Support Entrepreneurship by Participating in
Congressional Startup Day
TLDR: We’re now a month out from Congressional Startup Day, an event highlighting the importance of startup activity across the country. This annual event connects members of Congress with startups in their states and districts to learn more about the successes and challenges of being an entrepreneur. With the coronavirus pandemic having an outsized impact on U.S. startups, Congressional Startup Day serves as a timely opportunity for members to learn more about how they can support and highlight the work of their local entrepreneurs.
What’s Happening This Week: Lawmakers and startups across the country are gearing up for Congressional Startup Day, a nationwide celebration of entrepreneurial communities on Wednesday, August 12. During events throughout the week of August 10-14, lawmakers and entrepreneurs will meet in every region of the country to discuss both exciting opportunities and unique challenges facing the nation’s high-growth startups.
Engine is organizing Congressional Startup Day, which first began in 2013 with then-Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Jared Polis (D-Colo.). While the event has evolved, the underlying mission remains the same: to generate support for local startup communities, and to raise awareness about the important contributions of the country’s entrepreneurs.
This year, Engine is pleased to announce that the co-chairs for the event are Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and Reps. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) and French Hill (R-Ark.).
Why it Matters to Startups: Congressional Startup Day serves as an annual opportunity for entrepreneurs to directly engage with their elected officials about their startup experiences and policy concerns. Last year, more than 50 members of Congress held meetings with startups and entrepreneurs in their districts and states as part of Congressional Startup Day. These meetings gave founders the chance to show off their innovative products and businesses to policymakers while having honest and open discussions about the legislative needs and priorities of the startup community.
In order for startups to succeed, lawmakers need to create an environment where entrepreneurs with new and exciting ideas can effectively market their businesses to investors and consumers. By meeting with startups during Congressional Startup Day, lawmakers can learn what steps they need to take to support competition and the development of next-generation businesses. Whether it’s allocating resources to support underrepresented entrepreneurs, increasing access to capital, or investing in broadband infrastructure and development, policymakers can use these meetings to better understand the needs of the U.S. startup ecosystem.
This year’s Congressional Startup Day serves as a timely opportunity to raise awareness of the value and challenges of entrepreneurial activity. Startups are responsible for much of the country’s job creation, with the U.S. Small Business Administration reporting last year that the nation’s 30.7 million startups and small businesses employed 59.9 million Americans—approximately 47.3 percent of all U.S. employees. Startups, however, have borne the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic’s economic downturn, with global tech startups being forced to lay off almost 70,000 employees so far this year.
Congressional Startup Day gives lawmakers and entrepreneurs the opportunity to discuss the unique needs of the startup community amid the broader economic recovery effort. These meetings typically run 30 to 60 minutes long. Because of the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic this year, many startups and lawmakers are holding remote meetings via video conferencing services.
If you are an entrepreneur or congressional staffer who is interested in participating in Congressional Startup Day, reach out to startupday@engine.is to learn more about scheduling a meeting.
On the Horizon.
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation is holding a webinar at 3 p.m. this afternoon to discuss “the problem with banning end-to-end encryption.”
The House Budget Committee is holding a virtual hearing at 2 p.m. tomorrow to discuss how the coronavirus pandemic exposes the need for federal investments in technology.
The Digital Trade and Data Governance Hub at The George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs is holding a webinar at 11 a.m. on Thursday to discuss innovations in digital trade.
The House Small Business Innovation and Workforce Development Subcommittee is holding a hearing this Thursday at 1 p.m. to discuss “the role of workforce development and small business rehiring” in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.
