It may sound like a cliched talking point, but it’s true—small businesses are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy. And that includes the small businesses of the technology sector, the thousands of innovative, tech-enabled, high-growth companies across the country that make up the U.S. startup ecosystem.
There are startups in every state and every congressional district. There are startups that have all kinds of business models and rely on all types of funding. There are startups that operate in every sector of U.S. industry. And it's those startups that will be impacted by policymakers' decisions across a range of issues.
Unfortunately, the startup perspective can be often overshadowed when policymakers turn to the work of legislating and regulating in the technology space. Instead, the focus tends to fall on the industry's largest companies. Writing rules in response to concerns about the behaviors of the largest players—without fully considering the consequences for their smaller, newer counterparts that lack longstanding relationships and immense resources—risks creating burdens that fall disproportionately on startups. If policymakers are interested in creating opportunities for innovation and boosting competition, they must ensure an open, level, and consistent playing field in all of the policy issues that impact startups.
Policymakers focused on economic recovery should be especially mindful of the needs of U.S. startups, which are a leading source of future paychecks in America. Startups are responsible for the creation of millions of jobs each year, and they make especially critical contributions as the pandemic pushes people to be online and reliant on technology. Ensuring that startups— especially the many startups that exist outside of support from traditional funding networks— can weather the current economic downturn should be a high priority.
As a new Congress and a new administration kick off this year, Engine looks forward to continuing conversations about the startup perspective in the larger debate around several facets of technology policy. This document aims to be a jumping off point for those conversations, highlighting the policy issues Engine works on and giving a voice to some of the startups impacted by those policy issues. We're eager to be a resource for policymakers that are serious about addressing the concerns of the technology industry's small businesses.
View the full report here.
