SEC Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation
In her first speech as the SEC’s Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation, Martha Miller provided an overview of the Office’s mission, as well as the Office’s priorities. Miller noted the importance of the small businesses in the United States, and commented on access to funding. She observed that in recent years, the amounts raised in exempt securities offerings has outpaced the amounts raised in registered securities offerings. While there is significant private capital available, including venture capital, to fund emerging companies, Miller observed that the availability of venture funding though is limited—for example, while VC-backed companies in the United States raised over $99 billion in over 5,000 transactions in 2018, companies in three states received three-quarters of the funding.