
+4 staff
Kansas City
Nathan Kurtz
+1 staff
Operations Wendy Torrance +1.5 staff

7. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
progress updates
 Enhanced user engagement.
 Initial launch of new, free FastTrac in June,
integrated with Founders School.
 Will present business plan at June board
meeting, including: market landscape,
prototyping timeline, metrics, feedback from
entrepreneurs.
Founder
Education
Budget $2.85M
Interactive peer-learning for
entrepreneurs to start & grow
firms more successfully

8. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
progress updates
Inclusion Challenge
• Lower barriers for women and minority entrepreneurs
(economy missing 10M jobs).
• 376 applications >> $4.2 million to 13 organizations
over 2 yrs.
• Current landscaping for RFP in April.
Excelerate
• All 8 grantees expanded services.
Market
Gaps
Budget $5.54M
Closing barriers for
underperforming groups
(socioeconomic,
demographic, geographic)

9. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
progress updates
 Entrepreneurship Funders Network, May 2017.
 Residence program being designed. Focus on
KC in year one.
 Designing innovation pipeline to source ideas
from the wider public.
Convening &
Engagement
Budget $1.38M
Leadership through new
ideas, communities of
practice, and greater
program effectiveness

10. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Ecosystems (Metro)
Budget $3.82M
Proven tools, metrics, and
insights that improve
entrepreneurial
starts/successes in
communities
• Why?
• Definition?
• What is success?
• What’s the workplan?

11. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
strategy overview
Why are communities/ecosystems important?
 The nation is a collection of local economies.
 Shift from industrial economy to networked
economy based on entrepreneurial activity.
Research link with economic prosperity.
 Geographical disparity persists.
 Emerging practice area, opportunity for
Kauffman to exercise leadership.
Why
ecosystems?

12. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
strategy overview
 Community of people interacting in a system,
where whole greater than sum of parts.
 Similar to corporate process perspectives, like
Deming, Lean, Agile, Six Sigma.
What defines
an ecosystem?

13. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
strategy overview
To increase entrepreneurial starts/successes,
promulgate new models, tools, and metrics for
entrepreneurship-led economic development.
 Identify key levers based on empirical evidence.
 Define effective process tools.
 Wide adoption by stakeholders. Create
professional class of ecosystem builders.
 New metrics by June.
What is
success?

14. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Example of process tool for entrepreneurial development…

15. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

16. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

17. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Initial Draft Framework for Experimentation
Tool Ecosystem Variable
Culture Building and Convenings Measurements of Cultural Norms
Connections Social Capital Characteristics and Composition
Training and Bootcamps Skill Acquisition and Talent (Human Capital)
Peer Mentoring Participation by Serial Entrepreneurs
Policy and Governance Policy and Regulator Environment
Community of Practice Capacity of Ecosystem Builders as “Honest Brokers”

18. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
strategy overview
Major components over initial 3-year cycle:
• State of Entrepreneurship (February)
• ESHIP Summit (June)
• Playbook (June)
• Mayors Conference (October)
• “CityLabs” (6 in Q4 2017; kickoff at SOE 2018)
Current
Workplan

19. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
June 21-23, 2017 in KC
• Goal. Gather leaders as source of best-practices and co-creators to
define and disseminate frameworks, tools, practices, metrics.
• Invitees. Initially 500 attendees from 50 states. Invitation or
application only. Scholarships available.
• Design. Hands-on, interactive, practical. Goal is for attendees to
leave with action plans to implement in their communities.

20. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
ecosystems: Playbook
Playbook Alpha (launch June 2017 at ESHIP Summit)
 Synthesize and distill current “state of the art” from current know-
how relating to ecosystem development.
 Communicate through an accessible “playbook” and living
website, including case stories.
 Tools selected by Kauffman for interventions in CityLab sites.

21. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
ecosystems: CityLabs (working name)
Phase One in 6 cities for 2017 (including Kansas City)
• Hand-selected communities.
• Identify ecosystem ESOs and/or identified ecosystem champions
• Mayors’ involvement through peer-learning cohorts.
• Playbook as basis for Kauffman engagement process.
• $2M budgeted.

22. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
progress updates
 Kauffman Fellows already received 25 applicants
throughout Heartland for 1st program (which
begins June 2017).
 First regional gathering for Kauffman Fellows at
InvestMidwest, March 28-29.
 Currently exploring other ideas on micro-scale
financing. Upcoming design lab.
KC Metro
Budget $3.15M
Improve entrepreneurial
starts/successes in KC
ecosystem; test novel ideas
as laboratory for nation

23. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
grant overview
 Goal: increase entrepreneurial success through high
quality support in structured, short-term, cohort programs
with final product demos.
 Total up to $1.5M over 1 year. No grant over $300K.
 Advance efforts through education, helping underserved,
and studying results.
 Apply learnings from Kauffman-sponsored research.
KC
Accelerator
Challenge

24. © 2016 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
grant overview
 RFP selection criteria:
(1) strong leadership team,
(2) proven educational program, and
(3) focus on human capital development.
 15 applicants: 5 strong, 5 need work, 5 weak.
 1:1 matching.
 Requesting board approval.
KC
Accelerator
Challenge