Policymakers Use Congressional Startup Day to Connect With Local Entrepreneurs
TLDR: Today is Congressional Startup Day, a nationwide celebration of startups that brings together founders and policymakers to discuss the successes and challenges of entrepreneurship. Throughout the week, startups and entrepreneurs are meeting to discuss their experiences and policy concerns directly with members of Congress. While the COVID-19 outbreak has forced most of these meetings to occur virtually, it’s critical for entrepreneurs to hold these conversations with policymakers now because they are best suited to discuss the challenges that the startup community is facing at this difficult time.
What’s Happening This Week: Entrepreneurs and lawmakers across the United States are meeting this week to discuss the challenges, opportunities, and successes of the nation’s high-growth startups as part of Congressional Startup Day. This annual celebration of entrepreneurial communities allows startups and lawmakers to discuss the importance of these hubs of innovation. More than 40 members of Congress are connecting with startups in their states and districts as part of the event.
By creating an opportunity for lawmakers to learn more about their local startup communities, this event will generate greater federal support for startup activity and raise awareness about the important contributions of the country’s entrepreneurs. Congressional Startup Day is co-chaired by a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers: Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and Reps. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) and French Hill (R-Ark.). Each has focused on the importance of startups and diverse entrepreneurship while in Congress, and we appreciate their efforts to help spearhead this important event.
Why it Matters to Startups: Congressional Startup Day is a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to directly engage with their members of Congress, discuss their innovative businesses and products with policymakers, and have honest and open conversations about the policy needs of U.S. startups. Entrepreneurs are the best advocates for pro-startup policies, and their voices carry the most weight when it comes to the legislative needs, wants, and desires of the startup community. Working to connect founders directly with lawmakers will foster greater recognition of the importance of startups to the U.S. economy.
Lawmakers and entrepreneurs have spent the last several days discussing the importance of a robust startup ecosystem, and will continue to do so in meetings throughout the rest of the week. But early feedback from entrepreneurs shows the necessity of this type of discourse between startup founders and members of Congress.
Kurtis Wankier, the co-owner of Las Vegas-based coworking space Work in Progress, had the opportunity to speak with Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) yesterday about efforts to support entrepreneurial development.
“As it turns out, Ms. Titus has a very personal interest in some of the initiatives we are working on to create a sustainable startup environment at Work In Progress in Las Vegas,” Wankier said. “She not only listened to our challenges and needs; she expressed a personal interest and commitment to help move our initiatives forward.”
Monica Merrill—the founder and CEO of FlipperSplash in St. Augustine, Florida—also connected with her congressman, Rep. John Rutherford (R-Fla.), on Monday to discuss her startup’s mobile app and work with local businesses affected by the pandemic.
“He listened to my thoughts on raising capital and scaling growth as a female-founder in technology,” Merrill said. “I appreciated the opportunity to dive into relevant issues with a government official that cares about his district, today's startup community, and the small businesses that are benefitting from my company today and in the future.”
Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) has been holding discussions with entrepreneurs in his district, including Tiffany Henry, the Director of Entrepreneurial Communities at the Conductor in Conway, Arkansas. In a guest post for Engine, Henry spoke at length about her meeting with the congressman and the thoughtful way that he approached the concerns of Central Arkansas’s entrepreneurs.
“For policymakers to know how to best serve entrepreneurs, they need to hear the stories, see the data, and understand what is happening in local communities,” Henry said. “It is imperative that entrepreneurs and organizations that work to support them embrace opportunities like Congressional Startup Day to connect with governmental leaders and articulate the change that needs to happen for entrepreneurship to thrive.”
Other critical issues, such as support for underrepresented entrepreneurs, have received greater attention as part of this year’s event. Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) hosted a virtual minority business roundtable with Alabama entrepreneurs, and other meetings have focused on greater support for Black and female startup founders across the country. The New Democrat Coalition also published a Medium post highlighting some of the caucus members who met with startups in their districts for Congressional Startup Day to show their support for entrepreneurship.
In the midst of the coronavirus outbreak and economic uncertainty facing U.S. startups, Congressional Startup Day serves as a timely opportunity for entrepreneurs to underscore their important contributions to the country. As Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) noted in a tweet, the event allows lawmakers to recognize the “new business startups and new tech startups in each one of our 435 congressional districts,” especially during “one of the hardest times economically in our country.”
Be sure to keep an eye out for other exciting Congressional Startup Day events occurring the rest of the week, including an Instagram Live takeover of the Women For The Culture account by Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) later this afternoon.
On the Horizon.
The Information is holding a virtual discussion at 11 a.m. PT tomorrow to discuss how startups can create innovation hubs outside of Silicon Valley post-COVID.
