Tusk Strategies, a regulatory consultancy and Uber adviser headed by a former aide to Rod Blagojevich, has launched a firm to help startups who are trying to change the rules.
Tusk Ventures, with offices in Chicago, New York and Miami, will select 10 to 12 young companies in highly regulated sectors to work with each year in exchange for an equity stake. It will also work with Uber, which continues to clash with governments over various laws.
After leaving the Blagojevich administration, where he was deputy governor, Bradley Tusk headed to New York and was later a campaign manager for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Tusk Ventures, announced Monday, is described as “the nation’s first political strategy firm focused solely on helping startups navigate the political, regulatory and media hurdles that come with disrupting an entrenched industry.”
Its leaders are political and corporate veterans including another former Illinois deputy governor, Bob Greenlee, who resigned as Blagojevich faced federal corruption charges in 2008.
Tusk Ventures will work with companies including tech-focused trade school General Assembly, data and analytics company Zendrive and Uber to help companies “analyze and navigate regulatory and political challenges at local, state and national levels and pursue opportunities in the public sphere,” according to a statement Monday.
More Top Picks Mulch
The firm will announce other partner companies this fall.
“The next generation of great tech-enabled startups are more likely to emerge in industries where government plays an active role as a regulator and where existing companies maintain close and longstanding relationships with elected officials,” Tusk said in the statement.
“If startups can’t handle the coming fights on the political, regulatory and media side, they’ll have a very hard time succeeding. That’s where we come in.”
Email: [email protected] * Twitter: @megancgraham