Bridging the entrepreneur-policymaker divide

Getting stuff done is part of the ethos of entrepreneurship.

Last week, that’s exactly what hundreds of entrepreneurs did when they made their voices heard in capitals and city halls across the country.

During the State of Entrepreneurship Address, Victor Hwang, vice president of Entrepreneurship, asked entrepreneurs and those who champion entrepreneurs to send policymakers a clear message: support entrepreneurship in all its forms wherever it exists by removing barriers in the path of entrepreneurs.

More than 3,400 messages were sent to members of Congress and policymakers in 48 states and the District of Columbia using technology developed by an entrepreneur with ties to Kansas City.

But the advocacy didn’t end there.

Entrepreneurs, grantees and entrepreneur advocates spent an afternoon on Capitol Hill educating 64 congressional offices about how to support entrepreneurship.

In these meetings lawmakers agreed to join the bipartisan Congressional Entrepreneurship Caucus, which launched at Kauffman’s Zero Barriers Congressional Reception last week. Many others agreed to hold roundtable discussions with entrepreneurs in their states and districts to learn more about the specific barriers holding entrepreneurs back.

And this is just the start.

The Kauffman Foundation is committed to bridging the entrepreneur-policymaker divide so that entrepreneurs inform public policy and drive action to reduce barriers to entrepreneurship.

Only when the voices of all entrepreneurs are heard will we accomplish the goal of making it possible for anyone, anywhere, to bring their idea to life with zero barriers in the way.