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.
Palo Alto - California, U.S.A.
PropTech • Hospitality (& Events) • Businesses Solutions • Retail (& E-Commerce) • Entertainment (& Sports) • CleanTech • A.I. (& Big Data) • AR/VR • Cloud Services (& Infrastructure) • Impact • Medical Devices (& Hospital Services) • Real Estate (& Construction) • Healthcare (& Wellness)
Founder & Chief Firestarter, K9 Ventures
Chief Firestarter @k9-ventures
New York, U.S.A.
PropTech • FinTech (& Financials services) • HealthTech (& Fitness) • Blockchain (& Cryptos) • Gaming (& eSports) • Future Of Work • Impact • Insurance (& InsurTech) • Real Estate (& Construction) • Healthcare (& Wellness) • Consumer
Most Interested In
Real Estate Tech, E-Gaming, Blockchain, Finding the gaps of opportunity
CEO of Corigin Ventures, a provider of capital to entrepreneurs focused on transforming the status quo of an industry through the use of technology.
Lithuania, U.S.A.
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • Businesses Solutions • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • Energy • IoT (& Wearables) • CleanTech • A.I. (& Big Data) • Analytics • Impact • Logistics (& Distribution) • Woman Focused
Most Interested In energy tech and e-mobility in general. -batteries, storage and DR -recycling of Li-on batteries -new b-models -AI and Automation -digital utilities Not Interested In anything outside energy tech and e-mobility + beyond Series B or small TAM.
San Francisco Bay Area - California, U.S.A.
Media • Businesses Solutions • Retail (& E-Commerce) • CleanTech • HealthTech (& Fitness) • Gaming (& eSports) • Food & Beverage • Impact • Healthcare (& Wellness) • Mobility • Online Social • Consumer
Jeff Pomeranz serves as Managing Director at Right Side Capital Management. Pomeranz served as a Head of Alternative Investments at Legend Merchant Group. Previously, he was President of Hotovec, Pomeranz & Co., LLC, a boutique technology research, investment bank & wealth management firm located in San Francisco. He co-founded the firm in 1996. Prior to that, he joined Smith Barney in 1992 where he acted as a private client financial consultant. He began his career in 1991 as a senior fixed income account executive at McLaughlin, Piven & Vogel Securities. Jeff Pomeranz delivers private equity fund expertise and provides a securities industry perspective. For the past six years, he has worked for Legend Merchant Group in marketing and fundraising for the VC and hedge fund industry. Previously, he was the founder and President of a boutique investment bank and research firm. He holds Series 7, 24, 53, 63 & 65 licenses. His job is to make sure our offering appeals to investors.
San Francisco Bay Area - California, U.S.A. - Canada
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • BioTech • AgroTech • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • CleanTech • Blockchain (& Cryptos) • Impact • Robotics • Mobility
General Partner at FTW Ventures, improving the worldwide Food System
Most Interested In
FTW Ventures invests in innovations for the Food System, including Ag, Food, Consumer & Heath Tech. We look for great teams doing something revolutionary.
Not Interested In
Anything outside our core sectors - Ag, Food & Health
Advisor/Investor @teforia @nomiku @gelzen @ProperFood @lemnoslabs @indiebio @timeful (acq @google) @posterous (acq @twitter). CS @cornell-university
Ontario California - Toronto Ontario - Toronto (Ontario) - Toronto (), U.S.A.
PropTech • BioTech • AgroTech • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • Entertainment (& Sports) • Food & Beverage • Impact • Medical Devices (& Hospital Services) • Real Estate (& Construction) • Mobility • Consumer
Jesse Rasch is a Co-Founder and serves as Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at Hedgewood. He is the co-founder and past Chairman & CEO of WebHosting.com and InQuent Technologies. He co-founded CareGuide. InQuent provides private label hosting solutions to telecommunications customers including Bell Canada, KPN, Telecom New Zealand, PCCW, AT&T, Comcast, & Cox Communications. WebHosting.Com was one of the largest business web hosting companies in the world. In 2000, Rasch sold InQuent and WebHosting.Com to AT&T. In 2002, Rasch orchestrated a management team acquisition of InQuent from AT&T. Rasch successfully sold InQuent once more in 2003. InQuent was merged with Network Solutions and is now part of publicly traded web.com. Rasch is widely credited with establishing the white label web hosting market segment that is a significant component of the $95 billion annual web hosting market. VerticalScope, which Rasch co-founded, develops and acquires online media and community properties. VerticalScope's network of websites is visited by over 85,000,000 people per month. VerticalScope's automotive publishing division, the Modified Automotive Group, was acquired by KKR / Primedia in 2007. Torstar acquired 56% of VerticalScope in 2015. Rasch is a proponent of venture philanthropy and is active in encouraging entrepreneurs to participate in strategic philanthropy. He established the Jesse & Julie Rasch Foundation in 2000 to invest in causes that reflect Rasch's broad charitable interests. In 2001, Rasch was awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. He has been featured in Time Magazine, The Globe & Mail, Canadian Business, The National Post, Network World, Macleans, and on CBC, CTV, Global, City-TV, BNN, and many other print, televised, and radio media. He was a founding member of the Canadian E-Business Opportunities Roundtable, a joint private and public sector advisory group on e-business in Canada.
Boulder - Colorado, U.S.A.
AgroTech • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • Energy • IoT (& Wearables) • CleanTech • A.I. (& Big Data) • Blockchain (& Cryptos) • Impact • Mobility • Nanotechnology
Most Interested In
I'm most passionate about energy and environmental stewardship and human health. As a whole, Blackhorn Ventures invests in entrepreneurs who are improving resource efficiency with science and engineering-based solutions.
Palo Alto - California, U.S.A.
Education • A.I. (& Big Data) • Human Resources • Impact
General Partner at Reach Capital
General Partner in Reach Capital (an early stage venture fund for edtech startups). Started in edtech industry in 2013 as Executive Director of co.lab, an accelerator for ed-tech startups leveraging the power of games to improve educational outcomes
Former co-founder and CEO of social game developer Atakama Labs. Based in San Francisco and Santiago, Chile. Developing next generation social games on mobile platforms.
Acquired in Oct 2011 by the DeNA Group (TYO:2432). After acquisition I became VP at DeNA with roles in Studios, corporate development and as Head of Alliances.
Previously co-founder and CEO of Wanako Games, a console, PC and online videogame development company that pioneered in leveraging Latin American talent for the design and production of videogames. Wanako earned numerous awards including Game of the Year 2006 for Xbox Live by IGN.com.
After Wanako was acquired by Vivendi Inc (Paris: VIV) in December 2006, I was VP of Business Development at Sierra Online.
Previous to Wanako I had worked in the VC, Private Equity and Investment Banking industries.
Austin - Texas, U.S.A.
FinTech (& Financials services) • CleanTech • HealthTech (& Fitness) • Impact • Healthcare (& Wellness) • Consumer
General Partner at True Wealth Ventures / NSF I-Corps National Faculty / Innovation & Strategy Consultant
Kerry Rupp serves as a General Partner at True Wealth Ventures. She is an Angel Investor.
She is a Board Member at BrainCheck. For over 20 years, she has launched, developed and startup companies and new lines of business for established fir As CEO and General Partner at DreamIt, a Top Ten US startup accelerator and early-stage venture fund, Kerry was directly involved with the launch of over 150 companies. During her 5-year tenure with DreamIt, she grew its programs to five cities, raised a $20M follow-on fund, and initiated the DreamIt Access (minority entrepreneur), DreamIt Athena (female entrepreneur), and DreamIt Health progra DreamIt companies in aggregate now have a market value of over $1B. Before DreamIt, Kerry was herself the founder of an online travel service, Holiday Golightly, which organized unique group travel excursions for women. She has also advised senior executives at Allrecipes.com, ReadersDigest, LexisNexis, Payscale, and Taleo on strategy, business development and marketing. Kerry began her career as a consultant with McKinsey and Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). In addition to consulting, Kerry serves as a mentor at Capital Factory and International Accelerator and on the advisory board of Medical Innovation Labs, a platform for commercializing innovations in the medical device field. Kerry holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in Biology from Duke University. Kerry volunteers on the leadership teams of Women@Austin, The Angel Forum, and the Austin chapters of Harvard Business School Alumni Club, Harvard Business School Alumni Angels and the DukeGEN Global Entrepreneurship Network. Kerry is also a judge or coach on many local and national start-up competitions (e.g., athenahealth, Harvard Business School, Rice University Business Plan Competition, TiE Texas, Energizing Health Houston, Texas Venture Labs, AARP Health Innovation). She is also a nationally-certified instructor for the National Science Foundation's Innovations Corps (I-Corps) program.