The Obama Administration hosted a conference titled “Access to Capital: Fostering Growth and Innovation for Small Companies.” The conference brought together policymakers, entrepreneurs, investors, academics, and other market participants to explore how both the public and private sectors can help promote access to capital at each stage of growth for a small company – from seed capital, to growth equity, to accessing the public markets.
Also today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the approval of State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) applications from Connecticut, Missouri, and Vermont. The planned use of SSBCI funds by these states will help create new jobs and is expected to spur more than $534 million in additional small business lending. The SSBCI program, which supports state-level small business lending programs, is an important component of the Small Business Jobs Act that President Obama signed into law last fall. Read more.
Watch the conference.
8:30 AM EDT
OPENING REMARKS by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Small Business Administration Administrator Karen Mills
8:50 AM EDT
PANEL DISCUSSION: Pre-IPO Funding: Seed Capital, Angel Investors, Venture Capital, and Growth Equity
Moderator: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner
Panelists:
Desh Deshpande, Chairman of Sparta Group and Member of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE)
Alex Laskey, President and Founder of OPOWER
Ann Miura-Ko, Partner at Floodgate Capital and Lecturer at Stanford University
Duane McKnight, Senior Partner of SYNCOM
Joann Price, Co-founder and Partner at Fairview Capital
9:45 AM EDT
PANEL DISCUSSION: IPOs and Alternative Liquidity Platforms: Capital Market Access for Small Businesses
Moderator: Scott Case, CEO of Startup America Partnership and Co-founder of Priceline
Panelists:
Paul Deninger, Senior Managing Director at Evercore Partners
Seth Goldman, Founder of Honest Tea
Bob McCooey, Senior Vice President of New Listings and Capital Markets at NASDAQ
Kate Mitchell, Managing Director at Scale Venture Partners and Chairman of the National Venture Capital Association
Chuck Newhall, Co-founder of New Enterprise Associates
11:00 AM EDT
PANEL DISCUSSION: Accessing Credit Throughout the Lifecycle of a Small Company
Moderator: Small Business Administration Administrator Karen Mills
Panelists:
Michael Arougheti, President of Ares Capital
William Bynum, CEO of HOPE Enterprise Corporation
Greg Becker, President of Silicon Valley Bank
Jessica Jackley, CEO of Profounder and Founder of KIVA
12:15 PM EDT
WORKING BREAKOUT LUNCHES hosted by Senior Obama Administration Officials
Breakout Session Topics (these will not be webcast):
Spurring Innovation: Transforming an Idea into a Business
Hosts: Rosie Rios, Treasurer of the United States
Aneesh Chopra, Associate Director for the Office of Science and Technology Policy
Michael Mundaca, Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy
Don Graves, Executive Director of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness
Capitalizing a Growing Company: Growth Equity and Debt Financing
Hosts: Jake Siewert, Counselor to the Treasury Secretary
Marie Johns, Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration
Donna Gambrell, Director of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
John Fernandez, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development
Financing Small-Cap Companies: IPOs, Credit and Alternative Liquidity Platforms
Hosts: Mary Miller, Treasury Assistant Secretary for Financial Markets
John Bellows, Treasury Acting Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy
Jeffrey Goldstein, Treasury Undersecretary for Domestic Finance
Brian Deese, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council
2:10PM EDT
CLOSING REMARKS by Gene Sperling, Director of the National Economic Council