The United States boasts the largest and most dynamic startup ecosystem in the world, with major hubs like Silicon Valley, New York City, and Boston. This ecosystem is characterized by a strong venture capital presence and a supportive culture for innovation and entrepreneurship. The U.S. continues to lead globally in technological innovation and startup activity, contributing significantly to economic growth and job creation.
As of 2024, the U.S. is home to approximately 77,927 startups. The startup ecosystem is supported by substantial venture capital investments, which totaled around $162.6 billion in 2022. This robust financial backing highlights the confidence investors have in the U.S. startup market, ensuring ample funding for innovation and growth.
Key strengths of the U.S. market include a highly skilled workforce, advanced technological infrastructure, and a culture that encourages risk-taking and entrepreneurship. The presence of major tech companies like Google, Apple, and Facebook fosters a collaborative environment and provides ample opportunities for startups. Additionally, the U.S. government offers support through various grants and tax incentives, such as the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.
Silicon Valley remains the epicenter of innovation, driving advancements in AI, biotechnology, fintech, and clean energy. New York City excels in finance and media, while Boston is strong in biotechnology and education-driven startups. These regions are crucial to the U.S. startup ecosystem, offering a wealth of resources, talent, and opportunities.
Cities like Austin, Denver, and Seattle are emerging as significant tech hubs. These cities provide a favorable business climate, quality of life, and are becoming attractive locations for startups and talent. The rise of remote work has further expanded opportunities for startups to access talent from various regions, contributing to the growth of these emerging hubs.
The U.S. startup market benefits from a comprehensive support system of accelerators, incubators, and co-working spaces. Programs like Techstars and Y Combinator have been instrumental in nurturing early-stage startups, providing mentorship, resources, and funding. These support systems help startups at various stages of their journey to scale and succeed.
Despite its strengths, the U.S. startup ecosystem faces challenges such as high costs of living, regulatory hurdles, and intense competition for talent. These challenges can create barriers for new startups and require strategic navigation to ensure long-term success.
The U.S. startup market features a diverse customer base and a culture that encourages innovation and entrepreneurship. The rise of remote work has expanded opportunities, allowing startups to access talent from various regions. The future outlook remains positive with continuous growth and innovation, driven by emerging technologies such as blockchain, quantum computing, and green energy.
The U.S. startup ecosystem is characterized by its resilience and adaptability. Despite challenges, the ecosystem continues to evolve, driven by a strong culture of entrepreneurship and technological advancements. This ensures the U.S. remains at the forefront of global innovation, contributing significantly to economic growth and job creation.
San Francisco California - Los Angeles California - Venice Italy, United States
IT (& TMT) • Media • Entertainment (& Sports) • Real Estate (& Construction) • Investment Management • Mobile • Restaurants
ex-Entrepreneur and Seed-Stage investor in LA
ex-Entrepreneur and Seed-Stage investor in LA
Brian Garrett is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Crosscut. Brian is very active in the Los Angeles start-up community and currently works actively with the following companies: GumGum, Verve Mobile, Reaction Commerce, Jyve, Sales Pro Quo, The BlackTux, Narvar, Omaze, Robin Care, Foray, Fuzzy, Umbra Lab, Fastdata.io and Saber es Poder. With over 20 years of both investing and operating/entrepreneurial experience, Brian tries to bring humility and empathy to the lonely plight of starting and scaling start-up companies and works tirelessly to help his entrepreneurs succeed. Prior to co-founding Crosscut, Brian was a Partner at Palomar Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Santa Monica, California. Mr. Garrett joined Palomar in 2001 and played an active role in managing and investing two funds over 6 years totaling more than $400 million. While at Palomar, he was the sponsor of and/or an active board member in nine Palomar portfolio companies, including successes such as Entone (a video on demand company that sold to Harmonic), Lombardi (business process management software that sold to IBM) and Datallegro (data warehouse appliance company sold to Microsoft in 2008). Prior to Palomar, Brian was the Director of Business Development at Niku Corporation. Prior to Niku, Brian worked at a boutique strategy consulting firm called R.B. Webber & Company. Brian worked with numerous early-stage technology companies including CommerceOne, Inktomi, Sagent, Aurum and Broadbase. Brian received his MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business and he graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering. Specialties: Entrepreneurial focus: Fashion/Tech/Media/Commerce. Investing Focus: Crosscut focuses primarily on seed-stage opportunities in consumer/digital media across Southern California.
San Francisco California - Hong Kong - Israel - Palo Alto California - China - South East, United States
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • IT (& TMT) • Education • FinTech (& Financials services) • Retail (& E-Commerce) • A.I. (& Big Data) • HealthTech (& Fitness) • Gaming (& eSports) • Real Estate (& Construction)
General Partner S28 Capital / Young Global Leader at World Economic Forum / Honorary Trustee Peking University
Kent Ho is a Co-Founder and serves as Chief Executive Officer at s28 Capital. He also is an Angel Investor. He was a Co-Founder and served as Managing Partner at Harbor Pacific Capital. He focuses on investments in digital media and helps oversee the firm's investment efforts in the United States and China. Upon graduating from Duke, Kent worked at Goldman Sachs in San Francisco in the Private Wealth Management division advising high net worth families and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. Kent received an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BA in Economics and a Certificate in the Markets and Management Program from Duke University. He serves as a Board Member at Eden.
Philadelphia Pennsylvania - New York City (NY) - Washington D.C, United States
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • IT (& TMT) • Media • Education • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • Retail (& E-Commerce) • A.I. (& Big Data) • HealthTech (& Fitness)
Co-founder and Managing Director at Red & Blue Ventures
Brett Topche is a Co-Founder and serves as Partner at Red & Blue Ventures. Brett Topche serves as Managing Director at MentorTech Ventures. He also serves as Advisor at entreprenYOURS. He joined MentorTech Ventures in 2007 and has more than a decade of venture capital and private equity experience. He has spent much of his career primarily focusing on investments in ecommerce, digital media, mobile applications, marketing technologies and B2B software. He represents MentorTech on the Boards of Directors of Cloudmine and PayPerks and served on the Board of Wanderfly prior to its acquisition. He also serves as a Board Observer at Curalate, Quad Learning, Burrow, Soft Tissue Regeneration and TicketLeap and was a Board Observer at SeniorHomes.com prior to its acquisition by Bankrate. He also served as a member of the Investor Advisory Board of SnipSnap prior to its acquisition by Slyce. Prior to joining MentorTech, he was a member of the Fund Investments Team at Hamilton Lane Advisors, a fund-of-funds manager and private equity investment consultant. In this capacity, he evaluated private equity funds across a broad spectrum of stages and strategies on behalf of both discretionary and non-discretionary clients. During his time at Hamilton Lane, Topche reviewed more than 100 funds, including venture capital, mezzanine, buyout and real estate funds. Based in part on reports he drafted, more than $1 billion was invested into these funds. Prior to working for Hamilton Lane, Topche spent more than four years as an Associate with NJTC Venture Fund, where he focused on investments in early-stage companies in the software, Internet and communications sectors. His responsibilities included deal flow generation, initial company reviews, performing due diligence on potential investments, participating in deal structuring, reviewing legal documentation and working with companies post-investment, occasionally as an Observer on Boards of Directors. Topche is a magna cum laude graduate of the Wharton School, with a B.S. in Economics, with concentrations in Finance and Legal Studies and a Political Science minor from the College and Arts and Sciences.
Chicago Illinois - - Illinois - U.S.A., United States
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • IT (& TMT) • Media • Education • Gaming (& eSports) • Logistics (& Distribution) • Investment Management • Mobile
General Partner at Chicago Ventures
Partner @ CV
Looking for a few great startups.
San Francisco California - California - U.S.A., U.S.A.
IT (& TMT) • Hardware (& Manufacturing)
Thomas Korte is a Co-Founder and serves as General Partner at AngelPad. He also served as Advisor at Ribbon. He serves as the Board Member of PostMates. Thomas is an investor and advisor to early-stage internet startups. Prior to that, Thomas worked at Google for 7 years. His roles there included International Product Marketing Manager, European Search Agency Business Lead and most recently Google Evangelist. He is the co-author of several patents related to improving efficiencies in search advertising and local search results.
San Francisco California - Redwood City California, United States
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • IT (& TMT) • Media • Businesses Solutions • A.I. (& Big Data) • Robotics • Real Estate (& Construction) • Investment Management • Mobile • Mobility • Woman Focused
Investor in Artificial Intelligence, Immersive & Spatial Computing #AI #AR #VR
VC, exec and a techno-geek at heart
San Francisco California - Palo Alto California - Sunnyvale California, United States
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • IT (& TMT) • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • A.I. (& Big Data) • Mobile • Mobility
Partner at ngp capital.
John Gardner serves as General Manager of Wealth at SoFi. Also, he is a Co-Founder and served as Board Member & Chief Financial Officer at LearnVest. Gardner spent his career working for companies on the forefront of investment management and advisory solutions. He began his career at SEI Investments as an Equity Analyst and as a Director of Product within its Wealth Network. He served as a Director of Product Strategy at Finaplex. he was a founding partner and Chief Operating Officer of Cabezon Capital Management. He studied at Lehigh University where he double-majored in Finance and Marketing with a minor in Philosophy. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
San Francisco California San Francisco, California with additional offices in London, United States
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • IT (& TMT) • Web Security (& Privacy) • Mobile
General Partner, NextWorld Capital
Venture Capital Partner | GTM Growth, Corporate Development and Strategy for my companies
San Francisco California, United States
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • Other • IT (& TMT) • Businesses Solutions • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • Energy • Retail (& E-Commerce) • Web Security (& Privacy) • Food & Beverage • Logistics (& Distribution) • Material Science • Aerospace (& Defense) • Mobile
Co-founder and Managing Director at Peninsula Ventures
Greg Ennis is a Co-Founder and serves as Managing Director at Peninsula Ventures. Ennis serves as Operations Advisor at Naya Ventures. He is a Board Member of Lumenetix. He previously served as an Advisor at Plastc. Ennis holds an MBA from The Anderson School at UCLA and an AB in Economics and Political Science from Stanford University. Greg is also a Director and past President of the Stanford University Department of Athletics (DAPER) Investment Fund. He presently also serves as a Board Director and Observer at Net Power & Light.
Boston Massachusetts - Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • IT (& TMT) • Media • Education • BioTech • Businesses Solutions • HealthTech (& Fitness) • Healthcare (& Wellness) • Investment Management
Founded in 1989, ABRY Partners invests in Business Services, Communications, Education, Entertainment, Healthcare Services, Information Services, Media and Online Media. Since 1989, the firm has completed over $36 billion of leveraged transactions and other private equity investments involving approximately 450 properties. ABRY manages $3.5 billion of capital in its active funds. The firm is currently investing ABRY Partners VII, a $1.6 billion private equity fund. Investments in portfolio companies range from $25 million to $150 million, typically take controlling positions.The Senior Equity III Fund is a $750 million fund providing senior equity and mezzanine capital. Investments range from $15 million to $50 million in companies that are either owned by others, or sponsored by ABRY's private equity fund. The Senior Debt II Fund is a $1.2 billion fund providing senior debt capital to media, communications, business, and information service companies. These investments are typically first and second lien bank debt securities purchased in the primary or secondary market.
New York (NY) - Boston (MA) - San Francisco (CA), United States
IT (& TMT) • Media • Education
Co-Founder & CEO at Quaestor
Co-Founder and CEO at Quaestor
Most Interested In
I enjoy working with entrepreneurs who rely on first principles and the latest advancements in science and technology to tackle complex societal problems, like food security and access to professional opportunity.
Not Interested In
I try to keep my mind open.