For many, now is an ideal time to launch a startup company. Michigan Growth Capital Symposium (MGCS) Founder David J. Brophy, Director and Professor of Finance at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, said one reason is that Michigan universities have increasingly well-organized entrepreneurial programs. “All universities have realized that the next wave is to, in some sense, create your own job,” he said.
Post-recession, larger companies are not hiring on graduates at the rate they once were. This, combined with increased support and the relative ease of utilizing the Internet and social media tools, has made entrepreneurship more appealing.
Brophy notes that while in the past it may have been extremely expensive to launch a company, out-of-pocket costs are now much lower. “Today, it is very inexpensive to bring a concept to the marketplace,” he said. “In the old, heavy engineering days, you needed millions of dollars to launch a company. Students can do it for $20,000 now. For very little money, and with tools that you have at hand, you can test a concept. Whatever the idea might be, you can try it out.”
As a result, more young people are starting companies out of school, more people are starting businesses on the side, and there are more couples with one person working outside the home while the other is working inside the home.
Brophy said this trend is in line with the direction of the MGCS. “It ties into our emphasis in recent years on giving opportunities at the Symposium to really early stage companies,” he said. To apply for a presentation spot at this year’s event, visit www.MichiganGCS.com.