In a sign that the U.S. economy is finally on the (gradual) upswing, the entrepreneurial rate in the U.S. is now higher than it was at the height of the dot.com bubble of 15 years ago, according to the Kaufman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity (KIEA)—which currently lists more than 20 million non-employer businesses, with more starting every day.
As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, non-employer businesses have no paid employees, have annual receipts of at least $1,000 and are subject to federal income taxes. These new businesses can range from part-time consultants to billion-dollar startups backed by big private-equity money.
But no matter the size of the business, the journey to successful entrepreneurship can be treacherous. According to the Census Bureau, 16% of companies fail their first year of operation, and 32% fail within their first three years. Most of those failures are due to incompetence and lack of experience, according to a January 2014 study in Entrepreneur Weekly by the Small Business Development Center at Bradley University and University of Tennessee Research.
Recommended For You
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
