https://archive.ph/M3J07
America has become an entrepreneur's paradise
economist.com
America has become an entrepreneur's paradise
1–10 of 61 posts
Re: America has become an entrepreneur's paradise
#2[deleted]
Re: America has become an entrepreneur's paradise
#3Seems like Instagram (and TikTok) are a big part of the story here. A lot of these 'buy my hat with a funny slogan' or 'buy my lotion' stores on Shopify, Etsy etc are highly dependent on direct-response ads / performance marketing so their fates are tied to these social media platforms
Re: America has become an entrepreneur's paradise
#4>Full-time self-employment rose to its highest level this century in 2025, reaching 16.8m, according to the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, a trade group.
A common refrain is that all the "entrepreneurs" are just gig economy workers, and I was initially skeptical of this too, but it does seem to check out. The top industries with aren't related to gig economy or truckers, in fact that industry shrunk.
https://www.economist.com/content-assets/images/20260801_EPC...
Re: America has become an entrepreneur's paradise
#5I like that this article has no byline
Re: America has become an entrepreneur's paradise
#6Seems like Instagram (and TikTok) are a big part of the story here. A lot of these 'buy my hat with a funny slogan' or 'buy my lotion' stores on Shopify, Etsy etc are highly dependent on direct-response ads / performance marketing so their fates are tied to these social media platforms
Ie, a junk economy. None of this produces value, if anything it's parasitic.
Re: America has become an entrepreneur's paradise
#7Seems like Instagram (and TikTok) are a big part of the story here. A lot of these 'buy my hat with a funny slogan' or 'buy my lotion' stores on Shopify, Etsy etc are highly dependent on direct-response ads / performance marketing so their fates are tied to these social media platforms
Ie, a junk economy. None of this produces value, if anything it's parasitic.
Hmm, do video games fall into the same category?
Re: America has become an entrepreneur's paradise
#8I like that this article has no byline
The economist never does because all their "reporters" are kids fresh out of the LSE.
Re: America has become an entrepreneur's paradise
#9I'm intrigued how often the most mundane products and things are in fact multi million dollar industries. Would be fascinating to see in 40-50 years how AI affected that trend and pattern, the "ceiling" if you will of entrepreneurial ventures.
Re: America has become an entrepreneur's paradise
#10I like that this article has no byline
It's an economist policy. They almost never use bylines.