Today’s roundup starts with an update on the economic forecast and includes stories about two MBAs and their efforts to eliminate “food deserts” by launching their own company and a look at why MF Global went bankrupt.
Growth forecast continues to change
It’s hard to keep up with the ever-changing growth forecast—and since things have been looking down, it’s hard to want to even pay attention to it. Today, Luca Di Leo of The Wall Street Journal reports that Federal Reserve officials are ready to report a downgraded growth forecast, which will (hopefully) push the government to do more to encourage improvements.
Two MBAs launch a startup in hopes of solving for “food deserts”
Those aiming to start a business are often told to find a need and fill it. And that is precisely what recent MBAs Carrie Ferrence and Jacqueline Gjurgevich did when they started Stockbox Grocers, a company that gives low-income neighborhoods access to healthy and affordable food, reports Jessica Bruder of The New York Times. They’re still a company of two running all aspects of the business, but the demand for these parking lot grocery stores is on the rise. What void is your startup filling?
The cause of MF Global’s bankruptcy
There are many potential explanations for MF Global’s bankruptcy, which was filed Monday, but Bethany McLean of Reuter’s says it likely has to do with accounting issues. Whether it was “sloppy or intentional” remains to be unseen, she says, but the company’s declining profits and allocation of spending was openly a problem (MF Global previously admited to using clients' money during hard times). Stay tuned for updates.
Young entrepreneurs think innovation should be top priority
Starting Monday, young entrepreneurs are sharing loads of suggestions for improving entrepreneurship at the G-20 summit in Nice, France, reports Kent Berhard Jr. of Porfolio.com. Some of the top findings: A majority of young entrepreneurs think innovation should be a top government priority, and according to Ernst & Young, 1.8 million more jobs would exist if startups were growing at the same rate as they were in 2007. Looks like it’s time for the government to step in to help get startup growth back on track.
Why VCs should strive to be more than a one-fund wonder
Running a startup is hard, Steve Bank confesses on his blog. How would he know? He’s been climbing the marketing ladder at startups, doing “every low-level job there was,” until now. Lessons learned? For one, venture capitalists would greatly benefit from this experience. While great VCs may already have people skills, knowing what it takes to run a successful business is crucial for knowing where to invest.
Even with the abundance of information on how to improve your social media strategy, many companies struggle to get it right. Lisa Barone of Small Biz Trends breaks it down into six stages, making it simple for any entrepreneur to get started, and move forward.