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White House White Board Looks at Startup America

Posted by: Mark Marich on August 08, 2011 Source: Policy Dialogue on Entrepreneurship

Once or twice in the past we have pointed to the “White House White Board,” a quirky feature on whitehouse.gov used to illustrate (and simplify) whatever it is the administration wants to talk about. Recently, it marked the first 180 days of Startup America with a self-conducted progress report on administration commitments to improve the environment for high-growth entrepreneurship. That list covers five main categories:

• Unlocking Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs
• Connecting Mentors to Entrepreneurs
• Reducing Barriers and Making Government Work for Entrepreneurs
• Accelerating Innovation from Lab to Market
• Unleashing Market Opportunities

Highlighted commitments include: SBA launching two $1 billion initiatives for “impact investing” and early-stage seed financing; a new mentorship program for clean energy startups; changes intended to empower immigrant entrepreneurs; and, the launching of the National Science Foundation’s new ‘Innovation Corps.’

Meanwhile, it also trumpeted private sector commitments secured through Startup America, a partnership made possible by seed funding from the Kauffman Foundation and the Case Foundation.

Chief Economist Austin Goolsby uses the White Board to walk through the basics of Startup America.

1 Comments

RE: White House White Board Looks at Startup America

August 10, 2011 @ 10:18 AM

Jacqueline Sloboda said...

All of these items on the list are excellent. Access to Funding Capital for new entrepreneurs is difficlut if not impossible. I have stated previously that connecting Entrepreneurs with Mentors or other Co-founders is a great idea.

We at FlexHourJobs.com find however, that many of the Job Seekers are Baby Boomers not ready or able to retire, or educated Mothers/ Caregivers who need work even at minimum wage. (Which only equates to approx. $18k/yr). The sad fact however,is that given the inbility to access capital, new companies are forced to use companies found on sites such as e-lance, odesk ,Guru,etc. to start and develop their businesses.

Companies offering their services on these sites mostly turn out to be foreign providers offering services at $4/hr compared to our country's minimum wage of $7-$8/hr. My suggestion is that the government provide tax credits or subsidies to companies hiring american workers even at minimum wage. If American entrepreneurs could hire American at a competitive price as outsourcing for say a minimum of first year, then it would give them a great head start in creating a profitable business.
Jacqueline
http://www.FlexHourJobs.com