SEC's Virtual Small Business Forum 2022
Monday, April 4 at 1 pm
Empowering Entrepreneurs: Tools to Navigate Capital Raising
Caroline Cummings
Caroline Cummings
CEO | RAIN (Regional Accelerator & Innovation Network) | Eugene, OR
Caroline co-founded and served as CEO of 2 technology startups, raising close to $1 million for her ventures. She has helped many other entrepreneurs raise millions in capital. She has also personally invested in 21 startup companies and was instrumental in recruiting more women to join angel and venture funds in Oregon. At RAIN, she provides outreach and support to small and rural communities globally, coaches and mentors underrepresented entrepreneurs, and builds strategic partnerships where the goal is to reduce barriers to starting a business.
Armeer Kenchen
Armeer Kenchen
Executive Director of the Small Business Credit Initiative and CornerSquare Community Capital | North Carolina Rural Center | Raleigh, NC
Armeer leads the North Carolina Rural Center’s small business credit initiatives as well as CornerSquare Community Capital, and has more than 25 years of experience working with CDFIs, non-profit and community development organizations. Prior to joining the Rural Center, he served in a variety of executive leadership roles, including as Executive Vice President at Self-Help and CEO of Generations Community Credit Union.
Betty Wong
Betty Wong
Co-Founder | Stage2Startups | New York, NY
Betty co-founded Stage2Startups to help mid-career and senior professionals, who are often overlooked among founders, transition to entrepreneurship, with a special focus on women, people of color, LGBTQ, immigrants, and veterans. Betty herself is an entrepreneur with C-suite experience, having launched over 30 products for both Fortune 500 and smaller companies, nonprofits, and government entities.
Tuesday, April 5 at 1 pm
Hometown Entrepreneurship: How Entrepreneurs Can Thrive Outside of Traditional Capital Raising Hubs
Jordan Walker
Jordan Walker
Co-Founder | Yac | Orlando, Florida
Jordan co-founded Yac in 2019, an audio-first messaging platform to enrich communication among teams using voice rather than text or video. After developing the prototype during a hackathon contest, the company subsequently raised over $10 million from multiple professional investors. In addition, Jordan creates experience-driven designs for apps, websites, and VR/AR through his company SoFriendly.
Victor Gutwein
Victor Gutwein
Founder and Managing Partner | M25 | Chicago, IL
Victor founded M25 to provide early-stage capital to tech startups headquartered in the Midwest. The firm has since grown to become the most active venture firm in the region. Victor has a passionate history with startups, including founding a vending machine business and kick scooter company. Victor is a Kauffman Fellow (Class 22) and a former leader in Hyde Park Angels.
Vanessa Roanhorse
Vanessa Roanhorse
CEO | Roanhorse Consulting | Co-Founder | Native Women Lead | Albuquerque, NM
Vanessa founded Roanhorse Consulting, an indigenous women-led think tank to encourage economic empowerment through entrepreneurship. She is also a co-founder of Native Women Lead, a nonprofit that fosters a connected community of Native/Indigenous women entrepreneurs. Her many professional and civic leadership roles are united by a focus on social, environmental, and economic change.
Wednesday, April 6 at 1 pm
New Investor Voices: How Emerging Fund Managers Are Diversifying Capital
Dave Lu
Dave Lu
Managing Partner | Hyphen Capital | San Francisco, CA
Dave Lu founded Hyphen Capital to provide early-stage capital to the next generation of Asian American founders. He brings over 20 years of technology operating experience to the companies in whom he invests, having worked at multiple iconic Silicon Valley technology companies and subsequently founding his bootstrapped startup Fanpop and venture-backed startup Pared.
Brandon Brooks
Brandon Brooks
Founding Partner | Overlooked Ventures | Columbus, OH
Brandon is a tech entrepreneur and the founding partner at Overlooked Ventures, where he brings his passion about helping overlooked founders take their startups to the next level through access to capital, resources, and connections to scale their businesses. Brandon bootstrapped his own startup, Inventrify, a community-oriented crowdfunding platform for small businesses.
Erica Duignan Minnihan
Erica Duignan Minnihan
Founder and General Partner | Reign Ventures | New York, NY
Erica Duignan Minnihan is co-founder and General Partner of Reign Ventures, a seed-stage venture capital firm investing in consumer tech and enterprise software companies. Reign Ventures is committed to promoting racial inclusivity and gender equity in the venture capital markets. Erica runs the firm's New York City office, where she also is actively involved with her alma mater, Columbia Business School, to cultivate and support the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Thursday, April 7 at 1 pm
Small Cap World: What to Know and How to Think Ahead
Adam J. Epstein
Adam J. Epstein
Founder | Third Creek Advisors, LLC | San Francisco, CA
A former institutional investor, Adam now provides capital markets insights to small-cap companies. He chairs Small-Cap Institute, Inc.’s editorial board, is a contributor to Nasdaq’s small-cap content platform, and serves as a mentor at the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center. In 2012 he authored The Perfect Corporate Board: A Handbook for Mastering the Unique Challenges of Small-Cap Companies (McGraw Hill, 2012).
Peter Holt
Peter Holt
President & Chief Executive Officer | The Joint Corp. | Scottsdale, AZ
Peter is the chief executive at The Joint (JYNT), a Nasdaq-traded company that operates the largest franchised network of chiropractic clinics in the world. Prior to taking the helm at The Joint, Peter held multiple leadership roles with franchised companies with both domestic and international footprints. Peter also advises Stage Six in their support of sustainable franchises scaling in emerging markets worldwide.
Kristopher Simpson
Kristopher Simpson
Senior Vice President and General Counsel | Urban One, Inc. | Washington, DC
Kris is a leader at Urban One, Inc. (UONE), an integrated media company focused on black culture in America through its radio, syndications, digital, and cable portfolio. Kris has been with the company for over a decade, counseling the Nasdaq-traded company on securities law, finance, acquisitions and dispositions, corporate development, and corporate governance matters. Prior to his time at Urban One, Kris worked in corporate development and investor relations at E*TRADE Financial Corporation. Before going in-house, Kris practiced corporate, health and securities law at Holland & Knight, LLP.
2022 Forum Materials
Welcome Remarks
Martha Legg Miller, Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation
2022 Forum Video Gallery
Transcripts
- Empowering Entrepreneurs: Tools to Navigate Capital Raising (April 4, 2022)
- Hometown Entrepreneurship: How Entrepreneurs Can Thrive Outside of Traditional Capital Raising Hubs (April 5, 2021)
- New Investor Voices: How Emerging Fund Managers Are Diversifying Capital (April 6, 2022)
- Small Cap World: What to Know and How to Think Ahead (April 7, 2022)
Stay tuned for a report summarizing the Forum proceedings, including the recommendations developed by participants for changes needed to the capital raising framework and the Commission’s responses to the recommendations.
Modified: May 13, 2022