Denver is one of 11 cities taking a pledge to speed up the process for starting new businesses, the White House is expected to announce Thursday.
The pledge is part of a new White House initiative, Startup in a Day, which challenges communities across the U.S. to develop online tools that allow entrepreneurs to find and apply for all necessary permits and licenses within 24 hours.
“People with good ideas don’t have time to wait, because time is money. But it takes too long to start a business in too many places,” said Jeff Zients, director of the White House National Economic Council, in a conference call Wednesday.
The Small Business Administration will be offering $1.5 million in seed money. Twenty-five cities will receive $50,000 prizes, with an additional $250,000 going to communities developing an open-source solution that can be adopted elsewhere.
The other cities that took the pledge were Boston; Chattanooga and Nashville, Tenn.; Fresno, Calif.; Kansas City, Mo.; San Francisco; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Salt Lake City; Seattle; and Washington.
