GoDaddy‘s Venture Forward is a project that demonstrates and quantifies the positive impact these entrepreneurs and their microbusinesses, have on their local communities. The project also reveals how these entrepreneurs and their microbusinesses strengthen the U.S. economy as a whole. GoDaddy also announced that during the coronavirus crisis, Venture Forward will shed light on how this group is recovering, and the effect they are having on their communities and economies.
20 million ventures
This new dataset reveals the impact of 20 million ventures across the US for the first time. GoDaddy also claims that the company is making Venture Forward available to anyone who can utilize it and contribute to conversations on COVID-19 stimulus measures, as well as issues like financial inequality, immigration policy, and job skills training. Some of the key findings from the project are:
- Ventures make communities more prosperous. In 2017, the average annual increase in household median income across the nation’s counties was $1,700. Adding one highly active venture per 100 people would increase that number by 19% or $331, taking it up to $2,031.
- Ventures are as diverse as the country itself. They’re in red states and blue states. Run by women and men, full-time business owners, students, retirees, and part-time workers. They’re rural and urban, from different income and education levels, and all ethnicities.
- Ventures are prevalent in regions that recovered most fully from the great recession of 2008. Counties in the top 10% of recovery have more ventures per 100 people than the national average and twice as many as those that recovered the least. They also experienced a greater increase in prosperity between 2007 and 2016.
GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani said,
“An extraordinary movement has emerged as everyday entrepreneurs are powering the economy in new and unexpected ways, and it’s critically important to better understand their impact. Venture Forward helps bring into focus the benefits of building a more inclusive economy that enables people to pursue their passions. We know these entrepreneurs are being negatively impacted by COVID-19 and today, and in the months ahead, we’ll be with them every step of the way.”