LOS ANGELES, May 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- StartItUp, the first
mobile-based platform to bring Silicon Valley incubation and
entrepreneurial support to 6.5 million yearly small-business
startups, officially launched during Small Business Week.
We set out to overhaul a broken system. Now it's an honor to lend a
helping hand to the pandemic-driven entrepreneurship
For the first time ever, 30 million mainstreet entrepreneurs
will have access to the same type of support and hand-holding that
has energized Silicon Valley, finally providing resources to the
rest of America.
Entrepreneurs have had to fend for themselves for a long time
and often fail to get their businesses up and running due to lack
of knowledge or a supportive community. According to the US Census,
only 10% of people who apply for an IRS EIN, and intend to start a
business, get their business off the ground.
"We set out to overhaul a broken system, and are now honored to
be in the right place at the right time to lend a helping hand with
the unprecedented surge in business creation that has accompanied
Covid," said Goli Ameri, StartItUp
CEO.
Covid-era applications increased 24% in 2020 over 2019. The
percentage of business launches is likely even higher due to the
large number of solopreneurs. Many laid-off and gig-economy workers
have taken the self-employment route. Etsy sellers have grown over
62%, and most of Shopify's one million users are first-time
entrepreneurs.
StartItUp connects entrepreneurs with the resources, people and
expertise they need to turn their passion into profit while
avoiding costly mistakes. The company's curated business-planning
tools, and a community of fellow go-getters, allow entrepreneurs to
spend more time launching and growing their businesses and less
time searching for answers.
StartItUp was co-founded by CEO Goli
Ameri and Brad King. Their
backgrounds bring depth and diversity of experience to solving the
global challenge of small-business formation. Ameri has owned a
small tech business and served in public office, first as US
Assistant Secretary of State and followed by Under Secretary at the
International Red Cross with global responsibilities including
economic and entrepreneurial development. King has twenty-five
years of experience launching successful early-stage companies (Net
Effect, iChange, and URB-E among others) and has invested in many
more (Baidu, eHarmony).
StartItUp piloted the first version of its platform in
Southern California. "We learned a
great deal about the real needs of entrepreneurs from the thousands
who downloaded the app, which helped improve our product." said
King. "We are passionate about small businesses, who create 50+% of
jobs, and believe in an even playing field where good ideas, grit,
and determination matter more than a formal education."
Demand for business creation is expected to increase even more
in the coming years due to automation. According to the Brookings
Institute Hamilton Project, automation has accelerated due to the
pandemic, potentially leading to massive losses in large
employment, low-wage jobs in retail and food service.
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SOURCE StartItUp