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St. Petersburg pledging to cut red tape for new small businesses

 
Published June 10, 2015

In an effort to cut red tape for business startups, the White House and U.S. Small Business Administration, in coordination with the National League of Cities, today will unveil the Startup in a Day initiative. The partnership with U.S. cities will focus on developing online tools that let entrepreneurs apply — in less than a day — for necessary local, state and federal requirements.

Twelve cities, including St. Petersburg, have already pledged to try to shorten the process to 24 hours to get a new business to navigate a license and permitting system online.

One of St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman's goals is to make starting a business a simpler experience, city spokesman Ben Kirby said.

"The White House is aware of the Kriseman administration's focus on small business and entrepreneurship and reached out to us recently about this," he said.

Jessica Eilerman, as the mayor's small-business liaison, is in talks with a company called OpenCounter, an online platform that serves as a "one-stop-shop" for entrepreneurs. Whether the city opts for this service or another, Kirby said, "We feel like we can rise to the White House's challenge."

The federal portion of this initiative aims to ease some of that red tape, White House and SBA officials said in a media phone conference. Among the federal actions:

• A national call to action encouraging local leaders around the country to sign on to the Startup in a Day pledge already adopted by 12 cities.

• The SBA will announce a $1.5 million competition for seed grants to cities committed to building Startup in a Day solutions.

• The National League of Cities, which represents municipal leaders, is establishing a Startup in a Day partnership with SBA to support and coordinate this effort.

The White House set Aug. 4 as the date for the first White House Demo Day, which will bring together entrepreneurs from across the country to present individual success stories and build on efforts like Startup in a Day.