Startup America is the Whitehouse policy program to create jobs and stimulate the economy through enabling more entrepreneurs to start new businesses.

The recent financial crisis has had such a dreadful impact on so many families that this initiative is almost like a post-war effort to rebuild the country from the devastation.

And it's a global effort too really. This impact ripped through the rest of the world in the same way, and will only be repaired when the USA is returned to their central growth engine role.

OpenRFP.net
OpenRFP.net is more than here to do its part. Our site and program is designed exactly to support this program in a number of ways:

• Social Investment Marketplace - First and foremost, with big bailouts for banks that generate millions for the few while the many suffer, it's clear we cannot simply rebuild the same flawed system. We want many more social entrepreneurs: profit + purpose, so that we build a better system.

• Open Idea Innovation - We provide a facility for any one to submit a new 'Venture Idea', and also for other members to join the site as Mentors, who can publicly review these ideas, providing helpful advice that is available for other entrepreneurs to learn from.

• Community Business Plan - Ideas are fast-tracked into fundable startups through our Community Business Plan system. We use state of the art Cloud Computing business software to enable teams of mentors to help quickly build a compelling case for investment.

• Expert groups - We provide expert groups to help mentors 'cluster' together around particular skills or industry opportunities. These are also fostered on other social networks, for example I run one called Cloud Ventures to help advance new startups in the Cloud Computing field.

Procurement-linked Innovation - And finally, the overall purpose of the site, by linking Venture Ideas to existing government procurement through RFPs and Grants, we build in proof of concept at the design stage, setting in motion a fast-track process.

For example the key value of VMaware is defined by how it can play a core role in the Elections Canada cloud hosting bid.

• Ernst & Young LLP Joins Startup America to Accelerate Entrepreneurial Growth
• Microsoft Works With Startup America Partnership to Support Entrepreneurs
• New Startup America Partnership Commitments from Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, American Express, Intuit and others to Support Tens of Thousands of U.S. Startups