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Advancing Entrepreneurship at Home and Abroad

December 3, 2015 at 6:10 PM ET by Tom Kalil and Doug Rand
Summary: 
Looking back at the highlights of National Entrepreneurship Month in November.

In this year’s Presidential Proclamation of November as National Entrepreneurship Month, President Obama called on all Americans to “recommit to upholding our founding promise: that no matter who you are or where you come from, with talent, hard work, and dedication, you can make it if you try.”

A great deal happened this past month to promote the success of entrepreneurs all across the country. Here’s a roundup of the key highlights:

  • Crowdfunding: In a move that promises to democratize access to capital for startups and small businesses, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to approve its final crowdfunding regulation, which will allow entrepreneurs to raise up to $1 million from regular investors annually through regulated online platforms. 
  • Lab to Market: The White House hosted senior leadership from some of the nation’s most innovative Federal laboratories, as part of a sustained effort to fuel regional economic growth by accelerating the transfer of promising technologies from the lab to the marketplace.
  • TechHire: The White House and the Department of Labor launched a $100 million competition to support the President’s TechHire initiative, which provides rapid worker training for well-paying tech jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities.
  • Youth Entrepreneurship: In the Oval Office, President Obama welcomed student winners from two major national youth entrepreneurship competitions, including the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and Junior Achievement (JA).
  • Mission Innovation:  Kicking off the Paris Climate Conference, the President joined with other world leaders to announce Mission Innovation, a commitment by 20 countries to double their clean energy research and development funding over five years—and at the same time, a new Breakthrough Energy Coalition of over two dozen private-sector investors, spearheaded by Bill Gates, have pledged to invest private capital in early-stage clean energy innovations.

Looking ahead, President Obama announced that the United States will host next year’s Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES 2016), this time in Silicon Valley:

In this video message, the President renewed a call to action for inclusive entrepreneurship:  “I’m calling on the private sector, foundations, investors, and universities to help us increase opportunities for all entrepreneurs, no matter who they are, where they’re from, or what they look like.”

This sustained call to action has yielded significant new private-sector commitments to advance inclusive entrepreneurship all across America (White House Demo Day) and to invest in entrepreneurs around the world (GES 2015). 

We encourage you to sign up for future updates on next year’s Global Entrepreneurship Summit, and to let us know if you are working on a new commitment to promote entrepreneurship at home or abroad.

Tom Kalil is Deputy Director for Technology and Innovation at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Doug Rand is Assistant Director for Entrepreneurship at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.