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NEWS FEED
Why We Support The Common Core
The lofty aim of the Common Core is to raise achievement levels in public schools across the country. As a nation, we must ensure minimum attainment in preparation for college, a new economy, and for life. We must build this solid base before we can hope to sustainably foster spectacular achievement.
Education – A Talent Solution
Effective solutions to low educational attainment, specifically in STEM subjects, remain hard to find. Since the United States education system has so far failed to produce enough high-tech talent -- in the right places -- many U.S. firms are sourcing STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) talent from around the globe. But immigration reform is only a short-term solution to the talent shortage. To truly solve the problem, we must consider large-scale education reform. Holistic reform of education is a sustainable mechanism for economic growth, and the most direct solution for building a society of skilled individuals prepared to participate in the economy -- and specifically to replenish the high-tech labor market.
Recess is Over. What Now For Tech Policy?
As D.C. returns to work this week, we reset our focus on what remains of the first session of the 113th Congress, still hopeful for movement on immigration reform, patent litigation reform, and other issues that impact the tech community.
Can The U.S. Follow New Zealand and Ban Software Patents?
In banning software patents, New Zealand has done the equivalent of amending section 101 of the Patent Act that helps define what is, and is not, patentable. As a refresher, this oft-cited section is intended to preclude patent protection for laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas. Can the U.S. do the same?
Celebrating #StartupDay Across America
This week, we’re excited to be kicking-off Startup Across America Day where 44 members of Congress will be meeting with technology startups in their home states and districts on August 29th and in the weeks immediately after, or getting the word out to their constituents through social media.
High Speed Internet is Kansas City’s Lightning Rod
Google Fiber has fast-tracked the growth of Kansas City’s tech community. Inexpensive high-speed Internet is certainly an asset to young startups, but the truly exciting thing to come from Google Fiber is the supportive and collaborative tech community that has developed around it.
Engine On-Air Episode 1: The Software Patent Problem
Join us as we discuss the patent system: how it should work, why it doesn't, and what we can do about it.
All Over The Country, New and Young High-Tech Firms Are Key Job Creators
All over the country, new and young businesses—as opposed to small businesses generally—play an outsized role in net job creation in the United States. But not all new businesses are the same—the majority of entrepreneurs to-be don't intend to grow their businesses or innovate. Differentiating growth-oriented “startups” from the rest of young businesses is an important distinction that we make in this latest paper.
Help Bring Patent Trolls Out of the Darkness
Today, we’re excited to partner with the Electronic Frontier Foundation and a coalition of organizations and law schools to launch Trolling Effects, a resource to empower entrepreneurs targeted by patent trolls. Patent troll lawsuits represented 62 percent of all patent litigation in 2012, and the costs associated with these suits amount to billion of dollars, stalling business growth, delaying products, and robbing startups of precious resources.
Are Startups Back?
Is entrepreneurship everywhere, or is economic dynamism dead? With competing information afloat, that’s the question we sought to answer with newly-released Business Dynamics Statistics (BDS) data from the Census Bureau. We found a couple of things. First, as the U.S. economy belatedly recovered in 2011, so did business creation--the first time in five years. Second, this growth in new business formation was geographically dispersed throughout the United States.
Startups Speak: I'm Here to Contribute, Build, Collaborate and Learn
Pedro Sorrentino hails from Sao Paolo, Brazil, and is currently living in San Francisco working for SendGrid. While attending graduate school in Boulder, Colorado, Pedro started and sold his first business. Once he graduated, however, Pedro had a hard decision to make. Based on his visa class, and the fact that he came from Brazil, the rules stated that it was mandatory for him to return home upon graduation. Would he go back to Brazil to work for his company? Or could he find an employer who would sponsor his H-1B application to stay in the United States?
Why We Should Care About Trade Agreements
The best trade agreements strengthen relationships with nations and regions vital to United States foreign and economic policy. When it comes to the secretive discussions around the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), however, any benefits might also come with now-unseen costs to startups and the tech industry as a whole if negotiators do not consider unintended consequences.
Texas Tech Organization Leads Charge on Business Engagement with Patent Policy
Debate around the patent system, and how we can fix it, is beginning to take shape in Washington, after many years of discussion in entrepreneurial communities around the country. Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn recently joined the debate with well received draft legislation that would help on a number of fronts; Senator Cornyn released his plan after actively seeking the input of the entrepreneurial community in Texas.
Senate Immigration Success: Time to Keep Working
By a vote of 68-32, the United States Senate completed a landmark bipartisan effort by passing S. 744 on comprehensive immigration reform. We applaud the efforts of the Senators who voted in favor of the bill, and all their staff, as well as recognising the historic impact of the technology community. Today we stand closer to the promise of an immigration system that works for all Americans than we have for decades. Now we must ensure this promise is realized.
Tech Leaders Urge U.S. Senate to Pass Immigration Reform
This week, we signed and sent a letter to the U.S. Senate alongside other leading tech groups. The movement led by TechNet gathered over 100 signatories, including the Consumer Electronics Association, Cisco Systems, Facebook, and Partnership for a New American Economy. The technology community understands the importance of the high-tech industry to the American economy, and agrees unanimously that comprehensive immigration reform is the solution we need.
