Innovation is key to growing the economy, whether the new ideas result in incremental improvements to existing technologies or momentous breakthroughs that affect human society. Most innovations are born in small companies, which are also responsible for employing approximately half of the U.S. workforce and establishing two-thirds of all newly created jobs.

Unfortunately, small businesses are having more difficulty securing the necessary capital and resources to turn their innovations into successful commerce. While the economic problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic recently spotlighted the financial difficulties of small businesses, their access to capital has been in decline for at least two decades. Since the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999, small business financing through conventional banks has been less accessible. Entrepreneurs are often forced to rely on non-traditional or financial technology lenders.

With the declining availability of conventional bank financing for small business, and the rise of high interest FINTECH and non-traditional lenders there is an opportunity to create a banking and lending institution that will be very attractive to small businesses and their employees. Of the $1.2 trillion in small business loans annually, conventional banks loan about $600 billion and about $600 billion from FINTECH and non-traditional lenders. Since the repeal of the Glass Steagall Act in 1999, the non-traditional and FINTECH group has grown exponentially to fill the gap created by this deregulation in 1999. They are the only game in town for many small businesses and they charge interest sometimes 30% and higher often with additional loan fees. In Phase II, InnovatorsLINK will establish lending services through alliances with the SBA and institutional lenders.

A spike in new business failures occurs in the second or third year after opening, and there is a strong consensus among economic experts that startups falter at this point due to the lack of “bridge financing,” which can carry them to the next level and help them endure in the market. Entrepreneurs whose ventures fail for this reason are often reluctant to launch another startup, and statistics show that new business originations are at a historic low.

The survival challenges for startups and early stage small businesses have wide-ranging consequences. The decline in small business can be linked to the erosion of the middle class, whose financial well-being is the keystone of the American economy. There is no telling how many startups that faded away in recent decades may have introduced innovations that would have changed the world.
There is an immediate need to reverse the decline in small business commerce, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic’s crushing blow to this sector of the economy. We must do everything we can to assist our entrepreneurs in bringing their visions to life, creating jobs, and strengthening our economy and the middle class. We must also address the needs of current small businesses who can benefit from workforce training and other opportunities.

One of the most valuable resources available to a small business owner is time, and the speedy delivery of useful information can help them to make the decisions necessary more rapidly for their company to prosper. We believe it is vitally important to create a system that provides entrepreneurs with trustworthy, accurate content as well as access to educational resources, financing, and networking connections to other businesses.

InnovatorsLINK aggregates and explains information and programs from numerous sources, including the Small Business Association, SCORE, and Connecticut Business Development Center. Using data mining and analytics, our content editors make this information available online and deliver customized information to registered users based on their business questionnaires and registration data through metadata links. 

Our mission is to constantly update our database to keep users aware of information, programs, financing, and other resources that can aid them in launching and sustaining their business. Our news arm, the “Main Street Journal,” provides a daily news feed of articles and editorial content related to small business trends. The site also features resources such as a comprehensive listing of educational courses, self-evaluation tools, and a collection of specialized forums. For example, the “BLUE LINK” forum connects businesses in the “Blue Tech” sector with resources such as the Naval & Maritime Consortium, the University of Connecticut, Thames River Innovation Center, and Thames River Innovation Place.

Our research at the UConn Graduate School over the 2019-2020 school year concluded that InnovatorsLINK can provide a sustainable, successful, and cost-effective way to support entrepreneurs and small business owners. This pipeline of information and instruction will help stimulate, promote, and maintain small business growth. The site’s design allows it to constantly realign with the needs of the small business community to be as effective as possible.

With the decline in conventional bank financing for small businesses and the rise of non-traditional and financial technology lenders, there is also an opportunity to create a banking and lending institution that will be attractive to small businesses and their employees. In Phase II, InnovatorsLINK plans to establish lending services through alliances with the SBA and institutional lenders.

While the public sector has done an excellent job of establishing government-sponsored incubators, loans, subsidies, and other initiatives to support small businesses, these account for only a fraction of the $1.2 trillion in loans given to small businesses each year. We believe that a more feasible solution is the creation of a public-private partnership that will unite public sector efforts with private resources and capital.

InnovatorsLINK’s mission is to create this type of entity, supported by both public and private funds, to encourage, educate, promote, and support all entrepreneurs and innovators. Anyone with a feasible idea and the necessary work ethic can bring their vision to life. It is vitally important that these entrepreneurs have the basic information and resources necessary to give them the education and confidence to succeed.

InnovatorsLINK was founded in the spirit of Benjamin Franklin, who promoted a library system to provide public access to information and a postal service to improve communications. These efforts helped create an economic vision that evolved into the “American Dream” that anyone can achieve personal success. We seek to restore opportunities for entrepreneurs and small business owners to access an enduring system of information, learning, and capital support.