For many startup founders policy is simply not something to worry about.
It moves slowly, it’s complicated, and the most rational response to many policy issues is often to ignore them until you can’t any longer (cf Uber), hire a lawyer, or find a technical work-around.
Some founders have always had an interest, and for those who didn’t, advocacy groups and campaigns, including my own (Coadec) and others like Tech London Advocates and TechCityUK emerged to help bridge the gap between startups and policymakers.
Recently though, an increasing number of startups have been raising their head above the political parapet themselves, which led to the question: are founders becoming more political?
A few recent examples:
Today, TransferWise launched their ‘Stop Hidden Fees’ manifesto and petition for banking transparency. And rather than taking place at some suitably trendy startup venue, it’s launching in Westminster with a prominent Labour MP as the keynote speaker.
The campaign is both good marketing for TransferWise (it highlights their low and transparent fees), but also raises legitimate policy points for government on consumer protection and financial transparency.
Another startup Bizzby recently received a lot of press for their new delivery service Bizzby Sky. It looks like a great service – on demand drone deliveries for up to 500g.
The only snag? That it’s not legal (yet), and so founder Rohan Luvaglio is campaigning for a new Drone Law and has launched an epetition.
Finally, Alex Stephany, CEO of JustPark has been calling for the Rent a Room scheme, which currently lets people renting out a spare room earn a certain amount tax free, to be expanded to include other sharing economy activities including sharing your driveway. (He’s right – it should be!).
Savvy founders playing the game?
This may be about founders becoming more savvy about playing the political game, but more than that, they simply have to speak up more. As the digital economy becomes simply the economy, digital issues are inherently political issues.
Is automation destroying jobs, and how can we prevent a hollowing out of the labour market? What digital skills does the UK need to compete? How can we give consumers confidence in data protection, but without stifling innovation? What infrastructure do we need to provide the connectivity consumers and businesses demand in the 21st century?
These are political questions, and ones that will have a massive impact on startup entrepreneurs and innovators.
It’s great that more startup founders are getting involved in policy debates. We need them to.