2. Survey of Entrepreneurs

We need to ask entrepreneurs themselves if we want to really begin to understand the complex and messy realities that they confront on their journeys, the barriers they face, and the honest feedback they have for support available to them. The Survey of Entrepreneurs is designed to reach the full breadth of the entrepreneurial population (aspiring and current entrepreneurs) in a community thereby generating a considerably richer picture than existing secondary data can provide.
The Survey of Entrepreneurs examines the specific needs of entrepreneurs in both financial and informational support, their awareness and perceptions of the entrepreneurial supports they draw on, and their experiences of discrimination in the realm of business development.
As part of the data analysis we visualize the gathered relational data through social network mapping. This allows us to uncover structural holes in the ecosystem, identify populations or areas that are underserved by support providers and gather vignettes out of the lives of entrepreneurs that can feed into ongoing storytelling of the ecosystem.
3. Entrepreneurship Indicators Dashboard
- What is the economic impact of young businesses in your city?
- How many jobs do young entrepreneurial ventures create?
- If we don’t prioritize promoting equitable entrepreneurial opportunities, what potential is lost in terms of businesses not started by underserved communities in your city?
We set out to answer these questions with all of the communities in which we work. Baseline data about neighborhood-level and socio-demographic inequities in accessing economic opportunity through entrepreneurship level-sets everyone around the table. Continued tracking of these Census data points over time, complemented with analysis of longitudinal private datasets that Forward Cities offers, establishes a robust foundation for evaluating the medium to long-term effects of ecosystem-building in your community.
No matter whether you are a community organizer or entrepreneur, or work for the economic development office at City Hall or are a grants officer at a local Community Foundation, this interactive tool shows how your city performs on three, select entrepreneurship indicators.
The dashboard consists of data from three sources: economic inclusion indicators, entrepreneur survey, and ESO survey.