VIPdesk CEO Mary Naylor Joins U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Carl Schramm, President and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation as a 'State of Entrepreneurship' Address Panelist

In 'State of Entrepreneurship' Address Naylor reinforces the vital role that small business job creation plays in the road to U.S. economic recovery


(WASHINGTON, DC), Jan. 21, 2010-VIPdesk CEO and Co-founder Mary Naylor reinforced the vital role that entrepreneurs play in creating the jobs that will lead to economic recovery as a panelist during the 'State of Entrepreneurship Address' presented by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation on January 19, 2010. Naylor was joined by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Carl Schramm, President and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, in calling for policymakers to make support for new businesses-a cornerstone of American capitalism-a priority, in order to drive economic recovery.

Naylor believes that the 600,000 small businesses founded every year in the United States will serve as the foundation on which economic recovery is based. "Small business will grow us out of the recession as small businesses create much-needed jobs," says Naylor, a career entrepreneur who has created thousands of jobs at two companies that she founded over the past 20 years. This belief is echoed by the Kauffman Foundation, which reports that all net job creation in the past 30 years has taken place in firms less than five years old.

Naylor and other entrepreneurs are looking to the government to pass legislation that is small business friendly in order to get the economy moving in the right direction. "Our policymakers need to change the political landscape and provide some incentives for small businesses to grow," Naylor continues. "Billions of dollars have been given to large corporations to help them through the current economic crisis. Now, increased attention needs to be given to entrepreneurs to enable them to generate new jobs that are vital to our economic recovery."

Naylor suggests policies including tax incentives for an alternate workforce such as the home-based workforce utilized by VIPdesk, and tax benefits for hiring and training. "For small businesses, every penny saved in taxes matters. All dollars that have to go out the door are crucial for small businesses. Every dollar that a small business has to pay in taxes is a dollar that otherwise can't be used to create jobs, and thus the increase tax base for our entire economy." The Kauffman Foundation also believes in a re-evaluation of taxes on small business, and recommends a temporary payroll tax holiday for companies under five years old.

Other policy recommendations that the Kauffman Foundation believes will help set the country on a path toward economic recovery include reforming immigration policy in favor of entrepreneurial immigrants, revising certain Sarbanes-Oxley regulations that may impede growth, and giving academic entrepreneurs the choice of multiple ways in which to commercialize their research in order for their innovations to reach consumers more quickly. The Kauffman Foundation also focuses on educating American students in entrepreneurship-starting with entrepreneurship education and training to students in high school and college and offering fellowships for doctoral graduates in scientific fields intended to educate them on how to start companies.

Naylor was joined by panelists Reggie Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Cvent, a Washington-based profitable venture-backed CRM software company with 500+ employees; and Frank L. Douglas, president and CEO of the Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron, Ohio and former founder and executive director of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Center for Biomedical Innovation.

More information on the 2010 State of the Entrepreneurship address is available at www.kauffman.org/soe.

About VIPdesk

VIPdesk is the innovative leader of outsourced virtual customer care solutions for companies who view their brand reputation as a significant asset, and for whom a quality customer experience is not a luxury, but a necessity. VIPdesk specializes in delivering virtual contact center solutions in several industries including retail, travel, automotive and financial services. We serve more than 40 blue-chip clients with over 10 million customers and are continually recognized through numerous awards, including the Inc. 500, Inc. 5000, NCBEA Business Ethics Award, Stevie Awards for Women in Business and Smart CEO Future 50. To find out more about VIPdesk, visit www.vipdesk.com and follow @VIPdesk on Twitter.

About the Kauffman Foundation

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private, nonpartisan foundation that works to harness the power of entrepreneurship and innovation to grow economies and improve human welfare. Through its research and other initiatives, the Kauffman Foundation aims to open young people's eyes to the possibility of entrepreneurship, promote entrepreneurship education, raise awareness of entrepreneurship-friendly policies and find alternative pathways for the commercialization of new knowledge and technologies. It also works to prepare students to be innovators, entrepreneurs and skilled workers in the 21st century economy through initiatives designed to improve learning in math, engineering, science and technology. Founded by late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman, the Foundation is based in Kansas City, Mo., and has approximately $2 billion in assets. For more information, visit www.kauffman.org, and follow @kauffmanfdn on Twitter.

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