New small business bill approved – but will it really help?
July 31, 2008 by ShannonCherry
Filed under Business
Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship unanimously passed legislation that would reauthorize two small business research programs. But, it took months to get it approved – and there are some compromises.
In the bill, Federal agencies with an annual extramural research and development budget of over $100 million are required to allocate 2.5 percent of their extramural R&D dollars to the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.
But the compromises include participation of companies majority owned and controlled by multiple venture capital companies.
So what do you think? Is this bill good for small businesses? I have my doubts.
I’m surprised to see an acknowledgment by our representatives that small businesses even exist! What’s ironic is that so many entrepreneurs these days are working to create disruptive offerings that break down the walls of gatekeepers and red tape for their customers- yet, as an entrepreneur, if I want to be considered for one of the above mentioned contracts, I have to go through one of the most inefficient, bureaucratic processes known to man.
Well the governments definition of a small business is not necessarily what you would think it is. Any company income capital of $250,000 or less is considered a small business… where does that leave the rest of us really, really small businesses?