This week we are going to review a new U.S. Government initiative you may not be aware of: The Department of Commerce’s new Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and The National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.  These new programs are designed to help entrepreneurs launch and/or grow their businesses and help lead the economic and jobs recovery. 

Why is this important?  According to a study by the Kauffman Foundation, the world’s largest foundation devoted to entrepreneurism, “More than half of Fortune 500 companies were founded in recession or bear market.”  The current economic challenges have lead many Americans to look at starting their own business and for many these budding entrepreneurs, they need to understand where and from whom they can get reliable advice.  According to a Department of Commerce spokesperson, this is exactly what the new Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurism is designed to accomplish.

Here are some of the key takeaways regarding these new programs:

1. The home page for the new Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurism can be found at http://www.entrepreneurship.gov/
2. The National Advisory Council will advise the Secretary of Commerce and the Administration on issues relating to innovation and entrepreneurism and they are taking statements of interest from anyone who is interested in serving on the council.  More information is below:
3. Entrepreneurship.gov is designed to streamline the process entrepreneurs need to go through in order to find and get access to U.S. government assistance.

 

Recently U.S. Commerce Secretary Locke announced a new Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship within the Department of Commerce and the launch of a National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship; can you tell us what these initiatives mean to someone who is either starting a business or running a small business? 

The mission of the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship is to unleash and maximize the economic potential of new ideas by removing barriers to entrepreneurship and the development of high-growth and innovation-based businesses.  One of its goals is to drive policies to help entrepreneurs translate new ideas, products, and services into economic growth.

The National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship will advise the Secretary and the Administration on key issues relating to innovation and entrepreneurship.  The Council will identify and recommend solutions to issues critical to the creation and development of entrepreneurship ecosystems that will spawn new businesses and jobs. 

 

For someone who would like to take advantage of these programs, how do they go about signing up/getting involved?

We plan to make entrepreneurship.gov a virtual one-stop destination for government resources, programs, information, and data for entrepreneurs.  We will post information there on new initiatives and programs for entrepreneurs.

The National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship will include successful entrepreneurs, innovators, angel investors, venture capitalists, non-profit leaders, and other experts on these issues.  All meetings of this council will be open to the public.

 

Can you give some examples of how you see entrepreneurs and small businesses utilizing these programs? 

The Office and Council will focus on identifying issues, recommending policies, and developing programs most important to entrepreneurs, such as

• Encouraging Entrepreneurs through Education, Training, and Mentoring
• Improving Access to Capital
• Accelerating Technology Commercialization of Federal R&D
• Providing Data, Research, and Technical Resources for Entrepreneurs
• Exploring Policy Incentives to Support Innovators, Entrepreneurs, and Investors.

 

How do these new initiatives differ from similar programs at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)?   How will the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and SBA work together to foster the development of U.S. start-ups and small businesses?

The Office and Council will focus on promoting and supporting high-growth and innovation-driven entrepreneurship.  The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) aids, counsels, assists, and protects the interests of all small businesses.  SBA has many programs (including its 14,000 counselors) that are useful for entrepreneurs.  We see SBA as a key partner in our efforts to serve high-growth entrepreneurs. 

 

The Advisory Council sounds like a great opportunity for an entrepreneur to learn from and interact with seasoned entrepreneurs and others that have been and are involved in launching a company; will there be multiple regional advisory councils or just a national one?  Again, how can an entrepreneur take advantage of this initiative?

The National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship will advise the Secretary and the Administration on key issues relating to innovation and entrepreneurship.  The Council will identify and recommend solutions to issues critical to the creation and development of entrepreneurship ecosystems that will spawn new businesses and jobs. 

We will have one national council, whose meetings will be open to the public.  Anyone interested in serving on the Council should send their resume and statement of interest to entrepreneurship@doc.gov.

 

In general, what piece of advice would you give to someone who is either starting a new company or getting ready to launch a new product which they are hoping to either create and/or penetrate a niche about how they can take advantage of the multiple programs being offered by the U.S. Government?

We encourage them to take advantage of the wide range of resources available through programs at the Department of Commerce, Small Business Administration, and other U.S. government agencies, which are currently accessible at entrepreneurship.gov, export.gov, trade.gov, business.gov, data.gov, and others.

 

Many entrepreneurs and small business people have either a real or perceived notion that getting involved in any government program will be bureaucratic and involve them having to complete massive amounts of paperwork and/or call several different people in order to take advantage of the program(s), what has been or is being set up to streamline the processes and get entrepreneurs and small business people involved quickly and easily in the new Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and/or National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship? 

Both initiatives are designed to do exactly that.   Our first step is to make entrepreneurship.gov a virtual one-stop destination for government resources, programs, information, and data for entrepreneurs.  We will post information there on new initiatives and programs for entrepreneurs as well.

 

This week is Thanksgiving week in the U.S. and the kickoff to the holiday shopping season.  During this week many Americans will gather with their family and friends to give thanks and I encourage all of you to reach out and thank those that have helped you get to where you are today.  It would take me hours to thank all of those that have supported me through the years but I would like to thank my wife and kids, parents and in-laws, all my family and friends and all of those that have helped my career and this blog.  I wish you all a safe and Happy Thanksgiving and holiday season!

Please remember to recommend this blog to others.  Thank you for taking the time to read this posting.

Ken & The Rich Niche Group Team