The city of Vancouver and Columbia River Economic Development Council (CREDC) recently announced their participation in the national “Startup in a Day” initiative.
The initiative, launched by the Small Business Administration and the White House in 2015, aims to make it easier for entrepreneurs to start a business by streamlining the process so that all local permits and license applications can be accessed and completed in 24 hours or less.
Specifically, the initiative asks participating communities to:
- Create an online tool within 12 months to assist entrepreneurs in identifying and completing all the necessary permitting and licensing steps for starting a new business
- Develop a streamlined online permitting system
- Share best practices to encourage other municipalities to join the effort
“The city of Vancouver is pleased to be the first city in the region to take the national pledge to provide the online information needed to start up a business in a day,” said Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt in a press release. “We recognize that the most effective way the city can support business startup and development is to remove barriers and streamline processes, and we commit over the next 12 months to continue to do just that.”
“Our local startups are key economic drivers for our region, increasing competition across industries and stimulating innovation,” noted Mike Bomar, president of the CREDC. “To support these entrepreneurs, we must ensure that we continue to build a local startup ecosystem that fosters strong job growth and encourages the creation of new and innovative businesses. The ‘Startup in a Day’ initiative represents a commitment to streamline the regulatory process and remove one of the initial barriers to success for these companies.”
For more information about the initiative, visit www.sba.gov/about-sba/sba-initiatives/startup-day.