Is American Entrepreneurship On Life Support? With all the attention paid to Silicon Valley and Alley startups, financing and acquisitions, no one could be blamed for thinking American entrepreneurship is growing at a breakneck pace. But some numbers indicate that it actually not doing so well.Chairman and CEO of Gallup, Jim Clifton, recently wrote a piece pointing out something that received little attention: More U.S. small businesses are closing than starting. According to the Census data, Clifton says, there are around 400,000 new business each year, but 470,000 are closing. And in terms of start-up activity on an international scale, the U.S. is in 12th place.This aint looking so good. What really going on with entrepreneurship?Well, the Great Recession happened. Also, Millennials.New companies hit a peak in 2008 and then started a downward slide, from which it has yet to recover. Layoffs, difficulties obtaining credit, and a desert of customers during the recession are still fresh on many minds. But if you want to look on the bright side, there been a slight uptick.And Millennials may be all for nontraditional work rules, but theyre not so hot on starting their own companies. Maybe because being part of a startup means no work-life balance?According to the GEM 2014 Global Report, an annual report on global entrepreneurship, innovation-driven economies like the U.S. tend to have the greatest fear of failure and fewer aspiring entrepreneurs, and the biggest reasons for shuttering a company are personalmoney comes second.Dont forget: intrapreneurship is entrepreneurshipIntrapreneursthose working for change from the insidehave a lot in common with entrepreneurs, like a big-picture POV, an ability to innovative, and a creative bent, and they can be found in cubicles and offices in very large corporations. They may not want to go out on their own and deal with the risk and stress of a startup, but they still want to think like entrepreneurs.But how to harness those talents? After two years of trial, Adobe recently launched Kickbox, a program to help encourage innovation. The company, which designed the program for in-house use, likes it so much theyve made it available as a free download under a Creative Commons license.Innovation hubsor clustersexist because they can create environments supportive of business growth. If youre a hospitality startup, it helps to have vendors, consultants, and investors around who know something about hospitality. But theyre not the only environments where startups thrive.As the technology that enables virtualization becomes more sophisticated, activity outside of traditional (and often urban) innovation centers will increaselike Fruitworks, a company in the English town in Canterbury, 60 miles from London. A more relaxed pace, lower cost of living and working, and the psychological benefits of not being part of a startup environment, amongst other factors, can make for a great startup location. E-commerce startup Shopify, for example, is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada capital city, because co-founder Tobias Lütke wife worked for the federal government. That hasnt hampered the company growth, especially internationallyit has merchants in 160 countries, has raised $122 million in funding, and is about to go public with a dual U.S. and Canada offering.But does it even make sense to think at country level?Hyperconnectivity is pushing globalization to new levels, according to research by The Economist Intelligence Unit and SAP.For example, Hungary leads the U.S. in startup numbers. And it doesnt matter. Why? Because were global now. A startup anywhere in the world might have onsite staff from six different countries and hire remote workers from another six.Entrepreneurship will feel the effects of global connectedness. Hyperconnectivity is going to change how we work and do business. You read about that and more: get The Economist Intelligence Unit and SAP report here.Want more on forward-focused business strategies? See First Thoughts on the Future of Business Business Networks.