Dallas residents pin recovery hopes on 'newpreneurs,' survey finds

 By SHERYL JEAN
The Dallas Morning News

Three-quarters of Dallas residents think "newpreneurs," or entrepreneurs who've started a company in this recession, will do the most to stimulate the economy, according to a survey released this week.

And 60 percent expect the next big U.S. company to emerge from this recession.

The results were in line with those from six other cities – Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Seattle – surveyed last month by Alibaba.com, an online business-to-business marketplace. It surveyed 3,813 people online.

Jerry White, director of the Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship at Southern Methodist University, sees more business start-ups in the Dallas area, but "it's not a tsunami." Recent signs may indicate that "at this stage of the recession more people are considering starting a company," he added.

Other survey highlights that 400 Dallas residents reported since the start of the recession were:

• 8 percent began a business. Miami had the highest start-up rate, 13 percent.
  
• 40 percent have considered creating a business. Of those, 71 percent said lack of money was the main obstacle.

To help support entrepreneurs, Alibaba.com and Inc. magazine this week launched the national "Newpreneur of the Year" contest. Entries can be submitted until Aug. 14 at www.inc.com/newpreneur.

Judges will choose 30 entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas this fall in six cities, including Dallas. The public can vote online for 12 finalists. The $50,000 winner will be announced in November.

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