State of Entrepreneurship to tackle national ‘startup deficit’
February 16, 2016 | Bobby Burch
In her second address to the nation, Kauffman Foundation CEO Wendy Guillies on Wednesday will present the seventh-annual “State of Entrepreneurship Address.”
Guillies will travel to the National Press Club in Washington D.C. to address the nation’s long-term decline in new business creation, which has created a so-called “startup deficit.” Guillies, who was appointed as the foundation’s CEO in June, will present the case that the deficit can be improved via public policies endorsed by the foundation to help foster revitalized entrepreneurial growth.
The address will present a plan — called the “New Entrepreneurial Growth Agenda” — to spur that revitalization. The agenda will propose steps to reduce risk for prospective entrepreneurs, increase federal research and development investments to boost innovation and create a new pathway for immigrant entrepreneurs. Former U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, and former Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman will provide political commentary on the agenda.
Following Guillies’ address, Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, will speak on how congress can empower America’s entrepreneurs. A panel led by Bloomberg View columnist Paula Dwyer will present recommendations for how to support entrepreneurship and business growth.
The event will be streamed live beginning at 11:15 a.m. CT at www.kauffman.org/SOE2016. Check out last year’s address below.

2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
LaunchKC reveals 2017 finalists for $500K grant pool
LaunchKC on Friday announced 20 finalists vying for $500,000 in grants. The popular grants contest will award eight startups each a $50,000 non-dilutive grant and one firm a grand prize of $100,000 after a live pitch competition at Techweek Kansas City on Sept. 15. Techweek Kansas City is scheduled from Sept. 11 to Sept. 15…
Overland Park startup nabs $100K from Steve Harvey’s ABC show
As if the national exposure wasn’t enough, local entrepreneur Hilary Philgreen walked away from “Steve Harvey’s Funderdome” on ABC with a $100,000 prize. The show, which aired Sunday, allows inventors to compete for cash to help accelerate their businesses. Overland Park-based StinkBOSS is a solution for everyday odor, eliminating bacteria using ozone technology. Designed for…
SoftBank invests $4.4 billion in WeWork
Global coworking giant WeWork recently raked in a massive investment from SoftBank. The Tokyo-based conglomerate and its $93-billion Vision Fund has injected $4.4 billion into WeWork, which has 23 coworking spaces in the United States — including a shared, 40,000- square-foot workspace in Kansas City in the Crossroads Arts District — and more than 27…
UMKC hatchling Artist INC takes on new ownership, regional expansion
Artist INC, a program supporting hundreds of Kansas City artists, announced Thursday that it has new ownership and will further expand in the region. Formerly a program of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Innovation Center, Artist INC is now housed and fully supported by the Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA). A regional arts nonprofit, M-AAA serves…
