Endeavor

Even representing less than 1% of the total number of companies, Brazilians High Growth Companies create more than 50% of new jobs This analysis is a first exercise to understand the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the set of data that portrays the entrepreneurial dynamics in 14 brazilian capital cities In the last few years initiatives stimu- lating entrepreneurship have gained relevance all over the world as an alternative to promote economic growth and development. Behind all these programs/attempts is the belief that entrepreneurship nurtures inno- vation and development. Companies grow and, alongside to them people, the market, as well as society's possi- bility to transform. Brazil, with a wider and better range of entrepreneurs, conscious of their role in society, has a real shot at being a better country for all of its citizens. But the numbers do not correspond with the movement: if 3 in every 4 brazilians pick en - trepreneurship as a career choice, only 4% actually own a company that employ people. One of the big reasons for such a huge contradiction is the fact that starting a new business in Brazil still requires a super hero effort. The obstacles arise during the process of opening the firm and build on exponentially: finding INTRODUCTION customers, managing budgets, paying taxes, building a strong team. It's not a coincidence that only 35,000 com- panies in the country (less than 1% of the total) can grow an average of 20% a year, during three con- secutive years. Entrepreneurs need to dedicate their efforts towards their productive ventures, but for this to hap- pen they need support from an envi- ronment that offers conditions and re- sources capable of transforming one´s big dream into a high impact business 1 . If presently these 1% of brazilian com- panies generate approximately 50% of new jobs, a favorable environment for entrepreneurs should increase the number and broaden the impact of these high growth businesses in the country. The complexity and interdependency of Brazil's business environment en - hances the challenge of building a lo- cal entrepreneurial development plan. Despite the Federal Government´s at- tempt to launch national initiatives to boost entrepreneurial activity, most of the necessary resources are found on a local or regional level. This highlights the protagonist role of those responsi- ble for regional public policy formula- tion, as well as other institutions such as banks, the media and universities which are part of the local ecosystem. Everyone needs to work together (row in the same direction) instead of just providing support. The starting point is to identify the core strengths and bottlenecks of the region so that policy formulators and assisting institutions can act accordingly. For this to happen, everyone has to be familiar with the challenges entrepreneurs face and the indicators that reflect the entrepreneurial environment, as well as understanding the connections be - tween these indicators. As it will become evident throughout the following pages, this analysis is our first exercise to understand the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the set of data that portrays the entre- preneurial dynamics in 14 brazilian capital cities 2 . The robust method- ology received special attention in order to guarantee that the analysis and conclusions of this study could aid in drafting new public policies and help define strategies for organiza- tions that believe that entrepreneur- ship has transformational power and hence have a prominent role in devel- oping the entrepreneurial ecosystem. 1 Source: Brazilians Entrepreneurs (Empreendedores Brasileiros), 2013, Endeavor Brazil 2 Source: Entrepreneurial Statistics (Estatísticas de Empreendedorismo), 2012, Endeavor Brazil & IBGE 11

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