Capital Coalition visits Austin

Last month the Capital Coalition continued its nationwide rollout with a launch event in Austin, TX. Partnering with the Capital Factory -- dubbed the “The Center of Gravity for Entrepreneurs in Texas” -- we hosted investors and entrepreneurs for a discussion on the Austin ecosystem and how venture capitalists, accelerators, incubators, and angel investors can help make public policy better for startups. We were grateful to be joined by investors from the likes of Wild Basin Investments and the Central Texas Angel Network, as well as civic organizations working to build the Austin ecosystem like the Austin Tech Alliance.

The event was just as much about introducing Capital Coalition as it was an opportunity to learn from investors about the issues that matter to them. We were able to hear directly from those working day in and day out to build successful companies, and better understand the ways in which Capital Coalition can work to improve public policy to make that task easier. Our discussion focused on several issues facing participants’ portfolio companies, including spectrum policy and the development of 5G infrastructure, autonomous vehicle regulation, and tax policies that are harming and helping startups. As we continue to ramp up our efforts, hearing from more investors -- from experienced VCs to first time angels -- is critical to making sure we scale in the right ways and stay focused on solving the most crucial policy problems.

What is the Capital Coalition?

Capital Coalition is a nationwide network of startup investors working to create pro-innovation and pro-entrepreneurship public policies by advancing the investor perspective in key technology policy debates. We work on things like ensuring privacy regulations protect consumers without imposing unreasonable burdens on startups, increasing high-skilled immigration, limiting abuse of the patent system, and energizing startup growth in emerging ecosystems.

Join us!

Membership in the Capital Coalition comes with no costs or commitments. Learn more about what we’re doing at capitalcoalition.org, where you can also sign up and begin receiving our updates. We’d also love to hear from you! If you’re an investor, entrepreneur, or just someone who believes in the importance of a thriving startup economy (and public policy that supports that!), please reach out to us directly at aalok@engine.is.

Foundry Group Hosts CC Roundtable in Boulder, Colorado

Earlier this month, the team from Engine came to Colorado to continue their regional visits to build the Capital Coalition. We hosted the meeting at Foundry Group, and we were joined by folks from Techstars, GroTech Ventures, Service Provider Capital, Zero G Capital, Boulder Ventures and the University of Colorado to talk about the vision for the Capital Coalition.

As Brad Feld explains in his book Startup Communities, leadership in any vibrant startup community must come from entrepreneurs. But investors can be key “feeders” of those communities (to use Brad’s term), and a critical role investors can play is as advocates for public policies that support entrepreneurs and the the cities where they work and live.  

During the session we covered a range of policy issues such as access to capital, economic development, and the role government should play in supporting startup communities. We talked about housing costs, taxes, immigration, tariffs, and how unstable the public policy terrain feels today. And we discussed ways that the Capital Coalition can influence the policy choices that are being made on those issues in Washington, D.C. and in state houses around the country.

Here in Boulder, we have an investor population that understands one of the best long-term investments we can make is in the development of startup communities, here and across the country, that give birth to new companies. We look being a part of the Capital Coalition’s work.

-- Jason Lynch, Foundry Group General Counsel

More About Capital Coalition

What’s Next?

The Boulder area is an exceptional example of a thriving startup community with established VCs leading the way both regionally and across the country with their investments and influence. The level of interest in the coalition was greatly appreciated and we’re confident in having a very active group of folks to keep working with as the coalition grows into the fall. We look forward to sharing more news out of Colorado and hope to visit again soon.

Next up, we plan to visit Austin, Texas in September and will share details here as they come!

How to Get Involved

Capital Coalition will actively keep members informed and caught up with the latest pieces of legislation or rumblings out of Washington. It’s also important for us to better understand what’s most important to you. To gauge this and tailor our updates to individual members interests, we’ve created an intake survey for interested folks that can be filled out here.

We also encourage interested folks to sign up for our updates by visiting our website at http://www.capitalcoalition.com. We hope to hear from you and see many more of you over the coming months.

Raleigh, North Carolina Capital Coalition Event

At the end of June, the Engine team hosted the first official Capital Coalition event in Raleigh, North Carolina with our friends at HQ Raleigh. We were joined by a wide range of folks from the Raleigh-Durham tech community, from investment firms like Cofounders Capital and the Carolina Angel Network, as well as startups Paradigm and Fourscore Business Law to discuss the growth of the Raleigh ecosystem and how local innovators can help influence tech policy. We were also fortunate to have representatives from the City of Raleigh join and provide invaluable insights into their Office of Economic Development + Innovation program. The investors and innovators in the room shared insights on the growth of the Raleigh ecosystem and ways that policymakers at the local and national level could help bolster the local innovation ecosystem.

Spending time in Raleigh, and visiting with members of their thriving tech ecosystem only reaffirms our belief that government needs to hear directly from regional ecosystem leaders about how to best grow the tech economy nationwide. We are grateful to the Raleigh community for their enthusiasm and warm welcome, and we’re looking forward to keeping the momentum going through the summer as we head out to Colorado later this month. 

Keeping up with Capital Coalition
We’d love to hear more from you! Below you’ll find additional information on the Coalition and what we have planned for the rest of the summer. You’re also encouraged to sign up on our website at www.capitalcoalition.com for updates. 

What is the coalition?
For years elected officials on Capitol Hill have looked to Engine to better understand the needs of the startup community. Engine’s thoughtful insights have been met with resounding bipartisan support. Over the years we have increasingly been asked to bring investors’ perspective to the table as well. Investors are interested and impacted by all tech-policy decisions and debates but are often without a voice when those debates take place. As stewards of the tech ecosystem, investors should play an important role in educating and guiding policymakers on issues related to the startup economy. 

Engine exists to make it easy for resource-constrained startups and entrepreneurs to participate in advocacy, and it’s become increasingly clear to us that investors face the same limitations. Hundreds of VCs will regularly sign our letters, but only a handful can take the time to fly to Washington (or Springfield!) and make phone calls to rally their peers.

It’s our belief that investors are uniquely suited to advance public policy on topics like growing startup communities throughout the country; diversifying the tech sector; and bringing the best and brightest talent from around the world to work, launch, and grow businesses here in the U.S. The Coalition’s association with Engine will serve as the bridge connecting the investor and startup communities providing a unified and impactful voice in Washington. 

What’s next? 
We plan on doing a few events a month through the summer. We want to be as inclusive as we can, and it’s essential for us to gather insights and perspectives from folks in all corners of the country. We’ll have updates soon on our next stops as they become official!