With half of all small-business start-ups failing each year, Tokumbo Shobowale, chief business operations officer for the City of New York pointed out that companies “fail from lack of experience.” Shobowale added that established businesses “have been there and done that” making them the perfect resource for advice and guidance.

Yesterday's event was The Travelers Institute's eighth and final multi-city symposium on small businesses. The event yesterday was held in Manhattan at the New York Stock Exchange.

In opening remarks, Jay S. Fishman, chairman and chief executive officer of The Travelers, said new entrepreneurs need help in their first few years of growth in the form of freedom from tax and regulatory burdens. He suggested a three-year period in which these burdens be reduced for new businesses.

Any relief from these burdens, Fishman said, would make any of these companies “more bankable” and “create a wondrous and virtuous cycle” of success.

In a statement, Ashley Maagero, a Travelers' spokesperson, said as one of the nation's largest insurers of small business, the company “sees firsthand the challenges they face” and feels responsible for advocating for measures that will help them succeed.