Musings on Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Tuesday, September 21, 2004Gazelles are (Temporarily) Small Companies
The New York Times takes issue with the presidential candidates' assertion that small companies account for two-thirds to three-quarters of net job growth. The truth is, some 90% or more of small companies stay small. Only about 5% of companies manage to growth employment at a sustained rate of at least 15% per year. Such companies tend to be young, but are only temporarily small.
One would have thought that the distinction between small companies and entrepreneurial growth companies would have been made clear to policymakers through the good work of the National Commission on Entrepreneurship and others. I guess not. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that votes aren't weighted by the number of jobs you have created?
Related: There is More Than One Kind of Startup
