2021 saw significant changes in the US Government, with Joe Biden becoming President and the Democratic Party retaining control in Congress. This is likely to mean a raft of big changes in policy countrywide for time to come. But what does it mean for US startups, and what do experts predict will happen in the months and years ahead?
STEM Training Opportunities
As Engine states, US startups could greatly benefit from broader training made available to willing hires. They highlight the growing concern over many unemployed workers not having the skills to join tech startups.
Specialist ventures require more than just willing staff and those who ‘can’ learn. Experts believe that Biden’s administration could support the US venture scene by increasing STEM training availability.
STEM (or as some know it, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is the key to innovating in the technological sphere. With modern society dependent on technology, it stands to reason that more specialist engineers are sought after.
However, many marginalized people feel they do not have access to the right STEM training to join growing ventures. Beyond funding innovation itself, the Biden administration could transform ventures across the US by broadening opportunities.
Clean Technology Opportunities
One of President Biden’s first moves upon taking office was to permit the US to re-join the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Many assume this means this administration will likely want to focus on clean energy and tech. This, at the time of writing, is all but confirmed.
As such, with many ventures and entrepreneurs focusing on clean, green energy, 2021 could prove to be exciting. Statistics show that investment in green energy ventures in 2019 hit peak figures of $59 billion, and back in 2004, this was $4 billion.
Therefore, a US administration focusing on clean energy could offer broader support to green ventures. This, again, remains to be seen. However, some experts believe that there could be a green innovation boom to make these investment figures skyrocket.
Visas for Startups
Another landmark move from the Biden team in early 2021 was to make changes to H1-B, affecting high skill hires. Estimates show that around half of US Unicorns are immigrant-founded. Therefore, there is a growing thirst for venture visas, under Biden, to emerge sooner rather than later.
Biden already outlines a program whereby visa programs will receive active support during job and wage allocation. Russell Ford advises that this would be a return to visa standards set during the Obama era.
Could this mean innovative teams and smaller companies will be able to hire overseas specialists easier than before? That is certainly the hope. With the new administration overturning much immigration policy, time will tell how far this will stretch.
In the meantime, investors can use databases, such as Fundz, to find growing startups with firm funding. These may be companies already thriving under Biden – or those waiting for that next big reveal. In any case, for many, Q1 of 2021 is already proving a healthy time to invest in the US.
SOURCES
https://www.engine.is/news/startups-short-term-to-do-list-for-biden-administration
https://fortune.com/2021/02/05/biden-economic-plan-startup-visa-immigration-entrepreneurs/
https://www.geekwire.com/2021/heres-first-thing-president-biden-spark-entrepreneurship-us/
https://news.crunchbase.com/news/biden-tech-startups-policy/
