Lobbying is an industry ripe for disruption, according to Paul Kanitra, founder and president of Lobbyit.

“People are not seeing what’s working, and people are not seeing the positives that are going on [in lobbying], and really that was the impetus for introduction of our firm,” said Kanitra.

“People thought that it was a murky offering, thought that prices were overinflated, thought that lobbyists were working behind this curtain, where they were just pulling all these strings,” he said.

Lobbyit was founded in response to this distrust of the industry that kept many people and organizations out.

“For every RJ Reynolds Tobacco out there, and Wal-Mart, and Microsoft, that has a lobbying need, there are thousands, if not tens or hundreds of thousands, of organizations out there… that need a voice,” Kanitra told What’s Working in Washington.

Instead of working for one specific issue, Lobbyit democratises the system by lobbying issues on a tier-level subscription basis.

“At a tier one level, it’s very basic representation. It’s only $995 a month, it gives them a set price, it gives them an opportunity to dip their toes into the federal waters, and know that we’re out there and we’re going to take a meeting for them every month,” Kanitra said.

“We’re taking lobbying and we’re trying to break it down and treat it like an industry,” he said. “You want to have a brand, you want to be approachable, you want it to have a good price point.”

“We’re proud to be lobbyists, because we’re giving a voice to those who need one, and we want to wear it on our sleeves.”

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