Commercialization:

Entrepreneurial Activity

Key message

States that are able to generate and support entrepreneurship will be well placed to develop new products and services. Startup firms have the potential to grow rapidly and provide leadership in developing new markets that benefit both emerging and existing businesses around the state.

Why is it significant?

Entrepreneurship—the creation of new companies—is often used as a measure of the extent to which new ideas are introduced into the market. These new ideas are one measure of innovation in an economy. The Kauffman Foundation's Index of Entrepreneurial Activity calculates the percent of individuals ages 20 to 64 who start a new business.

How does Oregon perform?

In 2008 Oregon ranked 13th in the nation in entrepreneurial activity. In each of the last five years Oregon has exceeded the US average and among competitor states Oregon performs relatively well. See Figure 13.

Figure 13. Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity

State	2008 Rank	2005	2006	2007	2008
New Mexico	2	0.45%	0.35%	0.25%	0.58%
Arizona	4	0.32%	0.30%	0.46%	0.49%
California	5	0.32%	0.35%	0.40%	0.44%
Colorado	7	0.53%	0.28%	0.34%	0.43%
New York	8	0.28%	0.33%	0.35%	0.40%
Utah	8	0.38%	0.29%	0.34%	0.40%
Idaho	13	0.47%	0.37%	0.46%	0.37%
Oregon	13	0.33%	0.38%	0.35%	0.37%
Washington	29	0.23%	0.27%	0.22%	0.27%
Minnesota	42	0.31%	0.29%	0.31%	0.21%
United States		0.29%	0.29%	0.30%	0.32%

Source: Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity by State