Startup America—Dead on Arrival
Steve Blank2/8/11Follow @sgblank
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make a payroll with no money in the bank. We’re trying to kick-start a national initiative on startups, entrepreneurs and innovation with academics, economists and large company executives. Great for policy papers, but probably not optimal for making change.
Rather than having our best and the brightest visit for a day, what we need sitting in the White House (and on both sides of the aisle in Congress) are people who actually have started, built and grown companies and/or venture firms. (If we’re serious about this stuff we should have some headcount equivalence to the influence bankers have.)
Next time the talent shows up for a Startup America initiative, they ought to be getting offices not sound bites.
Lessons Learned
- Lots of credit in trying to “talk-the-talk” of startups
- No evidence that Washington yet understands the types of entrepreneurs and startups; how they differ, and how they can form a cohesive and integrated jobs and innovation strategy
- Not much will happen until entrepreneurs and VC’s have a seat at the table
