Stay up to date with
Engine’s weekly newsletter:
NEWS FEED
#StartupsEverywhere: Austin, Texas
Bodhi is devoted to enhancing the connection between individuals and the energy that powers their lives. Their software platform empowers solar companies to effortlessly deliver exceptional customer experiences. Bodhi automates communication, tailoring the homeowners’ experience, allowing installers to concentrate on project execution, boosting sales, and catalyzing community transformation through energy. In our conversation with Co-Founder and CEO Scott Nguyễn, we explored the current challenges surrounding green tech, the pivotal role of workforce development, and the impact of diverse laws governing privacy, both in the U.S. and internationally.
Supporting mothers is supporting entrepreneurship
Historically, it’s been difficult to be a woman startup founder without the access to the capital and networks typically enjoyed by male founders, and the path to entrepreneurship is even harder for mothers who have to also balance a disproportionate share of family care responsibilities. The problem of inaccessible and unaffordable child care only increases that disparate access to the startup ecosystem for women, and it’s about to get a lot worse.
#StartupsEverywhere: Milwaukee, Wis.
The Way offers a fresh start to people impacted by the justice system by connecting them with employers through an unbiased selection process. We heard from Co-Founder and CEO Eli Rivera on how his background and young adult life prepared him to serve in this space, the ways that policymakers can prevent recidivism and encourage entrepreneurship among justice-impacted individuals, and how his business has been impacted by a patchwork of varying state privacy laws.
Startup News Digest 09/22/23
Startups say acquisitions are beneficial, shouldn’t be made harder.
Engine elevates the startup voice on acquisitions
Building on Engine’s previous research on the role of acquisitions in the startup ecosystem, Engine today released a report examining the ways that acquisitions are a critical component of the startup ecosystem, featuring over a dozen startup founders, investors, and accelerators.
Startup News Digest 09/15/23
Women startup leaders call on Congress to expand child tax credit.
#StartupsEverywhere: San Francisco, Calif.
Prism is a trailblazer for LGBTQAI+ innovators under the leadership of Renée Rosillo, a trans woman, community leader, and founder. Renée's journey from UN engagements to entrepreneurial pursuits has converged into Prism, a pioneering platform that is weaving connective tissue between queer founders, funders and operators the voices of LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs. With a resolute commitment to authenticity and inclusivity, Prism creates safe spaces that empower queer founders to thrive. We spoke to Renée about her experiences building startups and navigating the ecosystem as a queer founder, how she believes policymakers can open up investment for all founders, and her goals for Prism for the future.
#StartupsEverywhere: Philadelphia, Pa.
Tiffanie Stanard, the Founder and CEO of Stimulus, brings a wealth of experience from her corporate background in vendor management and diverse purchasing then becoming a consultant in the same industry before founding Stimulus. Having worked with companies like Sunoco, McDonald's, Paramount Pictures, Salesforce, and Comcast/NBCUniversal, she recognized the importance of strong supplier relationships as a competitive advantage for businesses. We sat down with her for a conversation about her success and challenges securing funding for her company and how policymakers can better fuel supplier diversity.
Startup News Digest 08/25/23
EU content rules take effect for big platforms; startups on the clock.
#StartupsEverywhere: Washington, D.C.
Marcus Bullock knows firsthand the impact a strong familial support system has on the lives of incarcerated people. As founder & CEO of Flikshop, he’s set out to make sure that families have accessible communication to facilities across the country. He spoke with Engine about reentry resources for incarcerated people interested in entrepreneurship, what policymakers should know around efforts to reduce recidivism, and his goals for Flikshop moving forward.
Startup News Digest 08/18/23
Congressional Startup Day brings together lawmakers and their startup constituents.
Startup News Digest 08/11/23
Canada digital tax threatens global framework, startup competitiveness.
#StartupsEverywhere: Chicago, Ill.
Mycocycle is a Chicago-based biotechnology company that harnesses the mycelial properties of fungi to detoxify and transform construction waste into new raw materials. With over 30 years of experience in the construction industry, Founder and CEO Joanne Rodriguez seeks to transform the treatment of waste through regenerative and sustainable approaches. We spoke to her about her experiences launching a company in the Midwest, navigating the patent system, and her goals for Mycocycle for the future.
Startup News Digest 08/04/23
The Big Story: Bipartisan legislation to build AI resource for startups, researchers. A recently introduced bill would create government AI resources for startups and bolster needed talent in the field. The bipartisan bill—the Creating Resources for Every American To Experiment with Artificial Intelligence Act of 2023 (CREATE AI Act)—formally establishes the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) which will provide compute, datasets, and educational resources for startups, students, and academics. The legislation comes amid rapid growth of AI technology and will improve the competitiveness of U.S. startups.
Startup News Digest 07/28/23
The Big Story: Senate advances bills requiring user data collection, limiting legal content online. This week, the Senate Commerce Committee advanced two bills that carry serious risks for cybersecurity, user privacy, and third-party content available on startups’ services. The legislation, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), though well-intentioned, will increase costs of compliance, undermine startup competitiveness, and diminish user experience, as we highlighted in a letter ahead of the committee markup.
As startups struggle with talent, Canada is trying to attract U.S. bound high skilled immigrants
Hiring early employees is one of the first obstacles startup founders face, made more complicated by talent shortages in STEM fields and an immigration system that often makes it time consuming and expensive to hire high-skilled talent from abroad. Other countries—most recently Canada—are taking advantage of that reality to attract tech talent away from the U.S. Without urgent action from policymakers, the U.S. innovation ecosystem will soon lag behind, as talent will continue to seek out nations where they receive a warmer welcome and better support.