Heard on the Street – here’s what we were reading last week:
Why we need to bring the entrepreneurship narrative back to small-business owners: VC-backed companies comprise less than 1% of businesses in the U.S., while enterprises with fewer than 500 employees represent 99% of U.S. businesses and employ nearly half of the U.S. workforce.
The Battle to Keep America’s Black Banks Alive: There are 18 Black-owned banks in the U.S., half that existed a decade and a half ago. A new movement is under way to help those that are left to survive—and even thrive.
Simple chart shows how much small business continues to struggle: The election results may appear to be good for markets, but coronavirus cases have crossed the 100,000-cases-per-day mark and are taking a major toll on small businesses.
The Fed wants to lend money to more small businesses, but many aren’t interested: The Federal Reserve’s Main Street Lending Program hasn’t been nearly as popular as the Paycheck Protection Program — the Fed has only made around 400 loans so far. Now, it says it’s lowering the minimum amount businesses can borrow to $100,000.