39th Annual Small Business Forum
The Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation hosted the SEC’s 39th annual Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation virtually on June 18, 2020 pursuant to the Small Business Investment Incentive Act of 1980.
Members of the public and private sectors—including entrepreneurs, small business leaders, investors, market participants, and other thought leaders within the small business capital formation ecosystem—gathered virtually to craft suggestions to improve securities policy impacting how companies raise capital from investors.
The Forum featured spotlight sessions on:
- Empowering Women Entrepreneurs – Insights from investors who support women-founded companies
- Rural and Thriving – Overcoming the unique challenges of building companies in rural communities
- Stories from Founders of Color – Building minority-owned companies and raising capital
- Building Tomorrow’s Public Companies – Exploring the pathway to IPO and the future of public offerings
- Small Cap Today – How smaller public companies handle challenges in today’s market climate
These 20 minute spotlights were interspersed with keynotes from Jovita Carranza (SBA Administrator), Pete Flint (Managing Partner, NFX and founder of Trulia and lastminute.com), Arlan Hamilton (Founder and Managing Partner, Backstage Capital), and Susan Tynan (Founder and CEO, Framebridge). Video archives of the keynote addresses and spotlight discussions are available in the Forum video gallery.
The sessions and keynotes were followed by collaborative policy discussions that provided thoughtful and substantive feedback, the first on “Exempt Offerings and Capital Formation Proposal” and the second on “The Path to IPO and Small Cap Companies.”
Speaker Biographies
Jovita Carranza
Jovita Carranza
Administrator | U.S. Small Business Administration | @SBAJovita
As the 26th Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Jovita Carranza advocates on behalf of the 30 million small businesses in America. Prior to her public service, Carranza had a distinguished 30-year career at United Parcel Service (UPS), where she worked her way from night-shift box handler up to President of Latin America and Caribbean operations, serving as the highest-ranking Latina in the history of the company.
Erica Duignan Minnihan
Erica Duignan Minnihan
Founder and Managing Partner | Reign Ventures | @ericaminnihan
Erica Duignan Minnihan founded 1000 Angels, a private venture investment network that makes direct investments in high-growth, early-stage companies. Duignan Minnihan also founded Reign Ventures, an early-stage venture fund focused on Seed and Series A investment opportunities.
Pete Flint
Pete Flint
Managing Partner | NFX | @peteflint
Pete Flint runs NFX, a venture fund focused on early stage investments. As the co-founder of Trulia and member of the founding team of lastminute.com, Pete is a serial entrepreneur who uses his experience building and scaling companies from “great idea” to $1 billion+ exit, guiding companies from a founder’s perspective.
Stephen Graham
Stephen Graham
Partner | Fenwick & West LLP | @fenwickwest
Stephen Graham founded his law firm’s Seattle office in 2008, where he concentrates in the areas of private and public M&A, public offerings, private placements and corporate governance matters, representing emerging and established high growth companies. Steve also serves on the board of directors of Washington Federal, Inc., a publicly-traded bank, and as a member of the SEC’s Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee.
Arlan Hamilton
Arlan Hamilton
Founder and Managing Partner | Backstage Capital | @ArlanWasHere
Arlan Hamilton built the venture capital fund Backstage Capital in 2015 while homeless. The fund is dedicated to minimizing funding disparities in tech by investing in high-potential founders who are people of color, women, and/or LGBT. In 2018 Arlan co-founded Backstage Studio, which launched four accelerator programs for underestimated founders in Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and London.
Wil Jenkins
Wil Jenkins
Investor and Entrepreneur
Uptown Salon and Boutique
Wil Jenkins is an entrepreneur who moved from Austin, Texas to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where he opened Uptown Salon and Boutique and owns several downtown properties. Wil is passionate about the revitalization of the downtown area of his community, a former hub for cotton trading in the early 1900s, to create a vibrant Main Street.
AJ Krick
AJ Krick
CFO, Secretary and Treasurer | @smithmidland Smith-Midland Corporation
AJ Krick is the top financial officer at Smith-Midland Corporation, a precast concrete company traded over-the-counter. A certified public accountant, AJ brings 15 years of experience working with executives and management teams to improve processes and provide cost savings. AJ currently serves as member of the OTCQX Advisory Council.
Christy Laxton
Christy Laxton
Executive Director | Wyoming County Economic Development Authority
Christy Laxton has served the Wyoming County Economic Development Authority in West Virginia, started in 2001 in response to disastrous area flooding. The Authority provides support and technical assistance to West Virginia businesses, including providing over 350 loans for over $9 million, and is focused on preserving the county’s “friendly small town America feel that most people can only dream about.”
Brian Levey
Brian Levey
Chief Business Affairs and Legal Officer | Upwork Inc. | @Upwork
Brian Levey helped navigate Upwork through its IPO in 2018, and oversees the company’s legal, regulatory, and government affairs functions. Upwork is an online talent solution that enables businesses to find and work with highly-skilled independent professionals. Brian currently serves as a member of the SEC's Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee.
Samara Mejia Hernandez
Samara Mejia Hernandez
Founding Partner | Chingona Ventures | @SamaraMHernandz
Following over a decade in sales, operations, and technology at Goldman Sachs and early-stage investing at MATH Venture Partners, Samara Mejia Hernandez founded Chingona Ventures to invest in overlooked businesses at the earliest stages. Mejia Hernandez co-founded the Latinx Founders Collective organization to bring together Latinx founders, investors, and community leaders to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Nathan Ohle
Nathan Ohle
CEO | Rural Community Assistance Partnership, Inc. | @nathanohle
Nathan Ohle leads the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP), a national nonprofit focused on access to water and economic development for rural communities across the country. His prior experience includes economic development for more than a decade at both the federal and state levels. RCAP’s work in assisting some of the smallest rural communities helps to build capacity and opportunity in every state across the country.
Davyeon Ross
Davyeon Ross
Co-Founder & President | ShotTracker | @davyeonross
Davyeon Ross is a co-founder of ShotTracker, a sensors-based technology company that aims to improve the performance of competitive athletes who participate in team sports by bringing elite-level analytics to the masses. Davyeon has almost 20 years of experience in the technology space, which includes founding Digital Sports Ventures, which he sold to Digital Broadcasting Group in 2011.
Mary Ann Scully
Mary Ann Scully
Chairman and CEO | Howard Bank @howardbank
Mary Ann Scully is the Chief Executive Officer of Howard Bank and is Chairperson of its board of directors. Mary Ann has more than 40 years of varied executive experiences in the Maryland marketplace. After heading the organizing team that launched Howard Bank in 2004, Mary Ann led the company through over ten capital raises, Exchange Act registration, and five business combinations, creating Baltimore City’s largest locally headquartered banking company and Maryland’s fourth-largest locally headquartered bank.
Susan Tynan
Susan Tynan
Founder and CEO | Framebridge | @susanrtynan
Susan Tynan founded Framebridge to make it easy for everyone to custom frame the things they love. Susan successfully raised both angel and venture capital on the path to building her company. Prior to founding Framebridge, Susan held roles at consumer technology startups Taxi Magic and Living Social.
David Wagner
David Wagner
President and CEO | Zix Corporation | @ZixCorp
David Wagner joined email security company Zix Corporation as President and Chief Executive Officer in January 2016, following two decades of leadership roles at Dallas-based tech companies. As CFO of Entrust, Wagner led the successful integration of the company after its acquisition by Datacard, delivered revenue growth, and led the re-investment strategy to move Entrust solutions to the cloud.
Sevetri Wilson
Sevetri Wilson
Founder & CEO | Resilia | @sevetriwilson
Sevetri Wilson is a serial entrepreneur who founded Resilia, a technology startup that aims to revolutionize how nonprofits are created and maintained and how enterprises scale impact. She became the first black woman in New Orleans to raise over $1 million of venture capital, and one of only 11 to raise over $3 million. Sevetri bootstrapped her first company, Solid Ground Innovations, with zero outside capital.
2020 Forum Materials
Welcome Remarks
- Chairman Jay Clayton
- Commissioner Hester M. Peirce
- Commissioner Elad L. Roisman
- Commissioner Allison Herren Lee
- Martha Legg Miller, Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation
Transcripts
The Office is charged with planning, organizing and executing the annual Small Business Forum on Capital Formation described in section 503 of the Small Business Investment Incentive Act of 1980. The Forum is a unique event where members of the public and private sectors gather to craft suggestions for securities policy impacting emerging businesses and their investors, from startups to smaller public companies. The 2020 Forum was hosted in a completely virtual format, which resulted in an inclusive event that engaged entrepreneurs, investors, market participants and other thought leaders from across the country. The 2020 Forum Report summarizing the proceedings and recommendations of participants was released on September 14, 2020.
Last Reviewed or Updated: June 29, 2024