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Senators consider bill to create state Office of Entrepreneurship to coordinate supports for startups
Summary
Representative Jonathan Warrie told senators House Bill 1191 would establish an Office of Entrepreneurship to coordinate state and local programs, streamline processes and publish a "state of entrepreneurship" report focused on businesses’ first five years.
Representative Jonathan Warrie introduced House Bill 1191 as legislation to establish an Office of Entrepreneurship to help early-stage businesses find services, capital and training across North Dakota.
Warrie said the office would coordinate existing programs—university innovation centers, Small Business Development Centers, regional economic-development offices and private-sector incubators—rather than replace them. "This is to establish an office of entrepreneurship in the state," Warrie said, adding the office would focus on helping businesses in their first five years and would connect entrepreneurs to appropriate resources.
Why it matters: supporters argued the lack of a single coordinating point forces founders to search widely for help and often relocate to Fargo or out of state to access accelerators, mentors and follow-on capital. Backers described the bill as foundational: a low-overhead office that would aggregate services, publish performance data and help match entrepreneurs to local programs.
Entrepreneurs and support organizations testified in favor. Bryce Warrie, CEO of PaveWise, described his company’s path from a construction startup to a software and AI product: after spending his own funds he relocated to Fargo to access incubator programs, and he said he would not have reached his current scale without those connections. "If I would've never picked up and made the move connected with Greg Tavine, with G Beta ... I would have quit," Warrie said, recounting how accelerator programs and local networks led to customers and growth.
Greg Tavine, CEO of Emerging Prairie, and other witnesses said Fargo’s entrepreneurship hub works well but rural and western parts of the state lack similar centralized networks. Tavine and others supported an office that could seed regional hubs and collect best practices. The bill’s text places the office inside the Department of Commerce and requires a biennial "state of entrepreneurship" report that includes metrics and a proposed plan to remove barriers to starting and growing businesses.
Committee questions focused on placement and budget. The House version removed a $485,000 line-item and left staffing and funding to Commerce’s budget process; Warrie said he put the office in Commerce because most other states put similar offices there and because Commerce could absorb staff within its budget if appropriators choose. The committee and witnesses discussed alternative placements and regional approaches; the Economic Development Association of North Dakota sent neutral testimony that recommended considering regionally tailored supports.
No vote was taken at the hearing. Supporters asked the committee to advance the concept and to work with Commerce and regional partners to shape duties and funding. Several testifiers—entrepreneurs, investors and university-affiliated staff—offered to help implement a small, focused office and to supply a clearinghouse of events, mentorship and training that could reach communities beyond Fargo.
The hearing included testimony from Representative Jonathan Warrie (bill sponsor), Bryce Warrie (CEO, PaveWise), Greg Tavine (CEO, Emerging Prairie), Todd Pringle (7 01 Fund / Dakota Digital Academy), Nathan Schneider (Economic Development Association of North Dakota), and other entrepreneurs and local economic-development representatives.
