Last week, U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons and Congressman John Carney with entrepreneurs to learn how startup companies in the area are creating new products and services, and learn about their challenges.
The visits coincided with the fourth annual “Startup Day Across America,” a nationwide effort to raise awareness of entrepreneurial activity and job creation and help generate support for startup communities.
In Wilmington, the delegation hosted a roundtable at The Mill, a new coworking space in the Nemours building for entrepreneurs. Later, Sen. Carper met with entrepreneurs at Inclind, a web development agency in Georgetown.
“During recess, I find it incredibly productive to do what I like to call ‘customer calls’ to businesses up and down the state. This is where we meet with both long-standing companies and new startups to find out how they’re doing, how we’re doing, and what we can do to help,” said Carper. “At these roundtables, we heard from entrepreneurs who need access to capital, work space, and a good work force to help them get off the ground. These are just a few of the vital areas we can continue to improve that will create a nurturing environment for these businesses to become successful.”
“Keeping resources moving towards supporting and developing startups is key to growing our economy both locally and nationally,” said Coons. “To mark ‘Startup Day,’ we had the opportunity to meet with several new Delaware-based businesses including Epic Research, to hear about their challenges they face in their respective markets. It’s our job to make sure the resources are there for them to grow and prosper.”
“We had a great discussion at The Mill with Delaware startup leaders,” said Carney. “The jobs that keep our state and national economy growing come from creative entrepreneurs taking an innovative idea and building it into a successful company. There are some very interesting and exciting things happening in our state, and we need to keep the momentum going to foster an even stronger startup environment.”
Small businesses have produced 100 percent of the job growth over the last 20-years, and startup companies are producing an average of three million jobs annually.
According to Startup America, 27 percent of startups nationwide are owned by women and 33 percent are owned by minorities. These startup companies are involved in a variety of industries including technology, retail, healthcare, entertainment, consulting, and education.
A few start-up companies also grow into large businesses that make local economies more vibrant.
