Private Business Owners Split on State of Economy, Survey Finds; Matrix Founders Index, A New Quarterly Economic Barometer, Shows Business Founders More Upbeat about Their Own Personal Finances.

RICHMOND, Va. -- An inaugural survey of more than 600 private business owners in the United States whose companies employ at least 50 people showed decidedly mixed views on the current and future state of the U.S. economy and yet were overwhelmingly bullish about their own fiscal health.

Compiled by Rasmussen Reports, one of the nation's leading independent public opinion polling companies, the Matrix Founders Index is a quarterly barometer of attitudes and opinions from those who have founded or acquired their own businesses. In the premier survey, entrepreneurs fairly evenly rated the U.S. economy as excellent (27%), good (26%), fair (24%) and poor (23%). They also were split on how well they expect the economy to perform in the near term: 43 percent thought the economy was getting better with 47 percent holding a contrary view.

Business founders were much more upbeat about their own personal holdings. A total of 63 percent of survey respondents said that their own finances were either excellent or good, with only 6 percent rating them as poor. They were even more optimistic about their prospects for continued prosperity. Sixty percent said their personal financial picture was improving, more than double the 27 percent who indicated it was not.

"The views of America's business founders can be a telling indicator for the health and vitality of our nation's economy," said Jeffrey G. Moore, president and co-founder of Matrix Capital Markets Group, who sponsored the survey. "We believe that by tapping their insights on a quarterly basis, we can better assess the country's economic outlook, stay abreast of growing concerns among business owners and identify instructive trends."

One potentially new - and at first blush, counterintuitive - trend uncovered by the index was in Americans' attitudes toward job security. When 1,000 Americans were asked where they would find the most job security, a total of 53 percent of respondents said at a small, founder-owned business, with 34 percent opting for a large corporation.

"This is not an altogether surprising revelation, although I think it does quantify in dramatic terms a major shift in mind-set in a post-Enron America," said Moore. "Throughout 19th and 20th century America, most workers were of the view that larger corporations were synonymous with security - that a worker would be well taken care of throughout his or her career and into retirement. With layoffs, downsizings, scandals and U.S. jobs moving offshore, most people now believe there is less risk at a smaller company where the perception is you are better known and valued."

Curiously, that view was not shared by African-Americans. Almost half of the African Americans surveyed (46 percent) indicated that job security could be best found in corporate America vs. 40 percent who opted for founder-owned businesses. But when asked if they would rather run their own business, 77 percent of African Americans indicated that they would as compared to the 58 percent of white respondents.

The Matrix Founders Index also unearthed a paradox in attitudes related to financial risk. While entrepreneurs are traditionally willing to roll the dice in the founding of their own businesses (and, in fact, a notable 17 percent of all of the survey's 1,000 respondents indicated that they had owned a business that failed at one point in their lives), they are considerably more risk averse when it comes to their own personal investments. When asked how they would likely invest new cash, business founders indicated they would allocate 53 percent in real estate, a historically "safe" investment, with about half as much (28%) in stocks and equities.

"We live in a country that for centuries has rewarded risk, albeit risk buffeted by passion and wisdom," said Moore. "While that entrepreneurial spirit remains alive and well, I believe the personal investment decisions made by private business owners today are more about control than risk. There is a greater sense of day-to-day influence and control over a real estate investment than in even a blue chip stock."

Among the other results from the Matrix Founders Index:

--59% of business founders said they would rather run their own business than work for someone else

--73% thought that it's possible for anyone who works hard enough to start a successful small company

--66% indicated that they had the skills necessary to run their own business

--29% felt that the United States was currently in a recession.

Matrix Founders Index Methodology

Rasmussen Reports LLC, www.rasmussenreports.com, conducted national telephone survey interviews with 45,000 adults from March to May 2006. From this sample, 637 were identified as owners of businesses with at least 50 employees. The margin of sampling error for this entrepreneur sample is +/-4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.

A separate national telephone survey of 1,000 adults was conducted on May 22 and 23, 2006. The margin of sampling error for this entrepreneur sample is +/-3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.

To view more detailed results of the survey, including a breakdown by gender, age, race, income level, etc., please visit www.matrixcapitalmarkets.com.

About Matrix Capital Markets Group

Matrix Capital Markets Group is a leading middle market investment bank headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Since 1988, Matrix has focused on providing merger & acquisition and financial advisory services for corporate and privately-held companies, including sales and divestitures, Staged Liquidity Transactions(R), management buyouts, and debt & equity placements. For additional information, please visit www.matrixcapitalmarkets.com.