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The Engine Team
Startup News Digest 04/26/24

Net neutrality revival set to ensure level startup playing field

Startup News Digest 04/26/24
#StartupsEverywhere
Imani Webb
#StartupsEverywhere: San Antonio, Texas

José Padilla has an established track record of providing efficient, low-cost legal services. With LegalMente AI, he’s able to provide that same quality of work to those in need, including early-stage startups. We sat down with him to talk about what policymakers need to know about the uses of AI, how to keep the U.S. innovation ecosystem the most competitive globally, and his motivation to provide the most efficient work possible. 

#StartupsEverywhere: San Antonio, Texas
#StartupsEverywhere
Imani Webb
#StartupsEverywhere: Brooklyn, N.Y.

After overcoming childhood shyness in the warmth of his local Caribbean-owned barbershop, Royon Jeffrey knows the power of the beauty industry firsthand. He set out to create ListedB, an online marketplace for beauty industry professionals. We spoke to him about the financial opportunity within the industry, navigating capital access and investors, and his desire to empower small businesses owners.

#StartupsEverywhere: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Blog, @Engine, Tax & Trade
Nathan Lindfors
For startups’ sake, Congress needs to reorient ...

Foreign nations are saddling U.S. companies — including startups — with discriminatory burdens.

For startups’ sake, Congress needs to reorient U.S. trade agency
#StartupsEverywhere
Imani Webb
#StartupsEverywhere: New York, N.Y.

MegaMinds was created out of a need to make learning more creative, fun, and hands-on for students. In our conversation with Co-Founder and CEO Eric Tao, we learned about the growing popularity of immersive learning, the tricky regulatory landscape for a product like MegaMinds, and what it’s like for many first-time entrepreneurs to build businesses. 

#StartupsEverywhere: New York, N.Y.

diversity

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SVB: what happened, how the fallout impacts startups, what policymakers can do next

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SVB: what happened, how the fallout impacts startups, what policymakers can do next

The fall of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) dealt an immediate shock to the global startup ecosystem and will have lasting ramifications for banks and founders. Many startups lack access to large banks, and instead rely on community and regional banks to meet their needs. SVB in particular was uniquely situated to support the startup ecosystem, offering more favorable terms for loans and connections for founders. But the fall of SVB has led to concerns that other banks may suffer similar fates, and at the same time has brought to the forefront the risk inherent to the startup ecosystem.

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Startup News Digest 03/17/23

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Startup News Digest 03/17/23

The Big Story: SVB fallout puts startup banking needs in the spotlight. In the wake of last week’s collapse of a key startup-facing bank, many in the startup ecosystem are concerned about the banking options and funding landscape for startups across the country.  Last week, California regulators and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) shuttered and placed into receivership Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a mainstay bank for the global startup ecosystem. At the same time, startups scrambled to move funds and were unsure if they’d have the capital to pay their employees this week.

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Reflecting on Diversity in Tech on MLK Day

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Reflecting on Diversity in Tech on MLK Day

Today, as we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most ardent advocates for the advancement and equality of African Americans in history, we should reflect on the continuing injustice in our socioeconomic system and contemplate how we can more effectively work to close the racial entrepreneurship gap.

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Startup News Digest: 5/19/17

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Startup News Digest: 5/19/17

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) took the first official step in eliminating existing net neutrality protections this week. In a 2-1 party-line vote, the Commission adopted Chairman Ajit Pai’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which would reverse the 2015 Open Internet Order and the agency’s Title II classification of Internet Service Providers (ISPs). In a statement reacting to the vote, Engine Executive Director Evan Engstrom noted that “Any effort to undermine existing net neutrality rules would greatly harm the startup ecosystem...We must not remain silent. Now is the time for the startup community to galvanize around meaningful protections.” Y Combinator founder Sam Altman echoed this sentiment in a Wired op-ed published the same day as the vote, arguing that startup founders have a duty to fight for net neutrality. “Without strong net neutrality rules...the cable and wireless companies that control internet access will have outsized power to pick winners and losers in the market,” he writes. The FCC’s vote initiates a public comment period of 90 days.

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Startup News Digest: 3/24/17

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Startup News Digest: 3/24/17

Following last year’s dramatic removal of Maria Pallante as Copyright Register, the struggle between Congressional leaders and the Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, continues. Despite the fact that Hayden has been clear about her intention to appoint the new Register, (as current law grants her the authority to do), top Republicans and Democrats introduced legislation yesterday that would make the position President-appointed and Senate-confirmed. This shift comes at a time when stakeholders across the board are calling for modernization of the Copyright Office, especially the digitization of records in order to simplify the determination of copyright holders. Members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees met with Hayden earlier this month in an attempt to hold off on her nomination, however she later wrote them to tell them she planned to move forward with the process in order to ensure an “efficient and effective Copyright Office to serve Congress and the wide variety of stakeholders.” We’re tracking.

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Diversifying Tech Caucus Hosts First 2016 Briefing on African Americans in Tech

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Diversifying Tech Caucus Hosts First 2016 Briefing on African Americans in Tech

The Diversifying Tech Caucus, the bipartisan, bicameral caucus that Engine helped establish last year, held its first briefing of 2016 earlier this week. The Capitol room was packed with over 70 congressional staffers who heard from a panel of tech workers, leaders, and entrepreneurs about African American participation in the tech workforce. The numbers aren't great, with African Americans making up just 6 percent of STEM workers, a dismal 2 percent of employees at major Silicon Valley firms, and an even smaller percentage of venture-backed startups. Yet, many efforts, from private industry as well as non-profit organizations, are underway to the bolster the participation and leadership of blacks in tech.

 

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