StartUp Britain: Accelerating Entrepreneurship Across the Pond

Today, less than two months after the White House launched the Startup America campaign to accelerate high-growth U.S. entrepreneurs, Prime Minister David Cameron joined with U.K. entrepreneurs to kick off StartUp Britain.  We’re excited to celebrate this new initiative and look forward to seeing it take off.

The centerpiece of StartUp Britain is a brand-new Web portal that connects U.K. business owners to relevant resources, including a new package of startup services pledged by over 60 major British and international companies.  The package of services being offered includes advertising, office space, access to broadband Internet, financing and mentoring support, and represents a value of over £1500 for each startup.  At the same time, the U.K. government is announcing a series of ambitious goals to spread entrepreneurship education throughout the country’s schools, colleges, and universities.

Startup America is also based on collaboration between the public and private sectors.  In response to President Obama’s call to action, leaders in the private sector launched the Startup America Partnership, an independent alliance of entrepreneurs, investors, corporations, foundations, non-profits, and universities that has committed to promoting high-growth entrepreneurship across the United States.  Meanwhile, the Obama Administration continues to roll out a series of entrepreneur-focused policy initiatives that will increase U.S. entrepreneurs’ access to capital and high-quality mentors, reduce regulatory barriers facing high-growth firms, and accelerate the movement of research breakthroughs from the lab to the marketplace.

High-growth entrepreneurship can fuel job creation, innovation, and economic prosperity in countries willing to cultivate the conditions needed to start new companies.  That’s why—in addition the Startup America campaign—the U.S. government is helping grow entrepreneurial ecosystems in Egypt, Indonesia, and many other high-potential countries through the State Department’s Global Entrepreneurship Program. 

StartUp Britain is a wholly independent initiative created by resourceful U.K. entrepreneurs like Rajeeb Dey, founder of Enternships.  Rajeeb blogged today about his desire for StartUp Britain and Startup America to work together, not only “sharing best practices and fostering collaboration” but also “developing transatlantic entrepreneurial initiatives.”  We couldn’t agree more.

Additionally, here are some quick links to learn more about or get involved with Startup America:

• Learn more about the Startup America Partnership, an alliance of entrepreneurs, investors, foundations, and corporations committed to mobilizing private-sector resources for high-growth U.S. startups: http://www.startupamericapartnership.org
• Learn more about the Obama Administration’s policy initiatives to accelerate the success of U.S. entrepreneurs:  http://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/startupamerica
• Submit your own idea for how the U.S. government should reduce barriers facing entrepreneurs trying to start and scale companies:  http://reducingbarriers.ideascale.com

And feel free to e-mail us at startup@ostp.gov with any other ideas for the White House to consider as part of the Startup America campaign.

Tom Kalil is Deputy Director for Policy at the Office of Science and Technology Policy

Doug Rand is a Policy Advisor and AAAS/Goldhirsh Fellow at OSTP