The Startup America Partnership saw some tech heavy hitters investing in the initiative when it was unveiled back in January. Now, 15 companies are going in again, providing over $400 million in value on top of the original commitment from companies like IBM, Intel, and HP. Companies will be able to apply for these resources based on which stage they’re in (idea, startup, rampup, speedup) via Startup America’s new membership program.
Startup America is “a movement by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs – launched January 31, 2011, at the White House to help inspire and celebrate entrepreneurs, their firms and the people that join them.” Their focus is “on bringing the private sector together to maximize the success of America’s entrepreneurs – and maximize America’s competitiveness in an increasingly global world.” Startup America’s principal focus is on what they call “speedups.” These are firms with high-growth potential.
Startup America plans to support these entrepreneurs by “assembling commitments from a wide range of companies and organizations” and they have done just that. Here are some of the companies now stepping up to the plate:
- Google is donating over $100 million worth of Google Ads.
- HP is offering an estimated $100 million in discounts on printers and other products.
- American Express has devoted over $125 million in value to member companies by giving preferred pricing to Startup America startups.
- Cisco has committed to provide training to about 6,000 entrepreneurs in 50 cities by January 2014 ($3 million value).
- Ernst and Young has pledged more than $7.5 million worth of its finance services for SA companies.
- Intuit will be investing $37 million in services and products including QuickBooks and Intuit Payroll services.
Startup America will be discussing these new partnerships live on Facebook at 7:30 EDT / 4:30 PDT, shortly after President Obama’s Shared Responsibility and Shared Prosperity town hall, which takes place at 4:45 EDT / 1:45 PDT. There have also been changes to the Startup America website to focus more on the entrepreneurs and they will be rolling out a new free membership program to allow companies at any level to apply for access to “resources to help them grow.”
source Startup America via TechCrunch