Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. The United States leads the global economy on innovation. There are a lot of pieces of the innovation agenda, some that Republicans and Democrats disagree on, some that they agree on. I am pleased to be here today on a small but important piece that can help move the innovation agenda forward, help America retain and grow its competitive advantage. Let me set the scene. This could be a ballroom at a university, it could be a theater that is rented out for the night. There might be 5 or 10 teams of entrepreneurs who worked hard on their business plans. Perhaps they were part of some business plan competition to refine what they call their pitch deck. The audience fills out. Who is in the audience? It wouldn't be a worthwhile event if there weren't potential investors there. So, of course, the bulk of the audience--it could be half, it could be three-quarters, it could be most of it--will be accredited investors. They are the only people who can invest in these companies. Who else should be in the room? Who do we want to make sure that we don't seal off the opportunity to learn and gain from that experience? Well, it could be university faculty, graduate students, professors. They don't happen to be worth $2 million, but they might have technical expertise. They might be able to be consultants.…”