For many entrepreneurs,
it's business-as-usual, as they get back to work following the shutdown of the
federal government Monday night.
This is especially true
for owners who lead consumer products or business services companies, and don't
depend on government contracts for revenue. For now, those parts of the economy
seems stable.
For some perspective, Inc. reached
out to a dozen well-known entrepreneurs. Most did not make themselves available
to comment. Their lack of response stands in marked contrast to entrepreneurs
of smaller, lesser-known companies, many of whom deal directly with the
government, who were eager to talk about--and disparage--the shutdown earlier
this week.
Here's what they had to
say.
Gary Vaynerchuk:
People Go on Defense--I Go on Offense
"I never pay
attention to them," oenophile and media entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk said
via Twitter, referring to financial crises, including the federal government
shutdown and the impending threat of default.
"My best business
years have been in worst 'global business years'," Vaynerchuk wrote,
adding such periods are a great time to go on the offensive, rather than
retrench.
Steve Case:
Politicians Are in the Way
AOL founder and current
Revolution chief executive and chairman Steve Case said it was necessary for
politicians to rebuild a political center, and to negotiate.
"Don't like
it," Case said hours before the shutdown on Monday, during a sit-down
meeting at Inc.'s New York offices. "There is a difference
between policy and politics, and politicians have gotten in the way of good
policy."
What's needed is quiet
diplomacy, rather than the shrillness of the current debate. And the fault is
not only with politicians.
"As citizens, we
are to blame too," Case added.
Sandy Lerner:
What's Going on in Washington is a Disgrace
Serial entrepreneur
Sandy Lerner, a Cisco co-founder, founder of cosmetics line Urban Decay, and
owner of organic meat farm Ayreshire Farm, said she was most concerned for the
furloughed government employees and other consumers who are unwitting recipients
of the economic blowback caused by the shutdown.
"I don't think the
shutdown does anything except jerk the lowest-level government employees
around, the people who really need the money," Lerner wrote in an email.
"It's disgraceful. I propose that the legislatures lose 10 percent of
their annual salary for every day the government is shut down, including
weekends."
If that doesn't work,
Lerner says the penalty should be increased to 20 percent.
Howard Tullman:
The Shutdown Will Hit Startups Hardest
Serial entrepreneur
Howard Tullman, who is currently chairman of Chicago's Tribeca Flashpoint Media
Arts Academy and managing partner of High Tech Investment Partners, said the
shutdown would be felt most intensely by startups.
Tullman says on
Wednesday morning he met with a startup coffee roaster in the middle of a
growth spurt. The company owner was expecting a Small Business Administration
loan of about $150,000, which he intended to use to buy more equipment. But the
coffee entrepreneur discovered today that loan has been put on hold due the
government closure, which also shuttered the SBA.
"Our economy
depends on growth and innovation and entrepreneurship," Tullman said.
What's necessary,
Tullman says, is for both Democrats and Republicans to come to the table and
split the difference.
"But," he
added, "Obama is so fixated on [the Affordable Care Act] as the only thing
he's accomplished, he is not willing to move.
JEREMY QUITTNER is a staff writer for Inc. magazine and
Inc.com. He previously covered technology for American Banker and
entrepreneurship for BusinessWeek.
@JeremyQuittner
@JeremyQuittner
