Inc.: Inside Obama's Meeting with Entrepreneurs | Business For a Fair Minimum Wage

By Matthew Wong
Inc., Nov 29, 2012

When entrepreneur and Inc. 30 Under 30 alum Nikhil Arora received an email from the White House last Thursday to attend a small business meeting, he didn’t know exactly what to expect or even who from the Obama administration would be present. …

When the group arrived at the Roosevelt Room in the White House, they took their seats across from President Obama and senior White House staff members. Then, after water was served, they got down to it. The group launched into a conversation that covered a cross-section of topics, including capital gains taxes and middle class tax cuts to minimum wage and exports.

Because the 15 entrepreneurs at the meeting came from both venture-backed businesses and mom-and-pop stores across different business sectors, they each had specific economic points to recommend to the President. …

Dave Bolotsky, founder of online gift provider Uncommon Goods, said he advised the President to increase the minimum wage index relative to inflation and provide federal leadership on the issue of Internet sales tax. Meanwhile, Arora said he emphasized the importance of government-organized small business programs such as San Francisco’s Jobs Now! hiring program for local employees. ...