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Gulf States Focus on New Starts

At the Global Entrepreneurial Summit (GES) in Dubai last week, it was clear to me that there is a new level of engagement in developing more entrepreneurial economies at the highest levels of government in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The summit, a collaboration between the U.A.E. Prime Minister’s office and the Obama Administration, was an effort to leverage U.S. strengths in high growth entrepreneurship. Now that the summit is over, we take a look at the challenges before policymakers in the region in making the path easier for even more nascent entrepreneurs to succeed in the future.

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Posted by: Jonathan Ortmans

on December 17, 2012

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Category:  Global 

GEW Shows Us A Glass Half Full

Everywhere you look in the media these days you see alleged signs of impending economic doom—from the ‘financial cliff’ threatening  to punish United States policymakers if they can’t reach agreement soon to the Eurozone crisis with the Greek economy on the edge of collapse. Certainly all very troubling, but it is only one side of the coin. For the past 10 days, I have seen the other side—a side full of hope and promise thanks to a burgeoning movement to embrace entrepreneurship.

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Posted by: Jonathan Ortmans

on November 19, 2012

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Category:  Global 

Round Three of i6 Challenge to Spur High-Growth Entrepreneurship

The White House is getting attention recently for its efforts at X Prize style competitions—which makes sense since its ‘assistant director for grand challenges’ is a former X-Prizer. One of the challenges at the heart of that approach is its i6 Challenge—a $6 million competition that “seeks to develop Proof of Concept Centers and create a network of experts to support innovators and researchers; spur sustainable startups, small businesses, and new ventures; expand access to capital to fuel growth; connect mentors and education to entrepreneurs; and spark job creation.”

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Posted by: Mark Marich

on June 18, 2012

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Small Biz Owners Optimistic?

As the White House fine tunes its messaging for the upcoming State of the Union Address, small business owners are starting to feel a bit more confident about the economic outlook, according to the latest survey by the National Federation of Independent Businesses. A commonly used phrase in the NFIB work last year was ‘stubbornly cautious’. However, the new numbers show continued growth in optimism--the December figures were positive for the fourth consecutive month.

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Posted by: Mark Marich

on January 23, 2012

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Category:  General 

SBA's Mills Elevated to Cabinet-level in Proposed Reorganization

SBA Administrator Karen Mills has been tapped by President Obama to join his Cabinet as part of a larger plan to consolidate the Small Business Administration and several other federal agencies with overlapping responsibilities. The move for Mills is effective immediately, but the reorganization plan requires the backing of Congress.

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Posted by: Mark Marich

on January 16, 2012

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Category:  Capitol Hill 

Obama Unveils FY 2012 Budget

The White House sent President Obama's proposed budget for FY 2012 to Congress earlier today--weighing in at $3.7 trillion. With Republicans looking to poke holes in the plan, Jack Lew, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, will appear at several congressional hearings throughout the week to defend it. In advance of those hearings, Lew appeared on the White House website with a quick overview of what the budget hopes to accomplish. 

 

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Posted by: Mark Marich

on February 14, 2011

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Category:  Capitol Hill  Growth & Poverty 

What the President Should Say Tomorrow

Dear Mr. President, the nation's entrepreneurs are counting on you tomorrow night. Want to use your State of the Union speech to lay out a plan for real economic growth? Here's what you should say.

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Posted by: Cameron Cushman

on January 24, 2011

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Category:  Capitol Hill  Digesting DC 

America COMPETES Signed by President

Last week, President Obama signed the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010—continuing efforts to improve US economic competitiveness by supporting basic research and improving STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education to better prepare the future workforce.

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Posted by: Mark Marich

on January 10, 2011

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Category:  Growth & Poverty 

Obama Administration Weighing Tax Incentives

Several news sources reported at the end of last week that the Obama team is seriously weighing a package of business tax breaks worth hundreds of billions of dollars with the hopes of boosting employment. The Washington Post reported that under consideration are a temporary payroll-tax holiday and a permanent extension of the now-expired research and-development tax credit.
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Posted by: Mark Marich

on September 08, 2010

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Category:  General 

Dodd-Frank Signed Into Law

Last week President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law. Concerns that the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will result in a flood of federal mandates detrimental to startups and small businesses were alleviated slightly by a handful of protections.

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Posted by: Mark Marich

on August 02, 2010

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Category:  Capitol Hill  Red Tape 

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