#StartupsEverywhere

#StartupsEverywhere: Las Vegas, Nev.

#StartupsEverywhere: Las Vegas, Nev.

Many people think of Las Vegas as the entertainment capital of the world, but policymakers in Nevada are increasingly viewing the vibrant city as a growing hub of innovation for the state’s startup community. In downtown Las Vegas, entrepreneurs are increasingly flocking to coworking space Work in Progress (WIP) to put their creative talents, innovative ideas, and business acumen into action.

#StartupsEverywhere: Las Cruces, N.M.

#StartupsEverywhere: Las Cruces, N.M.

Based in the Land of Enchantment, New Mexico State University’s Arrowhead Center works to connect startups and entrepreneurs across the state with the resources they need to innovate and expand. Zetdi Runyan Sloan, director of the center’s accelerator programs, uses her own entrepreneurial spirit to help startups--particularly those operated by underserved entrepreneurs--grow through mentorship programs and networking opportunities.

#StartupsEverywhere: Louisville, Ky.

#StartupsEverywhere: Louisville, Ky.

Based in Louisville, Kentucky, Interapt—led by CEO Ankur Gopal—develops technology tools to solve business problems and training programs to create a new generation of developers.

Following the collapse of the coal industry in parts of Kentucky, Interapt worked with Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin and local policymakers to train students in traditionally overlooked rural and urban communities, and their work has been recognized by the White House and the Department of Labor. Looking forward, Interapt is working to navigate regulations around training former members of the military and hopes to see incentives to bring venture capital funding to diverse geographical areas, including through the new Opportunity Zone program.

#StartupsEverywhere: Santa Clara, Calif.

#StartupsEverywhere: Santa Clara, Calif.

We met with Thuc Vu, cofounder and CEO of OhmniLabs, a startup that produces home robots that help people communicate at a distance. Vu and his team have partnered with policymakers to help communities in their healthcare and workforce development efforts. As OhmniLabs continues to grow, Vu hopes policymakers look for solutions to immigration reform and incentivizing research and development.

#StartupsEverywhere: Memphis, Tenn.

#StartupsEverywhere: Memphis, Tenn.

Memphis has served as the epicenter of music for great stars from Elvis Presley to B.B. King. The city has also become an epicenter for the region’s ecosystem, led by Leslie Smith, the president and CEO of Epicenter. Leslie and her team work to identify gaps in the ecosystem and work collectively to fill those for gaps for the region’s growing population of innovators.

#StartupsEverywhere: Erie, Pa.

#StartupsEverywhere: Erie, Pa.

Beth Zimmer has worked to grow the ecosystem into the powerhouse it is today as the managing director and co-founder of Innovation Collaborative. Bringing together all members of the ecosystem, Beth and her team have gone as far to map out all of Erie’s assets. Beth would like to see more emphasis put on entrepreneurial ecosystem building from a policy level, including tax credits and additional resources.

#StartupsEverywhere: New York, N.Y.

#StartupsEverywhere: New York, N.Y.

In celebration of National Veterans Small Business Week (November 5-9), we met with Donald Coolidge, co-founder of Elemental Path (EP). Thanks to his experience in the military Donald learned leadership, critical thinking, planning and most importantly, cutting edge technology. Looking at government, Donald hopes policymakers develop more resources to help educate veterans in how to translate their skills, educate them on entrepreneurship (with real entrepreneurs).

#StartupsEverywhere: Washington, D.C.

#StartupsEverywhere: Washington, D.C.

Sonya Dunn, founder and CEO of JEMH Enterprises, and military spouse for over 20 years, will be on the panel, to discuss ways in which active military/military families/veterans can utilize tech and entrepreneurship for opportunity. Sonya is excited by recent legislation, such as the Military Spouse Employment Act of 2018, to better support military families and is hopeful lawmakers will continue to partner with military spouses to create for more entrepreneurial opportunities.

#StartupsEverywhere: San Francisco, Calif.

#StartupsEverywhere: San Francisco, Calif.

This week, we met with Alec Sorenson, Founder and CEO of Tradespace. Leaning on his view of both the D.C. ecosystem and San Francisco ecosystem, Alec offers a unique perspective of how government can work with startups. He offers a key piece of advice, as Alec believes “This work starts with us - having conversations with lawmakers and speaking up. Education on this issue is key.”

#StartupsEverywhere: Los Angeles, Calif.

#StartupsEverywhere: Los Angeles, Calif.

To celebrate and support latino entrepreneurs, we met with Robbie Cabral, founder and CEO of BenjiLock. Latino entrepreneurs face challenges such as inadequate access to capital; in fact, only 12% of Latino firms employing more than one person received bank loans, compared to 18% of white-owned firms, 15% of Asian-owned firms, and 14% of Black-owned firms. Despite these challenges, Robbie is thankful for the mentorship and guidance received from SBA’s SCORE programs. He hopes that policymakers can focus on creating more opportunities for entrepreneurs from every walk of life.

#StartupsEverywhere: Boston, Mass.

#StartupsEverywhere: Boston, Mass.

Fady Saad is the co-founder and director of Partnerships at MassRobotics, innovation hub and startup cluster focused on the needs of the robotics community. As leader in New England and the U.S., MassRobotics has attracted attention from policymakers, locally, nationally and even internationally - including receiving over two million dollars from the state government.