The future of entrepreneurship

Chuck Eesley , a professor of management science and engineering, studies entrepreneurship across diverse contexts – from refugee entrepreneurs in Uganda to semiconductor startups navigating U.S.-China economic policy. His research on recent export controls revealed a counterintuitive outcome: Rather than solely strengthening U.S. semiconductor innovation, these policies accelerated Chinese investment in its own domestic chip industry, boosting startups there as much as – or more than – here. This finding underscores how global technology markets are deeply interconnected: Barriers can produce unintended consequences that accelerate innovation abroad rather than protecting it at home. Open technology trade and investment create larger markets for American innovations, strengthen collaborative partnerships, and demonstrate that interconnected markets drive progress for all participants. “Entrepreneurial talent exists everywhere,” Eesley tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Have a question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your question. You can send questions to thefutureofeverything@stanford.edu . Episode Reference Links: Stanford Profile: Charles (Chuck) Eesley Connect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon Connect with School of Engineering >>> Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook Chapters: (00:00:00) Introduction Russ Altman introduces guest Chuck Eesley, a professor of management and engineering at Stanford University. (00:03:04) Why Study Entrepreneurship? Chuck explains why entrepreneurs are drivers of modern economic growth. (00:03:30) Defining Entrepreneurship Broad vs. narrow entrepreneurship, from startups to large organizations. (00:04:33) Institutional Environments How policies and culture both shape entrepreneurial outcomes. (00:05:44) Studying Institutions & Entrepreneurship Measuring ​institutional shifts to isolate entrepreneurial outcomes. (00:08:12) Founder & Talent Incentives What’s needed for high-opportunity-cost talent to start companies. (00:09:36) AI Entrepreneurship The impact of data and compute concentration on startup dynamism. (00:11:28) Designing AI Regulation Historical examples of regulation enabling startups to compete fairly. (00:13:43) Incentives Inside Big Tech Why some incumbents support startups while others tilt the playing field. (00:15:28) Ad Placement & Misinformation Funding How digital advertising can unintentionally fund low-credibility content. (00:21:24) Misinformation Market Solution The disclosure mechanisms that may reduce misinformation incentives. (00:25:23) Semiconductors & Entrepreneurship The importance of startups in a field often dominated by large incumbents. (00:29:30) Unintended Policy Effects How U.S. policy may be accelerating Chinese semiconductor investments. (00:31:09) Competing Industrial Policies Why evaluation and iteration are essential for effective policy design. (00:32:31) Global Entrepreneurship Emerging entrepreneurship models spreading across regions and contexts. (00:36:26) The Universal Entrepreneurial Mindset Shared entrepreneurial traits across cultures, contexts, and countries. (00:37:14) Future In a Minute Rapid-fire Q&A: democratizing entrepreneurship, context, and equitable inclusivity. (00:41:02) Conclusion Connect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon Connect with School of Engineering >>> Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You can listen to The future of entrepreneurship online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The future of entrepreneurship is an episode from The Future of Everything presented by Stanford Engineering by Stanford Engineering & Russ Altman.

This episode is 00:41:46 long.

This episode was published on Feb 6, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from The Future of Everything presented by Stanford Engineering when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.