Startup America and the Lehigh Valley

Yesterday, White House announced the launch of the Startup America Partnership, which will act as an independent private-sector alliance intended to dramatically increase the development, prevalence and success of innovative, high-growth U.S. firms.

The partnership's core goals will be to increase the number of firms creating economic growth, celebrate entrepreneurship and inspire a diversity of communities and individuals to build companies. They will focus on three key areas:
Acceleration and Scale, as they replicate successful programs with an emphasis on mentorship and large-company partnerships.
Education in entrepreneurship.
Commercialization, as they tap academic innovation resources to spur economic growth.

At its core, the effort seeks to educate future entrepreneurs, to make sure that those entrepreneurs have the capital that they need to start up, and to lower the barriers to commercialization. We face similar difficulties in the Lehigh Valley, and AEDC is working with its partners to ameliorate that situation.

The Bridgeworks Enterprise Center in South Allentown has housed an incubation program for small businesses and light manufacturing since 1988, with support from Ben Franklin Technology Partners and the City of Allentown. That program has helped launch over 30 businesses employing over 300 people in the Lehigh Valley. Along the way, it has stood as a leader in entrepreneurial development in our region, hosting educational programs for entrepreneurs and providing a necessary network node for fledgling companies.


Work on coworking space and makerspace as part of the Hive 4A initiative is the next step for AEDC's entrepreneurial development efforts. The makerspace will serve as informal science space for a certain community and a laboratory for innovative experimentation among future Lehigh Valley entrepreneurs. Our coworking space represents the future of work, with independent professionals coming together to exchange ideas and build the next economy.

All the while, AEDC will continue to be part of the conversation and drive innovation in the region, through forums offered by Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation; area colleges like Muhlenberg, LCCC, and Lehigh; and Ben Franklin. There are still significant hurdles to entrepreneurship in the Lehigh Valley, including a lack of significant capital resources, that we have to resolve before we can be a truly innovative and entrepreneurial region.

As always, the feedback of our existing entrepreneurial community is hugely important, and we hope to share what we learn here on the blog.