It’s time for tech startups to get political

Xiao WangContributorXiao Wang is CEO at Boundless, a technology startup that has helped thousands of immigrant families apply for marriage green cards and U.S. citizenship while providing affordable access to independent immigration attorneys.More posts by this contributor

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Between 2005 and 2018, the five biggest U.S. tech firms collectively spent more than half a billion dollars lobbying federal policymakers. But they shelled out even more in 2019: Facebook boosted its lobbying budget by 25%, while Amazon hiked its political outlay by 16%. Together, America's biggest tech firms spent almost $64 million in a bid to shape federal policies.

Clearly, America's tech giants feel they're getting value for their money. But as CEO of Boundless, a 40-employee startup that doesn't have millions of dollars to invest in political lobbying, I'm proposing another way. One of the things we care most about at Boundless is immigration. And while we've yet to convince Donald Trump and Stephen Miller that immigrants are a big part of what makes America great - hey, we're working on it! - we've found that when you have a clear message and a clear mission, even a startup can make a big difference.

So how can scrappy tech companies make a splash in the current political climate? Here are some guiding principles we've learned.

1) Speak out

You can't make a difference if you don't make some noise. A case in point: Boundless is spearheading the business community's pushback against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's "public charge rule." This sweeping immigration reform would preclude millions of people from obtaining U.S. visas and green cards - and therefore make it much harder for American businesses to hire global talent - based on a set of new, insurmountable standards. We're doing that not by cutting checks to K Street but by using our own expertise, creativity and people skills - the very things that helped make our company a success in the first place.

By leveraging our unique strengths - including our own proprietary data - we've been able to put together a smart, business-focused amicus brief urging courts to strike down the public charge rule. And because we combine immigration-specific expertise with a real understanding of the issues that matter most to tech companies, we've been able to convince more than 100 other firms - such as Microsoft, Twitter, Warby Parker, Levi Strauss & Co. and Remitly - to cosign our amicus brief. Will that be enough to persuade the courts and steer federal policy in immigrants' favor? The jury's still out. But whatever happens, we take satisfaction in knowing that we're doing everything we can on behalf of the entire immigrant community, not just our customers, in defense of a cause we're passionate about.

2) Take a stand

Taking a stand is risky, but staying silent is a gamble, too: Consumers are increasingly socially conscious, and almost nine out of 10 said in one survey that they prefer to buy from brands that take active steps to support the causes they care about. It depends a bit on the issue, though. One survey found that trash-talking the president will win you brownie points from millennials but cost you support among Baby Boomers, for instance.

So pick your battles - but remember that media-savvy consumers can smell a phony a mile off. It's important to choose causes you truly stand behind and then put your money where your mouth is. At Boundless, we do that by hiring a diverse workforce - not just immigrants, but also women (we're over 60%), people of color (35%) and LGBTQ+ (15%) - and putting time and energy into helping them succeed. Figure out what authenticity looks like for your company, and make sure you're living your values as well as just talking about them.

3) Band together

Tech giants might have a bigger megaphone, but there are a lotof startups in our country, and quantity has a quality all its own. In fact, the Small Business Administration reported in 2018 that there are 30.2 million small businesses in the United States, 414,000 of which are classified as "startups." So instead of trying to shout louder, try forging connections with other smart, up-and-coming companies with unique voices and perspectives of their own.

At Boundless, we routinely reach out to the other startups that have received backing from our own investor groups - national networks such as Foundry Group, Trilogy Equity Partners, Pioneer Square Labs, Two Sigma Ventures and Flybridge Capital Partners - in the knowledge that these companies will share many of our values and be willing to listen to our ideas.

For startups, the venture capitalists, accelerators and incubators that helped you launch and grow can be an incredible resource: Leverage their expertise and Rolodexes to recruit a posse of like-minded startups and entrepreneurs that can serve as a force multiplier for your political activism. Instead of taking a stand as a single company, you could potentially rally dozens of companies - from a range of sectors and unique weights in their fields - on board for your advocacy efforts.

4) Use your superpowers

Every company has a few key superpowers, and the same things that make you a commercial success can help to sway policymakers, too. Boundless uses data and design to make the immigration process more straightforward, and number-crunching and messaging skills come in handy when we're doing advocacy work, too.

Our data-driven report breaking down naturalization trends and wait times by location made a big splash, for instance, and not just in top-ranked Cleveland. We presented our findings to Congress, and soon afterward some Texas lawmakers began demanding reductions in wait times for would-be citizens. We can't prove our advocacy was the deciding factor, but it's likely that our study helped nudge them in the right direction.

5) Work the media

Whether you're Bill Gates or a small-business owner, if you're quoted in The New York Times, then your voice will reach the same people. Reporters love to feel like they're including quotes from the "little guy," so make yourself accessible, and learn to give snappy, memorable quotes to reporters, and you'll soon find that they keep you on speed dial.

Our phones rang off the hook when Trump tried to push through a healthcare mandate by executive order, for instance, and our founders were quoted by top media outlets - from Reuters to Rolling Stone.It takes a while to build media relationships and establish yourself as a credible source, but it's a great way to win national attention for your advocacy.

6) Know your lawmakers

To make a difference, you'll need allies in the corridors of power. Reach out to your senators and congresspeople, and get to know their staffers, too. Working in politics is often thankless, and many aides love to hear from new voices, especially ones who are willing to stake out controversial positions on big issues, sound the alarm on bad policies or help move the Overton window to enable better solutions.

We've often found that prior to hearing from us, lawmakers simply hadn't considered the special challenges faced by smaller tech companies, such as lack of internal legal, human and financial resources, to comply with various regulations. And those lawmakers come away from our meetings with a better understanding of the need to craft straightforward policies that won't drown small businesses in red tape.

Political change doesn't just happen in the Capital Beltway, so make a point of reaching out to your municipal and state-level leaders, too. In 2018, Boundless pitched to the Civic I/O Mayors Summit at SXSW because we knew that municipal leaders played a critical role in welcoming new Americans into our communities. Local policies and legislation can have a big impact on startups, and the support of local leaders remains a critical foundation for the kinds of change we want to see made to the U.S. immigration system.

Take the next step

It's easy to make excuses or expect someone else to advocate on your behalf. But if there's something you think the government could be doing better, then you have an obligation to use your company's energy, talent and connections to push back and create momentum for reform. Sure, it would be nice to splash money around and hire a phalanx of lobbyists to shape public policy - but it's perfectly possible to make a big difference without spending a dime.

But first, figure out what you stand for and what strengths and superpowers you can leverage to bear the problems you and your customers face. Above all, don't be afraid to take a stand.