Office of Science and Technology Policy Blog

Startup America Going Strong at Three Years

Last month, President Obama began his State of the Union address by praising the role of America’s entrepreneurs in expanding opportunity for all:

Today in America…an entrepreneur flipped on the lights in her tech startup, and did her part to add to the more than 8 million new jobs our businesses have created over the past four years. 

Last month also marked the third anniversary of Startup America, a White House initiative to celebrate, inspire, and accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the Nation.  In 2011, President Obama issued an all-hands-on-deck call to action for Federal agencies, Congress, and the private sector to help increase the success of entrepreneurs across the country.

Here’s a look at three big ways the Startup America initiative has led to action over the past three years:

1.  Expanding access to capital: Two years ago, the President sent to Congress his Startup America Legislative Agenda, which proposed three ways to expand access to capital for innovative companies, from crowdfunding to “mini public offerings” all the way to initial public offerings (IPOs). Congress responded and in April 2012, the President signed the bipartisan Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, enacting these proposals to encourage startups and support our Nation’s small businesses. Thanks to this law, today smaller emerging growth companies have a smoother path to transparent capital markets through an “IPO On-Ramp,” which provides a maximum five-year phase-in for certain costly audit requirements, consistent with investor protections. In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed new rules designed to allow startups and small businesses to more efficiently raise capital from investors, including through streamlined “Regulation A+” mini public offerings and through a new class of regulated crowdfunding platforms.  As the President said in 2012 when signing the JOBS Act, expanding the promise of crowdfunding is a potential game-changer because “start-ups and small business will now have access to a big, new pool of potential investors—namely, the American people. For the first time, ordinary Americans will be able to go online and invest in entrepreneurs that they believe in.”

A Week of Action: Celebrating STEM and Black History Month

This Friday, to wrap up an exciting week of action by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, in celebration of Black History Month, to shine a light on the importance of engaging America’s full science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) talent pool, OSTP Director John P. Holdren will visit Morgan State University, a Baltimore-based Historically Black College or University (HBCU). In addition to touring on-campus research and laboratory facilities, Dr. Holdren will meet with university leadership, faculty, and students to discuss the challenge and opportunity of broadening participation in STEM fields – a priority area of focus for OSTP.

Here’s a recap of OSTP’s “Week of Action” activities to celebrate Black History Month and promote STEM inclusion:

To start off the week,  on Tuesday, OSTP’s Knatokie Ford and Marlon Marshall of the White House Office of Public Engagement co-hosted a “We the Geeks” Google+ Hangout featuring all-star African American STEM students, researchers, and scientists to share their stories, lessons learned, and help inspire African American students across America to pursue STEM studies and careers. 

On Wednesday, OSTP Director Holdren delivered closing remarks at a White House Champions of Change event convened by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans, celebrating extraordinary leaders who are working to support and accelerate STEM opportunities for African American students, schools, and communities. Later in the day, Director Holdren kicked off a day-long workshop, convening leading technical experts, representatives from minority professional societies, nonprofit organizations, and other key stakeholders to develop concrete actions that help minorities excel in STEM studies and careers.