Despite the sluggish economy and the many challenges presented by excessive regulations and taxes, young entrepreneurs are discovering solutions at the local level and remaining upbeat about the future, according to many of the more than 100 of them who participated in a July 13 event hosted by the U.S. Chamber's Campaign for Free Enterprise.

The event was held by Our Time, a national non-profit membership organization founded to stand up for Americans under the age of 30. The group, which boasts 300,000 members, launched its Buy Young initiative, a campaign to encourage Americans to support companies and organizations founded by people under 30.

“You will be either the victims of the future or the owners of the future,” serial entrepreneur and retired McDonald’s CEO Ed Rensi told the audience. Rensi, who at 66-years-old recently launched a chain of upscale burger restaurants in Chicago, sits on the board of Our Time. “Our generations can grow and learn together,” he said.

At a roundtable discussion moderated by journalist Judy Woodruff, the heads of companies such as designer rental website RentTheRunway, custom clothier Astor and Black, and ad technology startup InviteMedia—which was recently bought by Google—highlighted tax, permitting, and licensing policies at the local level that have helped encourage business formation and job creation.

Neil Blumenthal, co-founder of eyewear manufacturer Warby Parker, praised New York Governor Michael Bloomberg’s New Business Acceleration Team, an initiative to help new restaurants, bars, bakeries, and butcher shops open their doors more quickly, reduce costs, and provide jobs by streamlining the inspection and permitting process. 

Nikhil Arora of Back to the Roots, a gourmet mushroom company, had nothing but praise for the city of Oakland, where he and co-founder Alejandro Velez leveraged local resources, including enterprise zone tax credits and business and sales tax incentives, to help start and grow their three-year-old company. Arora and Velez also worked with the Oakland Workforce Investment Board to hire local workers. Even former Oakland Mayor Tom Bates is a company supporter, Arora said. “There are plenty of resources and incentives out there,” he assured his fellow entrepreneurs.

In some cases, young CEOs said they were motivated by obstacles and common misconceptions. Chris Yura of SustainU Clothing says he started his company three years ago because “I wanted to make something in America, and I was told it couldn’t be done.” Today, SustainU is a leading producer of casual apparel using fabrics made from 100% recycled materials manufactured in the USA.

The high unemployment rate for 16-to-24-year-olds was motivation for Darrius Peace to start Hayah Cosmetics with his wife three years ago. “We got out of college and no one would hire us,” Peace said.

Now Peace and his peers are the ones looking for talent. “I’m hiring,” said John Goscha, founder of IdeaPaint, a dry erase whiteboard paint company started in 2002.

“We have six employees and we’re looking for eight more,” added Amelia Posada, a co-founder of Lindy & Grundy, a three-month-old sustainable butcher shop in Los Angeles.