Grand Slam Day for United States’ Startup Ecosystem

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On August 4, President Barack Obama hosted the first ever White House Demo Day, and what a day it was. The content of the day is front and center of what our agency does every day.

The White House helped us put a magnifying glass on the wide-ranging talents of innovators from diverse walks of life and across the country and the small companies they lead. Our economy, especially our entrepreneurial economy is the envy of the world. For it to fire on all cylinders, we need to draw on talented Americans from all backgrounds and locations and leave no one on the bench.

The Demo Day Fact Sheet lays out amazing actions, commitments and announcements made by federal agencies and a broad swath of the private sector. The day was nothing short of astounding and SBA’s Office of Investment and Innovation was equally excited to have had a leadership role supporting the White House Office of Science and Technology.

During the White House Demo Day even, SBA Administrator Maria Contreras Sweet announced the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition’s Class of 2015 winners. She also made several other exciting announcements that the White House highlighted, which included “Startup In a Day” and “InnovateHER.”

The Growth Accelerator Fund Competition winners are located in 39 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico and they serve entrepreneurs in a broad set of industries and sectors – from manufacturing and tech start-ups, to farming and biotech – with many focused on creating a diverse and inclusive small business community. More than 400 applications were judged by 40 experts with entrepreneurial, investment, startup, economic development, capital formation and academic backgrounds from both the public and private sector. Additionally, SBA’s Office of Native American Affairs used the competition’s framework to award prizes to accelerators focused on Native American communities and entrepreneurs.