Senator Warner stopped by Ruby's in Harrisonburg yesterday afternoon to talk about Startup 3.0, his bipartisan effort to create jobs through the promotion of startup businesses.

Senator Warner also discussed new crowdsourcing opportunities for Virginia businesses with the group. Crowdsourcing would allow start ups to use the Internet to raise capital from smaller investors. The Senator has held several crowdsourcing seminars for businesses across the Commonwealth.

“This is still going to be the Wild, Wild West for a while,” Senator Warner said to about 40 area entrepreneurs. “Your biggest challenge …  is going to be identifying which of these platform sites to use. How do we make sure Harrisonburg does not get left out?”

Preston Knight of Harrisonburg's Daily News Record reported on the event:

The senator met with about 40 local entrepreneurs for a roundtable discussion in the basement lounge of Clementine restaurant on South Main Street in downtown Harrisonburg. He discussed his efforts to increase the talent pool available for startup businesses — for example, a new STEM visa for U.S.-educated foreign students who receive a master’s or doctorate in science, technology, engineering or math.

But Warner primarily talked about crowdsourcing, a key component of the JOBS Act that allows individuals to invest money in startups over the Internet. He is waiting for regulations to be established by the Securities and Exchange Commission to get the nontraditional funding source running.

“It really could open the potential in a dramatic way,” Warner said.

Still, he admits the government is “probably not going to get this exactly right at first,” noting the potential for scam artists.

But, Warner adds: “One thing about the Internet …  it has an amazing ability to self-police. We’ve got to acknowledge there will be mistakes made. If we get this right, this could be one of the most revolutionary capital opportunities.”

The senator is visiting various Virginia communities to discuss startups. Earlier this month, he did the same on a panel with AOL co-founder Steve Case at South by Southwest, an annual music, film and interactive conference in Austin, Texas.

Warner said he was impressed by the energy at that panel’s discussion. Nothing should stop Virginia from seeking an “East by Southeast,” he said.

“Nobody can build a business by themselves,” he said. “Nobody can be good at all things.”