Mayor Bloomberg Welcomes FastTrac Participants

On March 23rd, 2009, Mayor Bloomberg Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert C. Lieber and Department of Small Business Services (SBS) Commissioner Robert W. Walsh welcomed some of New York City's future entrepreneurs enrolled in the first FastTrac NewVenture program being offered by the City of New York and hosted at The Levin Institute. FastTrac will help emerging entrepeneurs, including those displaced from the financial services sector, start new businesses, as well as help existing entrepeneurs run their businesses.

Mayor Bloomberg notes: "New York City's workforce is the hardest-working and most talented in the nation, and that's the asset we cannot afford to squander...In February, we announced 11 initiatives to promote business innovation through entrepreneurial activity, and today we are launching one of the most important - the FastTrac NewVenture - to help foster New York City's future entrepreneurs. Increasing the number of entrepreneurs will not only create new jobs, it will help create the companies that - when the good times return - will be ready to capitalize on new opportunities."

Mayor Bloomberg Operated by New York City’s Small Business Services, FastTrac is a proven program of the Kauffman Foundation to help individuals formulate business plans, and advance through the steps to set up their own start-up ventures. Levin Institute hosted the first session of FastTrac, which began in March, and will continued two days a week into April.

There are currently 28 FastTrac participants; an estimated 1,000 people in New York City are expected to take advantage of Kauffman FastTrac programs over the coming year.

For more information, or to register for FastTrac, click here.

Click here to watch the press conference with Mayor Bloomberg.