By Natalia Olson-Urtecho
The world has its eyes on the United States’ entrepreneurial economy, but America needs to do more to ensure we’re tapping into our full potential. That’s why President Obama recently hosted the first-ever White House Demo Day, where startup founders from all walks of life and across the country showcased their savvy innovations, products and business models.
Entrepreneurs are frustrated with state and local permitting processes, accessing capital and receiving solid mentorship, and the SBA is addressing these issues with initiatives like StartUp in a Day, Growth Accelerator Fund Competition and the 2016 InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Challenge and Summit. These initiatives help everyday Americans harness talent and ideas to innovate and create good jobs for a thriving 21st century economy. Most importantly, they’ll help us maintain our lead as the best place to start and scale a business.
StartUp in a Day
The cumbersome registration process for licenses and permits is a persistent challenge for business owners. As part of the Startup in a Day initiative announced by the president earlier this year, SBA announced 28 prizes of $50,000 each to cities and Native American communities to help them streamline the licensing, permitting and other requirements needed to start a business in their areas with the goal of enabling entrepreneurs to apply for everything necessary to begin within one business day.
Growth Accelerator Fund Competition
SBA announced a total award of $4.4 million to 88 startup accelerators, including those that fill geographic gaps and foster entrepreneurship among women and other underrepresented groups. Awardees represent 39 states, plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, and eight awards are dedicated to Native American entrepreneurs and small businesses. WV Hive, a program spearheaded by the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority in Beckley, WV, focusing on the support, education and increase of economically sustainable businesses through flexible workspaces, received a $50,000 cash prize to help incubate startups to boost the West Virginia economy.
2016 InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Challenge and Summit
Building off the success of the first InnovateHER Women’s Business Challenge earlier this year, SBA is expanding this initiative to more than double the number of local competitions designed to identify products and services that have measurable impacts on the lives of women and families, have potential for commercialization and fill a need in the marketplace. Given that only around three percent of venture capitalists are women but women make up more than 80 percent of the U.S.’s purchasing power, this expanded challenge promises to provide a platform for innovations that are often overlooked. As part of this expansion, Microsoft will more than double the prizes awarded.
The SBA is proud to be a partner for White House Demo Day. Let’s continue to band together to celebrate, inspire and accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the nation.
About the Author
Natalia Olson
Natalia Olson-Urtecho is the Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration. She oversees the delivery and management of the SBA’s services to small business owners and entrepreneurs throughout Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington D.C.
