For small businesses, a good guide is a good start
Addressing an audience of community members and small business owners at the Harvard Ed Portal last Thursday, Karen Mills ’75, M.B.A. ’77, a senior fellow at Harvard Business School and former vice chair of the Harvard Board of Overseers, said that an “ecosystem” is vital to driving economic development in a community. An ecosystem is “an innovation district, an accelerator, a cluster, a way to get small businesses together in a community,” Mills said. “It’s creating ways for small businesses to have a voice in a community.” Mills spoke about innovation and small business growth as part of her Ed Portal lecture, drawing from her experience as administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and a member of President Obama’s cabinet from 2009 to 2013. At the SBA, Mills managed a federal loan guarantee portfolio of more than $100 billion. When she stepped into her role, small businesses were facing “an incredible...