Partnerships are everything in Venture Capital.  Without the important relationships we develop with our limited partners, investment syndicates, portfolio companies and our own personal networks, the VC industry would not exist.  And I think it would do our economy a world of good if Washington, D.C. and the business community established some of the same high value partnerships we create in the VC world.  It’s time for us to put aside the partisanship, engage in meaningful policy debate and really come together for the common good. 

Business Forward  is an organization that is taking on this noble cause.  They are bringing together key policymakers and innovative business leaders to openly discuss the important challenges and opportunities our country faces.  The organization is focusing its efforts on several broad principles relating to job creation, health care, education, energy, the environment, innovation and have recently expanded their outreach to include trade and immigration.

I have attended three Business Forward events this year:  a CEO Roundtable with U.S. Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu ;  in early April, Ron Bloom, Senior Counselor to the U.S. President on Manufacturing Policy, met with 20 leading Silicon Valley CEO & entrepreneurs in manufacturing; and a Clean Energy Investments Roundtable with Executive Director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs, Jonathan Silver.

 I observed some very refreshing differences between Business Forward’s events and similar events I have attended in the past:

• Steven Chu, Ron Bloom and Jonathan Silver all traveled to Silicon Valley to meet with us.  They  escaped the confines of the Beltway and were getting some real world experience with business leaders.
• These three gentlemen also showed up ready to listen and it actually seemed as if they had left their egos at the door.
• The groups were small, only 25-30 people in the room maximum, so it was a face-to-face, very intimate gathering.
• There was no censorship in these discussions.  Everything was on the table.  And I didn’t get the feeling that these guys were reading from a list of talking points.
• The policymakers actually got to hear firsthand what effects their policies are having on the business world.
• No lobbyists.

We need to continue these extremely valuable discussions.  The business community and government need to collaborate more around what scientific breakthroughs are worth funding and let’s put our dollars there.  Our government needs Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to work with D.C. policymakers to help revitalize the manufacturing sector.  We need each other.  With Business Forward, we are moving in the right direction.