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White House “Startup America” Initiative Comes to Silico Valley
San Francisco District Office
News Update
May 13, 2011

‘Startup America’ Initiative Comes to Silicon Valley, the U.S. Startup Capital

STANFORD, CA - “Startup America,” the White House initiative to celebrate, inspire and accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the nation, made a stop in the heart of the nation's startup capital for high tech yesterday during an afternoon event at Stanford University.

“Stanford University is a great place for the birth of companies,” said Stanford Law Professor Dan Siciliano, who welcomed 100 entrepreneurs, small business owners, business leaders and government officials to the campus during opening remarks. “The folks who started HP, Google and Yahoo, among others, all went to school here and started companies in the area. This is an exciting time and an exciting place to be right now.”

The coordinated public-private effort of “Startup America” brings together an alliance of the country‟s most innovative entrepreneurs, corporations, universities, foundations and other leaders working in convert with a wide range of federal agencies to dramatically increase the prevalence and success of America‟s entrepreneurs.

“America's story has been forged in large part by entrepreneurs who have against great odds created innovative products and services that have changed the world and created millions of jobs,” said Steve Case, the founder of AOL who was appointed by President Obama to chair the “Startup America: Reducing Barriers” initiative. “Our nation once again needs to look towards these creative risk-takers to unleash the next wave of American innovation.”

SBA's Sean Greene, who heads the agency's SBIC program, moderated opening comments on the state of entrepreneurship. Panelists included Peggy Hamburg, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Teresa Rea, deputy director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; Ginger Lew, a senior advisor to the National Economic Council; Canice Wu, president of Plug and Play Tech Center; and Joe Grundfest, a Stanford law professor and the former commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Attending an event like this allows me to gain an insight into the thinking of my fellow entrepreneurs and policy makers,” said Sanjay Dalal, CEO and founder of OGoing Inc., a small business social network site. “I want to share some of my ideas with them and see what they think.”

Jose Corona, who heads the Oakland-based Inner City Advisors, said the people in attendance at the Stanford event like to shape success and meet challenges.
“Entrepreneurs focus on action,” observed Corona. “We can talk all day about problems but entrepreneurs and small business owners really want answers on fixing problems.”

Benjamin Abram, an associate with The Westly Group, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm, had praise for the government's role in business.

“Many of our nation's most innovative companies have arisen from federal programs like the SBIC,” said Abram, “and so many new jobs have been the result of those investments.”

Noted Congressman Mike Honda's deputy director in San Jose, Mike Nguyen, “We‟re glad "Startup America" stopped in Silicon Valley. We want a chance to shape public policy and help the economy grow.”

Thanks,
Bob Borden
Assistant District Director/Entrepreneurial Development
U.S. Small Business Administration
San Francisco District Office

Download the Startup America News Update from San Francisco SBA Office:


SFDO News Update 051311.pdf (555.16 kb)