I hope I can mention this without being accused of partisanship – after all, it’s recognition of the efforts by the Republican Snyder administration and the Democratic Obama administration …
The amount of government assistance and resources devoted to helping small businesses — particularly entrepreneurs and those creating start-ups – is reaching an incredible level.
Overlapping, interconnected programs are now available for the business community at the county, state and federal level.
Hopefully, all this effort will soon translate into millions of new jobs.
Employers in Michigan, and in Macomb County in particular, can take advantage of numerous workshops and hands-on services that teach about exporting, marketing, finances, branding and logistics.
The amount of help available just grew as the feds and the state both move forward with new initiatives.
The White House announced today, the 1-year anniversary of the Startup America Initiative and the private-sector Startup America Partnership, that President Obama is proposing initiatives that will expand tax relief and unlock capital for start-ups and small firms.
According to the White House, the private sector partnership launched in January 2011 will be expanded to several states, including Michigan.
Today the partnership is launching nine new entrepreneur-led regional networks across the country in the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Vermont. The first round of start-up regions were established in Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Tennessee.
Steve Case (AOL co-founder and member of the President’s Jobs Council) and the Kauffman Foundation formed the Startup America Partnership, a nonprofit alliance of entrepreneurs, major corporations, and service providers that has mobilized over $1 billion in business resources to serve as many as 100,000 startups over the next three years.
The policy plans that Obama is laying out for Congress include four tax breaks for small businesses, four proposals that will help expand access to capital, and a provision to address immigrant visa backlogs.
The Department of Homeland Security will streamline the precautionary steps taken in a federal effort to attract and retain more foreign-born entrepreneurs and highly-skilled immigrants who represent a potential next generation of small business owners.
Meanwhile, in Lansing the Michigan Strategic Fund and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation today announced the official launch of the new Pure Michigan Venture Match Fund, Gov. Snyder’s answer to the corporate tax breaks that the Granholm administration distributed.
A public hearing to accept questions and comments on the new Pure Michigan Venture Match Fund will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on February 8 at the MEDC headquarters, 300 N. Washington Sq., Lansing.
“Innovative early-stage companies often need venture capital to help finance critical stages of their development and commercialization,” said MEDC President and CEO Michael Finney in a press release.
“We are aiming to bridge this capital gap and help entrepreneurs develop promising technologies to grow into new innovation companies, while we diversify Michigan’s economy and create new wealth in our state.”
This new Pure Michigan program will match early stage investments from the private sector in Michigan-based technology businesses. The minimum venture investment that will be considered is $700,000 and the maximum is $3 million. The state match will be no less than $350,000 and no more than $500,000.
Companies can apply for funding from the Michigan Strategic Fund once they have secured a qualified venture investment, which makes this a market-driven application process. There will be a peer review of the company business plan and investors, as required under the 21st Century Jobs Fund legislation.
