While equity crowdfunding has received widespread attention since the 2012 JOBS Act, another SEC rule change (named Regulation A+) that allowed companies to offer “mini-IPOs” has flown largely under the radar. However, it has shown early promise as a new method for startup financing since it was passed in 2015. In this feature, SSTI addresses three important questions related to Regulation A+ (Reg A+) including:

What is Reg A+?
What are the benefits and drawbacks of the offering?
What impact has it made so far?

A portfolio company of JumpStart Inc., an Ohio venture development organization, is to be purchased for $1.1 billion. The proposed acquisition of Ohio startup CoverMyMeds by McKesson Corp. marks Ohio’s first tech startup unicorn. JumpStart Evergreen, the non-profit fund that invested in CoverMyMeds, was funded in part by Ohio Third Frontier. CoverMyMeds was started in Ohio in 2008 and is now headquartered in Columbus.

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced this week that 35 organizations will receive nearly $15 million in funding to create and expand cluster-focused, proof-of-concept and commercialization programs, and early stage seed capital funds through the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) program.

Venture development organizations are reaching into new territory for funding partners and finding success in innovative models. Two new funds, the San Diego Tech & Life Science Investor Syndicate and Rev1 Fund I in Columbus, OH, have recently opened with less traditional funding sources, testing the waters of crowdfunding and heavy corporate backing, respectively. The San Diego fund, launched by CONNECT, allows anyone wanting to invest $1,000 the opportunity to participate alongside more experienced lead investors.

A recent report by PitchBook indicates that angel investing is seeing fewer unique participants and a greater share of activity from groups than individuals. The same report provides an analysis of startup outcomes based on whether the company began with an angel or venture capital (VC) round and finds companies with angel backing initially look stronger but have a more mixed record over the long-term.

SSTI is making Addressing Capital Access in 2021, which had previously been available only to SSTI member organizations, publicly available. The paper is focused on helping states and their partners make the most of the opportunity presented by the newly-refunded State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI 2.0), which provides $10 billion to states to support capital access.

The U.S. Department of Defense released requests for information regarding a new loan program for critical technologies that will be launched through the Office of Strategic Capital.

The U.S. Small Business Administration adopted new rules in 2023 that made it easier for venture capital funds to leverage federal resources under the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program, thereby increasing the capital they have available for early-stage investments.