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Startup companies are seeing business conditions improve, actively hiring, and highly concerned about the regulatory environment, according to Startup Outlook 2011, just released by Silicon Valley Bank.
Silicon Valley Bank released Startup Outlook 2011, a survey of startup company perceptions, in conjunction with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group's Annual CEO Business Climate survey of its member companies.
The Startup Outlook survey of 375 U.S.-based, private, venture capital-backed software, hardware, life science and cleantech companies revealed:
- Startups are optimistic about current business opportunities and generally believe business conditions have improved and are improving further
- Companies will continue to hire to support their growth: nationwide 83 percent plan to hire this year, up significantly from the already high percentage (73 percent) of startups that reported plans to hire in last year's report
- Respondents by and large identify access to equity capital and the regulatory and political environment as their largest impediments to growth
- The regulatory issues of greatest concern were uncertainty about new regulations, the impact the overall regulatory environment has on risk taking, and health care reform
- Life science companies are particularly concerned about the impact the regulatory environment is having on their ability to thrive:64 percent of these companies say the regulatory environment is a challenge and 83 percent say the government could help them grow by improving the FDA approval process
"Because we work with amazing companies everyday that are creating new services and even industries, we have always known intuitively that the innovation sector will lead the U.S. in economic recovery," said Greg Becker, CEO of SVB Financial Group and Silicon Valley Bank. "This new data, however, clearly shows that technology companies met or beat their 2010 revenue targets, are still experiencing improved business conditions and are creating U.S. jobs. There is no question that the innovation sector is making a tangible impact on the U.S. economy and our ability to compete globally."
"Our policymakers want to help startups succeed, but the policymaking process is not designed to give entrepreneurs a real voice," said Mary Dent, General Counsel and head of government relations for SVB Financial Group. "We launched Startup Outlook last year to help bring entrepreneurs' issues and ideas to policymakers so they can help create an environment in which American innovators can build thriving businesses in the U.S."
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Startup Outlook 2011 Report in the news