America’s Enterprising Spirit Is Booming After Decades-Long Slump

Cassidy Winkler was working as a flight attendant on private jets when inspiration struck.

It was the offseason for the professional hockey players she helped ferry around, and things at her job were slow. Eager for a diversion and missing the Pilates she had come to love as a college student, she went searching for studios near her home in Madison, Wis., but couldn’t find any.

“That’s when I came up with the idea,” she said.

She started researching how to start her own boutique Pilates business, including what kind of training instructors would need. By early 2025 — and with assistance from chatbots including ChatGPT — she had come up with a name, Revel Method Pilates, a logo and a plan.

Soon, Ms. Winkler, 26, had opened studios in Lake Geneva, Madison and Monona. She now has 65 employees and is set to unveil a fourth studio this year.

Across the country, founders like Ms. Winkler are powering an entrepreneurial renaissance.

Jump-started by the pandemic, when a confluence of factors including mass layoffs and remote work led to a flood of business creation, and supercharged by the rise of artificial intelligence, start-up activity is booming after a decades-long slump.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/17/business/economy/american-small-business-boom.html