New York Times Bestselling Author and Entrepreneur Craig Hall Releases New Book on State of Startups in America

DALLAS, May 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- HALL Group has announced today the publication of founder and chairman Craig Hall's latest book, BOOM: Bridging the Opportunity Gap to Reignite Startups. Published on May 14, 2019 by Savio Republic, BOOM reveals the causes behind the decades-long decline in startups facing the U.S. and how the American Dream has evolved. Following a foreword by Mark Zandi, PhD, the chief economist at Moody's Analytics, Hall provides his expert evaluation of the challenges facing startups and arms readers with specific strategies and public policy initiatives our country can adopt to begin bridging our country's growing opportunity gap that exists for today's entrepreneurs.

"When I started my business in the late 1960s, there was a fairly anti-capitalist and anti-business attitude throughout the U.S. Yet at the same time, it never occurred to me that, at 18 years old, I couldn't start a business of my own. That was one of my rights as an American citizen," said Hall. "Today's entrepreneurial climate is just the opposite. Despite the fact that entrepreneurship is more popular and praised than ever, entrepreneurs pursuing their version of the American Dream are burdened with overbearing regulations, lack of access to capital, unprecedented student debt, widespread industry consolidation and public policies that favor big businesses over new startups. I wrote this book because I believe we must address these obstacles to resurrect the American Dream for all citizens."

In addition to the book's publication, Hall has also committed to donate all royalties from the sale of BOOM to the Bridge the Gap program, through which the Craig and Kathryn Hall Foundation supports innovative programs that serve and fund entrepreneurs who have been underserved by traditional capital markets, particularly women, people of color, veterans, or rural residents. Hall has already committed $1 million from his foundation for the Bridge the Gap program to support these entrepreneurs.

Daniel Lubetzky, Founder and CEO of KIND Snacks, shares in his endorsement of BOOM that, "As an immigrant and an entrepreneur, I don't take for granted the unique opportunity that this country has provided me, so the decline in entrepreneurship in a majority of the U.S. that Craig describes in BOOM is alarming. Luckily, he applies his expertise to provide detailed solutions to restore the entrepreneurial opportunity for all Americans."

BOOM: Bridging the Opportunity Gap to Reignite Startups
By Craig Hall, Foreword by Mark Zandi, PhD, Chief Economist at Moody's Analytics
Publisher: Savio Republic; Hardcover; ISBN-10: 164293108X; ISBN-13: 978-1642931082
Price: $26.00; Publication Date: May 2019;
Website: www.reignitestartups.com

About Craig Hall
Craig Hall is a Dallas-based entrepreneur, civic leader, New York Times bestselling author and philanthropist. He formed HALL Group in 1968, moving the company to Dallas in 1980. Today, the company controls billions of dollars in assets and is made up of several subsidiary brands, with interests ranging from real estate development, ownership and management to financial lending and HALL Wines and other winery operations. Hall actively supports entrepreneurs and startups and together with his wife, former U.S. Ambassador Kathryn Hall, funded the Fulbright Kathryn and Craig Hall Distinguished Chair for Entrepreneurship in Eastern Europe. Hall also founded the Dallas Regional Office of NFTE (Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship). Hall has received a number of awards and honors, including being named a lifetime member of the Horatio Alger Association for Distinguished Americans in 2007. Most recently, Craig and Kathryn were co-awarded the 2017 Master Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Southwest Region from the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year program.

SOURCE HALL Group