America has become an entrepreneur’s paradise
Etsy sellers and small-town accountants are enjoying the fruits of AI.
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Since the beginning of 2024, an average of 466,000 Americans have applied to start a business each month, according to data from the US Census Bureau.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: PIXABAY
The Economist
Zachary Dunn was selling cars in a small Georgia town when he realised that he “was sick of making other people rich”. Soon he quit and began hawking hats emblazoned with slogans online with a college roommate. (Recent hits include “DADDY” and “Put it on my husband’s tab”.) Their business, The Mad Hatter Company, is set to make eight figures in sales in 2026. Dunn says he will never work for someone else again.
He is not alone. Since the beginning of 2024, an average of 466,000 Americans have applied to start a business each month, according to data from the US Census Bureau. This June saw 531,000 new applications, nearly double the average monthly figure in 2019.
