How Startups and Governments Can Work Together

This article is written by Jeremiah Uke, a Contributor Author at Startup Istanbul.

In the 21st century, we have witnessed quite a good number of startups flourish in sectors greatly controlled by the government, startups such as Uber, PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla all play in sectors regulated by the government but all have managed to make the government regulations work for them in positive ways.

Evan Burfield, Co-founder of a technology firm called 1776, shares from his experience seeing startups spring up in several cities of the world, how startups working with the government leads to greater impact and a more convenient growth. Evan uses the term “Regulatory Hacking” to define how entrepreneurs can build startups in regulated markets that are intertwined with government.

For starters, an entrepreneur who aims at building a product that can meaningfully improve the lives of millions of people, should have the government as it’s biggest supporter, because the government sets the basic resources which its citizens build upon to make a life and living. Policies set by the government are responsible for addressing a number of basic issues which affect the livelihood of citizens, industries like food, power, security, finance, technology, education, employment, healthcare to mention a few are greatly influenced by regulations made by the government, in today’s world it's hard to find startups that do not operate in at least one of those sectors.

The future of technology is tending to concepts such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, cryptocurrency, autonomous cars, these concepts are all applicable to regulated markets such as transportation, healthcare, finance, security and the rest, so if you are an entrepreneur aiming to delve into futuristic technology, you might just want to keep the government in mind.

Also, tech startups are diversifying beyond Silicon Valley to other cities to take advantage of expertise and history in agriculture, manufacturing, or healthcare. Its basically like a spreading wildfire, meaning there are opportunities in each city experiencing the tech revolution, it also implies that the regulations and policies on markets also differ just as the cities do, so there are diverse options when looking for where dive into as an entrepreneur. It's up to you find the place with regulations tailored for your startup to thrive.

Startups are also getting into solving problems that would previously have been left to the government, problems such as sustainable cities, infrastructure, waste management, recycling, energy conservation are all being championed by startups in today’s world, this creates room for partnerships and support from the government for these startups since they are basically helping the government with their jobs.

So dear young entrepreneur, wouldn’t you rather build a startup that would synchronize with the government regulations, open doors for support from the government for you, and set the basis for a successful run for your startup. It’s definitely time to infuse the culture of being open to work with the government in startups today.

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