The book's central focus explores several "myths" associated with American entrepreneurship: the idea that small business owners are "job creators"; that entrepreneurs are the "backbone" or "engine" of the economy; that entrepreneurship provides a path of economic mobility for immigrants, ethnic and racial minorities, and women; that the Horatio Algiers "rags to riches" story is possible for anyone willing to work hard. Instead, I provide a critical perspective that challenges these myths of American enterprise, arguing that successful entrepreneurship requires access to social and economic capital resources and support that are often distributed along the lines of race, class, and gender in the highly stratified American economy and society.

In Minority Business Success, authors Leonard Greenhalgh and James Lowry chart a path for the full participation of minority businesses in the U.S. economy. Today, minorities are well on their way to becoming the majority of our workforce and a large part of our entrepreneurial endeavors; their full contribution is essential to national competitive advantage in a global economy. The beginning of this book summarizes demographic changes in America and shows why it's in the national interest to foster the survival, prosperity, and growth of minority-owned businesses. The authors outline why these businesses are vital to the solution to our current economic woes. Next, the book turns to what minority firms must do to take their place in major value chains, and, finally, the book examines what governments, corporations, and support organizations ought to be doing to foster minority inclusion. In total, Greenhalgh and Lowry lay out a new paradigm for developing minority businesses so that they can fully contribute to our national competitive advantage and prosperity.

Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy. They are the biggest job creators and offer a path to the American Dream. But for many, it is difficult to get the capital they need to operate and succeed. In the Great Recession, access to capital for small businesses froze, and in the aftermath, many community banks shuttered their doors and other lenders that had weathered the storm turned to more profitable avenues. For years after the financial crisis, the outlook for many small businesses was bleak. But then a new dawn of financial technology, or “fintech,” emerged. Beginning in 2010, new fintech entrepreneurs recognized the gaps in the small business lending market and revolutionized the customer experience for small business owners. Instead of Xeroxing a pile of paperwork and waiting weeks for an answer, small businesses filled out applications online and heard back within hours, sometimes even minutes. Banks scrambled to catch up. Technology companies like Amazon, PayPal, and Square entered the market, and new possibilities for even more transformative products and services began to appear. In Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream, former U.S. Small Business Administrator and Senior Fellow at Harvard Business School, Karen G. Mills, focuses on the needs of small businesses for capital and how technology will transform the small business lending market. This is a market that has been plagued by frictions: it is hard for a lender to figure out which small businesses are creditworthy, and borrowers often don’t know how much money or what kind of loan they need. New streams of data have the power to illuminate the opaque nature of a small business’s finances, making it easier for them to weather bumpy cash flows and providing more transparency to potential lenders. Mills charts how fintech has changed and will continue to change small business lending, and how financial innovation and wise regulation can restore a path to the American Dream. An ambitious book grappling with the broad significance of small business to the economy, the historical role of credit markets, the dynamics of innovation cycles, and the policy implications for regulation, Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream is relevant to bankers, fintech investors, and regulators; in fact, to anyone who is interested in the future of small business in America.

Discussing the complex history of Silicon Valley and other pioneering centres of venture capital, Lerner uncovers the extent of government influence in prompting growth. He examines the public strategies used to advance new ventures and reveals the common flaws undermining far too many programmes.

Immigrants come from countries far, to dream their dreams beneath American stars. Let's see who's here in this great place, a land of diversity: the United States! Our American Dream is written by Fiona McEntee, an award-winning nationally recognized immigration lawyer. As an immigrant, mom of two young children, and lawyer who fights for justice every day, Fiona wrote Our American Dream to help explain the importance of a diverse and welcoming America. Our American Dream is the first in a series that celebrates immigrants and immigration. You can find out more at ouramericandreambooks.com.

The UnAmerican Dream is for those who have put everything they have into finding professional success and despite their efforts and accomplishments are still short on happiness.

Advancing U.S. Latino Entrepreneurship examines business formation and success among Latinos by identifying arrangements that enhance entrepreneurship and by understanding the sociopolitical contexts that shape entrepreneurial trajectories. While it is well known that Latinos make up one of the largest and fastest growing populations in the U.S., Latino-owned businesses are now outpacing this population growth and the startup business growth of all other demographic groups in the country. The institutional arrangements shaping business formation are no level playing field. Minority entrepreneurs face racism and sexism, but structural barriers are not the only obstacles that matter; there are agentic barriers and coethnics present challenges as well as support to each other. Yet minorities engage in business formation, and in doing so, change institutional arrangements by transforming the attitudes of society and the practices of policymakers. The economic future of the country is tied to the prospects of Latinos forming and growing business. The diversity of Latino experience constitutes an economic resource for those interested in forming businesses that appeal to native-born citizens and fellow immigrants alike, ranging from local to national to international markets. This book makes a substantial contribution to the literature on entrepreneurship and wealth creation by focusing on Latinos, a population vastly understudied on these topics, by describing processes and outcomes for Latino entrepreneurs. Unfairly, the dominant story of Latinos—especially Mexican Americans—is that of dispossession and its consequences. Advancing U.S. Latino Entrepreneurship makes clear the undiminished ambitions of Latinos as well as the transformative relationships among people, their practices, and the political context in which they operate. The reality of Latino entrepreneurs demands new attention and focus.