Earlier this year I was reminded of a little known employment assistance program that exists in San Francisco, called JOBS NOW! SF. Now it may seem a little odd that I would write about an employment assistance program on this blog, but it has some amazing benefits for life science start-up companies in San Francisco. The program in a nutshell is that federal stimulus money will pay 100% of the salary of any worker hired through JOBS NOW SF! through Sept. 2010. The employer simply has to pay for payroll taxes and any “fringe benefits that employees typically receive”. The only catch is that the prospective employee must be a resident of San Francisco, have proof of right to work in the US, and be a parent of at least one child under the age of 18.
Just think, you could have 100% of a new research assistant’s or business development person’s salary paid for you. To sweeten the deal further, the House just passed an extension on the program for another full year and added more money. Approval by the Senate is expected soon. This program could help a start-up add headcount and work to reach a valuation milestone it needs to raise more funding. I know of at least one San Francisco life science company that is trying to use this program (Green Pacific Biologics), and I’m sure there are others. This seems like too good of an opportunity to pass up for a non-dilutive source of funding to build your business. If anyone has any experience with the program, either as an employee or employer, please let us know in the comments.