WASHINGTON DC – The National Venture Capital Association Thursday testified before the U.S. House in support of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS Act), the passage of which was supported by the NVCA in 2012.
Before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises, Chairman Scott Garrett (R-NJ), NVCA CEO Bobby Franklin called the JOBS Act “a great first step in reopening the public capital markets to innovative startups, but we can’t stop there.
“Over the last twenty years, we have gone from 300 IPOs a year and benefitting from 90 percent of global venture capital investment in U.S.-based companies, to 100 IPOs a year and attracting only 54 percent of global venture capital investment,” Franklin said. ”We must continue to push the ball forward so that the American capital markets are effective once again in allowing groundbreaking startup companies to grow into the next titans of American business.”
He said a central tenant of the JOBS Act was to pave the way for startup companies to on-ramp onto the public markets. The next step in the process is to ensure that these companies have the best chance for success post-IPO.
“Recent action by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to create a tick size pilot program for small- to mid-size capitalization companies was a great start,” he said. ”However, more needs to be done to ensure that small- and mid-size capitalization companies don’t become victims of liquidity crunch. We thank Chairman Garrett for calling this important hearing and pledge to work with him and his colleagues to best support a more favorable investment environment for startups.”
