Digest Newsletter | October 2021 |
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Dear TECNA members,
If you follow me on LinkedIn, this is something I recently posted about, and because I think it is really important, I’m going to say it again. Legislation always has unintended consequences. Sometimes the consequences are good, sometimes they are bad. Sometimes they are very minor, sometimes they are massive and reshape entire systems and economic models.
The Platform Competition and Opportunity Act’s intention is to “promote competition and economic opportunity in digital markets by establishing that certain acquisitions by dominant online platforms are unlawful.” Not only do current laws already on the books set forth by the Clayton Act protect and regulate against monopolies, but this particular bill would have hugely detrimental unintended consequences for the start-up and innovation ecosystem.
This Wall Street Journal opinion piece written by serial entrepreneur Bettina Hein provides a founder’s view of what the Platform Competition and Opportunity Act can and will do to the startup-investor-acquisition system. This business model is the business model for countless startups in both the U.S. and Canada. While this is a U.S. bill, the consequences of it would absolutely impact venture capital and angel investors’ current business models, thus potentially causing them to cease investment when acquisition options are severely limited in all of North America.
I have been a part of a coalition of pro-startup organizations meeting with U.S. legislators with a goal of educating them on these unintended consequences of the Platform Competition and Opportunity Act. They have been receptive to our concerns. Often, unless one has been very close to the startup-investment-acquisition business model, there are misconceptions and ignorance on how important this model is for innovative startups to thrive and unaware of how this legislation would have these unintended consequences.
Startups make up TECNA’s member organizations. TECNA members work tirelessly to provide startups with support and resources to prosper and grow. I encourage all TECNA members to talk to your members and ask them if they are familiar with this bill and if they aren’t, send them Bettina’s story. If they are interested in contacting their legislators to tell their story and do not know who to contact, please let me know and I will get you all of the appropriate contact information to do so.
I hope you have a wonderful fall weekend!
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Jennifer G. Young
Chief Executive Officer
Technology Councils of North America
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Monthly Events Survey*
Can you take 3 minutes to complete a quick 5 question survey about your plans for in-person events at your council/association? Click Here
*If you responded to the survey last month, please submit your plans again - whether your plans have changed or not.
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2021 TECNA CEO Retreat
November 29-December 1, 2021
at Saddlebrook near Tampa, Florida
The TECNA CEO Retreat is the annual opportunity for TECNA Member CEOs and Executive Directors to get to know each other, connect to share lessons learned, and acquire new leadership skills and business development ideas. Retreat sessions are designed in response to member needs to help CEOs/EDs lead and grow their organizations.
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Registration Closing Soon |
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Park-like Hotel Courtyards |
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The MassTLC Talent community met to understand what bias is in the workplace. In Bias – Awareness to Action, the panelists explored the following: 1. Understanding bias since to be human is to have bias. 2. Mitigation, how to change your thinking and your actions. 3. Intentionality, how to proactively interrupt bias actions.
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TechPoint shared how the Indiana tech community has stepped up in a big way to help the 6,600+ Afgan refugees given temporary housing at Camp Atterbury south of Indianapolis. Spearheaded by the Indianapolis chapter of Black Data Professional Association, Casted, Society for Information Management, Indianapolis Chapter and TechPoint Foundation for Youth, #OperationAlliesWelcome has organized donations sufficient to establish a computer lab and educational courses. The Indiana effort was so well received, the Department of Homeland Security has asked that the organizers replicate the computer lab at other bases. - read more. |
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Knoxville Tech Council is hosting the KTech Pulse Summit on November 4 celebrating the achievements in the tech industry in the greater Knoxville region and throughout the state of Tennessee. Learn more and register for the virtual event online. |
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Chief Operating Officer COI
This new peer group will meet every second Tuesday of the month at 4:00 EST
Someone in the group will serve as moderator each month, and a topic for loose discussion unless another more pressing issue is on the table. A TECNA COO Slack Channel was also established so that you’re easily able to communicate with your peers.
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CEO Happy Hour
Third Thursday Each Month at 3:30pm PT/6:30pm ET via Zoom
All TECNA Member CEOs and Executive Directors are invited to this informal Zoom gathering each month. Come if you can and stay as short or as long as you can! Some months we will have discussion topics and if so, they will be circulated ahead of time. Contact Jennifer Young at jyoung@tecna.org.
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Best Practices Databank
We're gathering Member Documents and Best Practices to add to TECNA's databank of resources available to all TECNA Members.
Documents available to all TECNA Member Staff on the Resources tab when you login to tecna.org/login include Job Descriptions, Governance Docs, Event Best Practices, Membership Structures and more.
If you have files you're willing to share with the TECNA membership, please send them to Alina at ahardy@tecna.org
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TECNA Public Policy Advocacy |
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Visit our website for the full U.S. Public Policy Agenda - click here.
News Coverage:
Register online to be added to the US or Canadian Public Policy Committees mailing lists - click here. |
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TECNA Communities of Interest |
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TECNA Communities of Interest (COI) are peer-to-peer collaborations and information-sharing groups exclusively for members: communications, events, membership, public policy and workforce.
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Upcoming COI Webinars
Membership COI
Friday, November 12, 10:00amPT/1:00pm ET
Workforce COI
Wednesday, December 8, 10:00amPT/1:00pmET
Missed a Webinar?
Past COI webinar recordings and slide decks are available for download in the members-only portal on the TECNA website. Login at tecna.org/login and click on the Resources tab to view.
Requests or ideas for Community of Interest webinar topics, contact the COI Chairs:
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TECNA Discount for Premier Virtual
We are very pleased to announce TECNA has partnered with Premier Virtual to offer a 2021 TECNA Discount for their platform which offers virtual career fairs and virtual hiring events:
- First Individual Event with Premier Virtual - TECNA Member Cost $3,500
- Additional Individual Events - TECNA Member Cost $4,000
- Yearly License - TECNA Member Cost $15,300 (30% discount)
We are thrilled to offer this TECNA discount! We encourage you to reach out to Jamie Varraso at Premier Virtual directly with any questions about this software that bridges the gap between technology and human interaction.
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TECNA 401k Program Offering
TECNA is partnered with 401(k) Tech Collective to offer the TECNA National 401(k) Program. This is a national retirement program built by the WTIA, one of our member associations. This program has been constructed specifically for technology organizations.
This partnership enables you to offer this exclusive program to your own member companies, providing additional value to their membership and helping them attract and retain talent in this competitive time. It also opens the door to a new revenue opportunity for your association.
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TECNA Health Insurance Benefit
TECNA offers a health insurance benefit for members, as well your members. TECNA is committed to helping member councils provide additional value to you, your staff and your members. Insurance is one area where TECNA may be able to offer immediate savings on items for which you and your members are currently paying. Your council must be a member of TECNA in good standing to qualify for this benefit. Please click here to see an overview of TECNA’s Health Insurance Benefit.
Coming Soon: Member General Liability, Professional Liability (Errors & Omissions) Cyber Liability, Property & Workers Compensation Insurance.
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Join TECNA's community on Slack exclusively for TECNA Member Council staff. Slack Channels include membership, events, talent/workforce, policy and private channel for CEOs. |
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TECNA Members Only
You can group chat, private message, share files and search the discussion archive for help and best practices shared by other members.
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Subscribe to TECNA Calendars |
Click a link below and follow the prompts to synchronize with the default calendar on your system (if available). To synchronize with a different calendar, copy and paste the desired URL into your calendar software in the location where feeds are accepted, often identified with "Subscribe", "Add Calendar", etc.
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Thank You to TECNA's Strategic Sponsors |
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Keep Us Informed
We are always looking to provide valuable content to TECNA members. If you have any suggestions for content in the TECNA Digest, please email: news@tecna.org. |
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