Back in February, just after the State of the Union address by President Obama we wrote a blog about the Startup America initiative, and how it would impact us all. At the time, not many details were known about the initiative and so now that we are almost three months into the process, its time for an update.
Startup America has kicked off its initiative by hosting what they are calling Reducing Barriers Roundtables around the country. The first was in Durham, NC on March 3rd and the roundtables are scheduled to wrap up on May 12th in the Silicon Valley. The goal of the roundtable discussions is to meet with entrepreneurs and hear directly from them about what processes and regulations we need to change and improve to build a more supportive environment for entrepreneurship and innovation .
According to the SBA (small business association) website, they will use the input from the roundtables and broader public participation, and the Administration will put together a list of the best ideas to streamline and simplify unnecessary barriers to Americas entrepreneurs and innovators. These ideas will be incorporated into the agencies responses to the Presidents Executive Order instructing federal agencies to identify and take steps to eliminate or reduce regulations that are outdated or overly burdensome to entrepreneurs.
Recently, Stacy Gutman, the Director of OPEN forum attended one such roundtable discussion in Austin, TX as this years SXSW convention. Stacy seemed to feel very good about the hour long discussion and came out of it with a positive attitude. She noted that The entrepreneurial spirit was pervasive, not only in the audience, but also across the panel. She also went on to say that The energy was palpable. During the roundtable component, budding entrepreneurs stood up to the mics and announced their new businesses. Founders of startups invited other entrepreneurs to secure funding through them, learn from their experiences and tap into their resources. These are great things to hear because there is clearly a high level of energy going into these discussions, and this type of energy and enthusiasm is contagious.
We will have to wait and see what Startup America puts on its list of best ideas but we think that this a very good way to start things off. Getting the entrepreneurial minds of America together to is the best way to find out what needs to change. Startup America still has a long way to go, but they are on the right track thus far. We will definitely be paying attention to this story as time goes on so check back with us to find out more about Startup America, and what it is doing to make the entrepreneurial world a better place.
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