Center for American Entrepreneurship Launches to Address Public Policy Barriers Facing America's Entrepreneurs
WASHINGTON, July 24, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Center for American Entrepreneurship (CAE), a nonpartisan policy and advocacy organization, announces its establishment and launch today. CAE's mission is to engage policymakers in Washington, and at the state and local level across the nation, regarding the critical importance of entrepreneurs and start-ups to innovation, economic growth, job creation, and expanded economic opportunity – and to pursue a comprehensive policy agenda intended to significantly enhance circumstances for new business formation, survival, and growth.
CAE is led by founder and President John R. Dearie, former Policy Director and Acting CEO at the Financial Services Forum, and co-author of the book Where the Jobs Are: Entrepreneurship and the Soul of the American Economy (Wiley 2013).
"Research has demonstrated that start-ups are disproportionately responsible for the innovations that drive economic growth, and account for virtually all net new job creation," Dearie said. "Alarmingly, recent research has also indicated that start-up rates in America have fallen near a 30-year low, and that this decline is occurring in all 50 states and across a broad range of industry sectors. Given the importance of new businesses to economic growth, job creation, and expanded economic opportunity, such circumstances are nothing less than a national emergency. Turning that decline around requires changes in public policy focused on the unique economic role and policy needs of entrepreneurs and the new companies they launch, which is why we've established CAE."
CAE's strategic objectives, policy agenda, and tactical effectiveness are overseen by a geographically diverse Board of Directors comprised of active entrepreneurs, people who work with entrepreneurs at some of the nation's most prominent incubators and accelerators, and noted academics who study entrepreneurship and its importance to the broader economy.
Blake Patton, venture capitalist, serial entrepreneur and founder of Tech Square Ventures in Atlanta, GA, is chairman of CAE's Board of Directors. "Improving opportunities for start-up formation, survival, and growth is essential to innovation, economic growth, and job creation in America," Patton said. "The remarkable team at CAE looks forward to working with entrepreneurs and policymakers in Washington and across the country to achieve that critical goal."
CAE's leadership will also be guided by a distinguished Advisory Council comprised of Brad Feld, co-founder of Boulder, CO-based venture capital firm Foundry Group; Norman R. Augustine, former chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin; and Vivek Wadhwa, Distinguished Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University's College of Engineering.
"CAE has been established to provide something missing in Washington for far too long – a team of experts and practitioners specifically dedicated to educating and working with policymakers regarding the unique economic role, importance, challenges, and policy needs of American entrepreneurs and the start-ups they launch," said Brad Feld. "CAE's mission is to ensure that sound, evidence-driven public policies are a central aspect of the nation's entrepreneurial ecosystem."
For more information, visit www.startupsUSA.org.
SOURCE Center for American Entrepreneurship
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