Press Release

Contact: Robert Caudle CED Public Relations Manager rcaudle@cednc.org

Phone: (919) 549-7500 ext. 107 FAX: (919) 549-7405 www.cednc.org

CED Releases 2007 Entrepreneurial Satisfaction Survey Report

Respondents Cite Workforce Talent as Most Important Factor in Growing a Business; Access to Capital and Qualified Management are Critical Areas for Triangle Improvement

March 7, 2007, Research Triangle Park, NC – The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) today announced results from its 2007 Entrepreneurial Satisfaction Survey Report, which asked Research Triangle region entrepreneurs about the critical factors for starting and growing an entrepreneurial business. Respondents included founders and CEOs of innovation-based entrepreneurial companies who rated the relative importance of 28 factors and also weighed in on how the Triangle performs in each category.

The complete survey is available online at www.cednc.org/publications/entrepreneurial_satisfaction_survey/

Among the survey's most significant findings:

• People Matter Most. The availability and retention of top technical, non-technical and management talent again registered as the most significant concern for high-growth entrepreneurs (which mirrors findings from the 2001, 2004 and 2006 CED surveys).
• Research Universities Fuel Entrepreneurship. The proximity of research universities ranked as the Triangle’s greatest strength. The perceived importance of universities in growing an entrepreneurial company increased significantly, up from #22 in last year’s survey to #7 in this year’s survey.
• New Sources of Seed Funding Prime Startups. Access to alternative financing, such as grants and loans, continues to show increasing importance – up from #16 in 2004, to #7 in 2006, and now #5 in this year’s survey.
• Venture Capital Drives Growth. The need for access to venture capital, both in seed and expansion stages, remains a high priority for respondents. While access to capital had declined in importance CED’s 2001 and 2004 reports, financing sources regained importance in the 2006 report and remain a priority in the 2007 survey.

“CED's Entrepreneurial Satisfaction Survey is a great way to benchmark regional perception and stimulate discussion on how to maintain the Research Triangle’s competitive advantage over similar high-growth entrepreneurial communities,” said CED President Monica Doss. “The survey is an important tool to help identify the resources that the Triangle and CED need to provide an entrepreneur-friendly environment.” 

Note about survey methodology. CED distributed the survey via email to Triangle area high-growth entrepreneurs across a full range of growth industries. The survey included a menu of factors to numerically rank (with 1 being the least important and 5 being the most important), as well as an opportunity for respondents to add comments.

About CED: The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) is a private, non-profit organization formed in 1984 to identify, enable and promote high growth, high impact entrepreneurial companies and to accelerate the entrepreneurial culture of the Research Triangle and North Carolina. Headquartered in the Research Triangle with a divisional office in Wilmington, CED is the largest and oldest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation with more than 4,000 members representing over 1,100 entrepreneurial companies, financiers and professional firms. CED provides education, mentoring and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs through annual conferences, seminars, workshops and programs on entrepreneurial management and finance. www.cednc.org

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