States gear up to work on AI
Startup policy outlook under second Trump term
Executive coaching should be accessible to anyone who is interested, but oftentimes scaling the education is not practical. With her company Zella Life, co-founder Remy Meraz is democratizing professional development using AI. We sat down with her to discuss AI, independent contractors, and more.
After working in the financial sector for over 20 years, Mical Jeanlys-White founded her own company, WealthMore, a wealth tech with a focus on tackling a key financial barrier—wealth building and management. Her company leverages technology to connect everyday Americans with accessible wealth management services, aiming to provide wealth creation for all. We sat down with her to discuss her journey in raising capital, navigating tax policy, the evolving role of AI, and more.
Vance Reavie is no stranger to entrepreneurship. Using his knowledge from previous ventures, he created an AI platform that intelligently automates manual marketing and merchandising workflows and content generation processes for brands and retailers. We sat down with Vance to discuss the startup ecosystem in Arkansas, AI policy and regulation, grant opportunities, and more.
People Clerk’s innovative legal technology platform works to create a more accessible legal system and helps users of different social, economic, and cultural backgrounds navigate the bureaucracy of small claims courts. Co-Founder Camila Lopez spoke with us about why she decided to start People Clerk, the challenges that arise when complying with state patchwork privacy laws, and the unique challenges founders face when building a legal tech company.
The Big Story: Engine releases report on the role of acquisitions in the startup ecosystem. Engine, in partnership with Startup Genome, released a new report this week examining the role exits play in the startup ecosystem, highlighting the importance of exits via acquisition, and emphasizing the experience of founders that have had their companies acquired. The report—“Exits, Investment, and the Startup Experience: the role of acquisitions in the startup ecosystem”—should equip policymakers with a solid foundation from which they can advance pro-innovative policies that startups need to thrive.
Noula Health is a data-driven virtual care platform offering personalized, accessible health care through at-home hormone testing and 1-on-1 coaching from experts. Noula helps its customers craft reproductive health care plans tailored to their individual needs with science-backed recommendations determined from a quick finger prick test and ongoing assessments. Founder & CEO Noelle Acosta, motivated by her own health care journey, shared with us her story, her unique experiences raising capital, and the future outlook of her company.
The U.S. startup ecosystem is defined by dynamism. Startups are constantly being founded, earning investment, growing, exiting, and—yes—failing in cities and towns all across the country. Startup exits and investment are two intimately related and important drivers of this dynamism critical to economic growth and innovation in the startup ecosystem. Startup exits—both those that are profitable and those that are not—promote the building of knowledge, recycling of talent, and flow of capital through the ecosystem. Each of those components are key to building new startups and stimulating the investment needed to grow them to scale.
The Big Story: Judge strikes down Maryland tax on digital advertising. A Maryland judge struck down the U.S.’ first tax on digital advertising, which faced vocal challenges including from technology companies and would have resulted in taxed companies passing down its cost to customers, including startups. In a ruling on Monday, the court found the tax, implemented by Maryland lawmakers to raise revenue, unconstitutional and a violation of the Internet Tax Freedom Act.
Carefully is a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based platform enabling parents to collectively share the responsibilities of childcare. We spoke to the Founder & CEO Leslie Borrell about how working as a single-mom inspired the creation of Carefully, why policymakers should prioritize solving the childcare crisis, and how founder support programs were critical to helping her build a startup.
The Big Story: Proposed independent contractor rule could make hiring harder for startups. This week the Department of Labor (DoL) issued a proposed rule that is likely to impact how early-stage startups build their teams. The DoL’s proposed rule on worker classification would limit who can be considered an independent contractor and comes shortly after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced similar enforcement priorities for the gig economy. As we shared in a recent blog post, the rule could limit startup flexibility in their hiring decisions, which could particularly impact growing companies with lean budgets.
The following statement is attributed to Kate Tummarello, Executive Director of Engine, on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruling in State of Texas v. United States of America.
Statement
“Yesterday’s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruling DACA illegal is a crushing disappointment for the thousands of DACA recipients living and working in the U.S., who provide meaningful contributions to our country, including our startup ecosystem. While existing DACA recipients currently retain their protections, it is clear Congress must act urgently to secure and extend protections for all Dreamers and send the message that they are valued, eliminating the constant threat of deportation.”
The USPTO does not get all of its advice from the PPAC — and it shouldn't. But especially for an agency with limited avenues for public engagement, it's essential that when conversations are happening — including at the PPAC — policymakers make sure everyone gets a voice in how the patent system works.
The Big Story: Network access fee debates heat up worldwide. This week, European telecom companies redoubled their push to make large Internet companies pay based on the traffic they generate, a policy that would undermine net neutrality principles and negatively impact the broader Internet ecosystem. The push comes after months of agitating by Internet service providers (ISPs) for the payments, called network access fees, and amid a growing number of jurisdictions that have taken steps toward such policies, including South Korea.
Airpals is a New York City, N.Y.-based platform working to close gaps in the local delivery logistics market. They have built their technology with “a triple bottom line approach”—focusing on people, the planet, and profit—in mind. We spoke to the Founder, CEO, & Creative Director Joshe Ordonez about the goals she has for Airpals, how she navigates building her workforce as a growing startup, and the ways in which policymakers can support the interconnected tech ecosystem.
The Big Story: SBIR reauthorization on the horizon, heads to the House. After months of negotiations, a key grant program for startups is expected to be reauthorized just in time for its scheduled expiration at the end of the month. The House is expected to vote next week to reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, following a vote in the Senate to reauthorize the program for three years this past Tuesday. The program serves as a critical funding source for many startups engaged in research and development (R&D).
Ecobot is a mobile and cloud platform optimizing fieldwork by speeding along regulatory approval and lowering costs. We had a conversation with Co-Founder and CEO Lee Lance about Ecobot’s impact on environmental permitting fieldwork, his experience raising capital as an Asheville-based founder, and how the potential expansion of broadband impacts Ecobot’s work.
Last month, Senator Tillis (R-N.C.) introduced a bill to change the rules that govern what can be patented. Briefly, current patent eligibility law prevents companies from trying to own basic ideas and from trying to preclude others from building new businesses or innovations that rely on those underlying ideas.
The Big Story: Startups are collateral as policymakers talk past each other on tech policy. Over the last week we’ve seen several tech policy conversations where contradictory, party-line talking points are on full display that—if taken seriously as policy ideas on everything from privacy, to national security, to content moderation, and more—would make life much harder for thousands of startups across the country. Lawmakers’ competing and mutually exclusive visions for the Internet doesn’t stop them from threatening policy changes that would alter the way tech companies, including startups, have to operate, however, as we highlight in a new blog post.
Grapefruit Health is a B2B tech-enabled platform helping to solve one of the biggest problems in health care: the workforce shortage. We spoke with Founder and CEO Eric Alvarez about his background in health care, the importance of startup support organizations when it comes to generating early funding, and the company's own fundraising journey.
The Big Story: SBIR reauthorization remains at a standstill. Startups await the fate of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program as lawmakers continue to deliberate its reauthorization ahead of its fast-approaching September 30 expiration. With fierce support from advocates and innovators—who recognize the positive impact the program has on the innovation ecosystem—alike, this critical funding stream for R&D and commercialization risks drying up without congressional action.
Eskuad is a field data platform designed to work offline, allowing fieldworkers to easily manage their data without the hassle of trying to find and connect to a signal. Founder and CEO Max Echeverria spoke with us about his experience working with accelerators and raising capital and how policymakers can better fill talent gaps.
The Big Story: Biden administration unveils student loan relief plan. After months of deliberation, President Joe Biden announced a three-part plan aimed at easing student loan debt, a move that could lower barriers for entrepreneurship in the U.S. The announcement—fulfilling a 2020 campaign promise—will cancel up to $10,000 in federal student debt for many borrowers and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients for those that earn less than $125,000 per year or $250,000 for households. It also includes steps to cap monthly payments, improve the forgiveness programs for borrowers who work in public service, and increase accountability around skyrocketing college costs.
Edison Marks makes small-and medium-sized enterprise owners more aware of the cybersecurity threats facing their businesses by creating personalized reports and simplifying the issue. Co-Founder and CEO Jeremiah Smith spoke to us about his company, his experience with the Small Business Association (SBA) and the Small Business Technology Council (SBTC), and what he thinks policymakers should consider when thinking about cybersecurity.
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