Commentary

A Commentary provides thoughtful and insightful opinions or perspectives on events, policies or situations of interest to business owners, startups, educators, investors and policymakers. These should be short, readable, timely, interesting pieces that address current topics of interest, discussion or dispute.

Length: <1,000 words

Reviewed by Senior Editors


Writing For Entrepreneurs: Engage Through Clarity

“Not academic research.” I have a confession to make. As a working entrepreneur prior to earning my doctorate, this would have been my response if asked where I turn for information on running my Read More...

Category: Commentary

Author: Kevin P. Taylor

Round 2 of Covid Relief: What Small Businesses Need to Know

The $325 billion second Covid relief bill -- the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act -- was signed into law on December 27, 2020. The Small Business Read More...

Category: Commentary

Author: David Deeds

The Pandemic's Impact on Digital Platform Businesses

The 21 st century brought about an explosion of businesses built around digital platforms, which transformed markets and economies worldwide. The so-called platform revolution upended entire Read More...

Category: Commentary

Authors: Oksana Gerwe and Rosario Silva Froján

Media Attention Helps Private Equity Firms Attract Resources

New firms can attract resources by sending out signals about their quality. They do this because a new firm’s quality is often uncertain and hard to observe. But we don’t know much about what Read More...

Category: Commentary

Author: Tom Vanacker

Family Businesses Must Plan for the Unthinkable

It's been almost 14 months since the first Covid case was reported and, in that year, a great deal has happened. Very few business owners, particularly in North America, took the potential for a Read More...

Category: Commentary

Author: Joseph Astrachan

Colleagues Celebrate a Leader Who Empowered Others

"If you want to lead, I would pay close attention to Dick's model...and if you are lucky enough to work for someone like this, you just won the lottery!" -- Brad Anderson In honor of Dick Schulze's Read More...

Category: Commentary

Authors: Daniel Forbes and James C Wetherbe

Timeless Lessons from Dick Schulze

Best Buy Founder Dick Schulze built his empire through hard work, calculated risk, and a commitment to high standards of integrity and fairness.  In his book “Becoming the Best,” he outlines Read More...

Category: Commentary

Authors: Catherine Buday and Jon Eckhardt

Will Covid-19 Take the Air out of Silicon Valley?

With the elections in the rearview mirror, attention has once again returned to the pandemic. We have been speculating as to what the long-lasting effects might be for entrepreneurs and for Silicon Read More...

Category: Commentary

Authors: Michael S. Dahl and Olav Sorenson

A Road Map for Resurgence

The end of the year is typically a time to for EIX and familybusiness.org to showcase their best-read articles from the past year in several broad themes: evaluating opportunities, financing, Read More...

Category: Commentary

Authors: Kimberly Eddleston and Daniel Forbes

What Airbnb Can Teach Entrepreneurs About Layoffs

In May of 2020, Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky sent a letter to all Airbnb employees around the world announcing the layoff of nearly 1,900 of the 7,500 employees (referred to as "teammates), Read More...

Category: Commentary

Authors: Tommaso Minola , Mario Salerno and Daniel Agyare