When I started my business in the late 1960s, it never occurred to me that, even at age 18, I couldn’t be an entrepreneur. Even very early in my career, bankers—that is, real people greeting me at a brick-and-mortar location—took the time to help me and lend me capital after spending time with me and trusting my business plans. But today, despite the fact that entrepreneurship is more popular and praised than ever, according to the Kauffman Foundation, the number of new start-ups in the United States is approximately half of what it was 30 years ago. According to the World Bank, the U.S. currently ranks 53rd in terms of ease of starting a new business.
Image: Banks Photograph by Ameen Fahmy
