Part Four: Conclusion

Public policy has played an instrumental role in supporting entrepreneurship in the United States. While public understanding of EGCs may be incomplete, research by Bhidé and others show that different (although complementary) public policies need to address different stages of entrepreneurship. Because of these commonly held five myths of entrepreneurship, the early stages of EGCs are often missed. As a result, the needs of entrepreneurs during the early stages are sometimes ignored, or supported unintentionally rather than given serious consideration. Ensuring that public policy supports EGCs from their early start-up through maturity is no easy task. But, understanding these different stages of entrepreneurship provides policymakers with valuable tools to meet these public policy challenges.