There are two economies at work in the United States right now. One is traditional, entrenched, powerful, and often highly profitable. Big oil companies, large manufacturers, and defense contractors fall into this group. So do the targets of Occupy Wall Street. These businesses account for a lot of revenue, and a lot of jobs, but they're not changing much--at least not for the better. They don't tell us much about what the future will be like.
Then there's the innovation economy: defined by the creation of new businesses and new ways of operating, with its emotional and philosophical center in Silicon Valley. Some might argue that this second economy has been in place for decades, fueling new tech-based ventures. There is ample evidence to support this (Apple, Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, et al). Yet in the past few years, we've seen an explosion of entrepreneurship, not just in the Bay Area but around the country in places such as Austin, Boston, Detroit, New York, and Portland, Oregon. The influence of these smaller, often fast-growing, companies is pervasive: Almost every big, traditional business has some effort under way to spawn small, "fast" divisions within its operation.
To read the full, original article click on this link: From The Editor: The Creative Economy | Fast Company
