Start-ups? We need more finish-ups

Over the past 3 weeks I have seen over 300 start-ups at Stanford Startup Labs, Launch Conference, DEMO, and SXSW. StartupAmerica http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/startup-america is a great new program to encourage more entrepreneurship in America. There are startup incubators sprouting up everywhere, and venture capital is plentiful. Is the problem not enough startups, or not enough "finish-ups"?

Venture Capital firms invested $21.8 Billion in 3,277 companies in 2010. Angel Investors invested another $16B to $20B in 50,000 more early stage startups. Many other companies startup with no funding from VCs or Angels. In fact, there are over 500,000 new companies started EVERY year according the the US Small Business Administration (SBA).

Most startups don’t finish. Thirty percent of new companies fail in the first year, and 50% fail within 5 years. Second time entrepreneurs have a higher success rate than first timers. Programs like Ycombinator, TechStars, Stanford Startup Labs, and other incubators greatly increase the chances of success.

Don Dodge

Full Story: http://dondodge.typepad.com/the_next_big_thing/2011/03/start-ups-we-need-more-finish-ups.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheNextBigThing+%28The+Next+Big+Thing%29