We all deserve the right to build our dreams.

It’s time we level
the playing field.

Right to Start is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that fights to expand entrepreneurial opportunity for all. We drive civic change through: grassroots organizing and mobilizing, policy advocacy and engagement, and lifting the voices of entrepreneurs through media and storytelling.

Your dreams are the spark for the future.

You have a right to grow that spark into a flame. But the system is tilted against you. It’s time we change that.

Right to Start is fighting for your right to pursue your dreams, build a business, earn a living. We seek to unleash entrepreneurial opportunity for everyone.

Watch this video to see an example of how our Advocates are speaking up and breaking barriers.

Daymara's Story: One person’s mission to unleash the Right to Start

It’s time we live up to the original promise of America.

Everyone has a fundamental right to start and grow their entrepreneurial dreams.

 

The system is tilted in favor of the biggest players, against little newcomers. Too many of us are left out.

Whether you’re building a new business, doing a side hustle, or making an independent living, the system makes it too hard. We demand a fair shot.

Learn more about our guiding principles and the fight to unleash entrepreneurial opportunity for all.

Get the Key Points

Entrepreneurs create jobs, wealth, and stronger communities. But our system makes it hard for them to start and grow. Better policies make a big difference.

Learn the facts for yourself.

The Lucky Entrepreneur Coin™ is the first-ever gift for everyone starting their own business.

Starting a business can be hard and lonely. Giving a Lucky Entrepreneur Coin shows someone you care, you believe in them, and you support their right to build their dreams. 

We’re Improving Laws

In just the last four years, 15 state legislatures have introduced over 40 Right to Start Acts and other bills based on our policy recommendations. The first Right to Start Act has been enacted into law in Nevada.

This is just the beginning. Right to Start Acts are comprehensive policies that make it easier for people to start and grow new businesses. Each state or city can devise its own Right to Start approach to fit different circumstances. We have the ideas to help you get started. Here’s a Field Guide for Policymakers with specific steps.

American voters want their leaders to support their entrepreneurial dreams.

Bipartisan Public Opinion Survey Reveals Significant Insights for Growing New Businesses and Jobs in America

National News Coverage

See how Right to Start is making news nationwide. Click any image below to view full article.

National News
AI Funding Booms, Everything Else Swoons. A Look at the State of Entrepreneurship

AI Funding Booms, Everything Else Swoons. A Look at the State of Entrepreneurship

Inc. Article

There's no stopping startups, but they continue to face headwinds and fundraising difficulties. And the upcoming election could throw everything into flux.

#GEC2023 Day 3: Research, Reform, Bad Ideas, And Conflict

#GEC2023 Day 3: Research, Reform, Bad Ideas, And Conflict

Inc. Article

Preposterously Bad Ideas Still Circulate About Entrepreneurship Policy … This agenda is populated by ideas that have either been proven wrong already or go so against the grain of what entrepreneurship is about that it’s hard to believe they’re still seriously considered.

Kansas City Replaces Interstate Rivalry With Collaboration to Help Entrepreneurs

Kansas City Replaces Interstate Rivalry With Collaboration to Help Entrepreneurs

Inc. Article

Once they competed to lure businesses and jobs across state lines. Now Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, offer a new model for regional economic development.

Curbing the SBA, Taking on China, and Other Small-Business Policies GOP Candidates Are Eyeing

Curbing the SBA, Taking on China, and Other Small-Business Policies GOP Candidates Are Eyeing

Inc. Article

Four GOP candidates for president laid out some of their small-business objectives. Not everything discussed is exactly small-business friendly.

Is Entrepreneurship A Human Right? This Longtime Champion Believes It Should Be.

Is Entrepreneurship A Human Right? This Longtime Champion Believes It Should Be.

New Builders Dispatch Feature

Supporting the Right to Start

Supporting the Right to Start

Startup Champions Network Feature

Three years ago, SCN Member Victor Hwang launched a new initiative and organization based on a single, but powerful premise: Everyone has the right to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams… a Right to Start.

Leveling the Playing Field with Right to Start

Leveling the Playing Field in Entrepreneurship wth Right to Start

Founded Connect Podcast Interview

Raleigh Founded's recent partner, Right to Start, is fighting for your right to pursue your dreams, build a business, earn a living. We dive into their efforts to unleash entrepreneurial opportunity for everyone.

Emerging Now: The Legislative Reform Movement for Entrepreneurs

Emerging Now: The Legislative Reform Movement for Entrepreneurs

Inc. Feature

It's time that entrepreneurs and small-business owners had advocates in government who appreciate the crucial role that new companies play in our society.

Business Friendly Cities: How Modern One-Stop Shops Foster Business Success

Business Friendly Cities: How Modern One-Stop Shops Foster Business Success

National League of Cities Interview

And yet, when we survey local governments, there is near consensus: It is not easy for entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses.

Here is the hard truth. Entrepreneurs in your community are struggling through dozens of regulations, paying thousands of dollars in fees, and investing months of their time to do something we all want to accelerate — provide quality services, hire new employees, and pay local taxes.

On the one hand, entrepreneurs are told that they are welcome and desired, while on the other, they face delays and complications when working with their local government.

Where Jobs and Growth Really Come from: New Businesses (Copy)

Where Jobs and Growth Really Come from: New Businesses

Governing Commentary

Focusing just a small fraction of our economic development resources on supporting entrepreneurs can benefit all communities. And it’s good politics.

See the civic actions taken and barriers identified here!

Elevate the entrepreneurial spirit in everyone, everywhere

Right to Start hosted its first-ever regional summit, the “Celebration of Entrepreneurship” at The Momentary in Bentonville, Arkansas, in August 2023. Every attendee became an active contributor and collaborator in helping to level the playing field for entrepreneurs. The Summit featured “Call-to-Action” stations (where attendees took civic actions like writing letters to their state legislators), a maker’s marketplace (where local entrepreneurs sold their products), and local entertainers and artisans.