190. Immigration, Privacy, and Foreign Investment -- The Biggest Threat to Venture is in Washington D.C. (Bobby Franklin)

Bobby Franklin of NVCA joins Nick to discuss Immigration, Privacy, and Foreign Investment -- The Biggest Threat to Venture is in Washington D.C.. In this episode, we cover: Backstory/path to Capitol Hill. You served as the Executive Vice President of CTIA --tell us a bit about that experience and how it led to NVCA. At NVCA - what's the mandate? What specific actions does the organization take in order to deliver on this mandate? You just wrapped up NVCA’s annual VC’s to DC conference this month-- What were the three most critical issues that Venture Capital is facing? I came across your article on TechCrunch about FIRRMA (the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act) and CFIUS (the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.). Can you talk a bit about the issue the industry is facing and the key players? What suggestions do you have for VCs and high growth companies -- with exposure to FIRRMA and the expanded power of CFIUS? At the VCs to DC conference there was a panel on the rise of populism…Trends from trade to immigration, tax policy and cross-border financial flows, that are rapidly impacting global commerce - Can you talk a bit about these issues and their impact on the ecosystem? Currently large tech companies are under increased scrutiny in DC and policymakers are cracking down on data privacy regulation, antitrust enforcement, etc. Do you think this “techlash” is appropriate or not? What guidance or insight would you give entrepreneurs to ensure that their companies are operating within regulatory boundaries? Any other suggestions for the audience -- a mix of VCs, LPs, Angels and Founders -- on specific things we all can do to support this asset class in D.C.? To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.