WASHINGTON, DC – The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and 59 other organizations, individuals and interested stakeholders today expressed their shared disappointment that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) delayed the effective date of the International Entrepreneur Rule and plans to rescind it entirely. In the comment letter organized by NVCA, the signatories encouraged DHS to use the delay to reexamine the decision to rescind the rule and prepare for accepting applications from talented foreign-born entrepreneurs beginning in March 2018 after the delay is over. Joining NVCA were leading national trade associations and advocacy groups, including FWD.us, Engine, ITI, and TechNet, as well as regional groups from the Midwest, New England, Mid Atlantic, Northeast and Southwest.
“President Trump has made winning the global competition for jobs a priority of his administration and we appreciate his stated focus on making our country the best place in the world to create a new enterprise,” the group of signatories wrote in the letter to DHS Acting Secretary Elaine Duke. (more…)
WASHINGTON, DC – The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) today unveiled its submission to the Senate Finance Committee with tax reform proposals to encourage new company formation. These proposals were provided to the committee in response to a request from Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Chairman of the Finance Committee, who called on stakeholders to provide ideas, proposals and feedback to the committee on how to improve the American tax system.
“Tax reform represents a huge opportunity to spur greater economic activity for the country and critical to that will be using this opportunity to reprioritize pro-entrepreneurship tax policy,” said Bobby Franklin, President and CEO of NVCA. (more…)
WASHINGTON, DC – The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) today submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking “Restoring Internet Freedom.” In its submission, NVCA advocated for robust net neutrality rules to allow startups to compete on a level playing field and to provide venture investors the confidence they need to make bold investments in technology and Internet startups.
“Venture investors assume incredible risk as they invest in an early-stage company and work with an entrepreneur to build a company into a prospering enterprise,” wrote Bobby Franklin, President and CEO of NVCA. (more…)
Fundraising Environment Remains Favorable with $130 Billion Raised since 2014 for Deployment to Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
SEATTLE, WA – Investors deployed $21.78 billion to 1,958 venture-backed companies during the second quarter, marking a significant uptick from the first quarter in capital invested while the number of companies receiving investment was stable, according to the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor. Through the first six months of the year, 3,876 companies received $37.76 billion in financing, setting a pace to near or surpass the $71 billion invested last year, and confirming that the industry has leveled off after peaking in 2015. Looking to the second half of the year, venture investors will continue to deploy capital to high-growth startups, having raised more than $130 billion since 2014, including $11.4 billion raised in the second quarter of 2017 across 58 funds.
“Venture investment activity the last few quarters supports evidence from the field that the industry is in the middle of a self-correction as valuations come down and the marketplace cools off,” said Bobby Franklin, President and CEO of NVCA. (more…)
WASHINGTON, DC – The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) issued the following statement today after the Trump Administration announced the delay of the effective date of the International Entrepreneur Rule and its intention to rescind the rule. Set to go into effect on July 17, 2017, the rule would allow for talented immigrant entrepreneurs to remain in the U.S. for two and a half years to build and scale their startups, with a possible extension of another two and a half years. NVCA worked collaboratively with the Obama Administration to craft the rule and has been engaging with the Trump Administration since January to advocate for its implementation.
“Today’s announcement is extremely disappointing and represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the critical role immigrant entrepreneurs play in growing the next generation of American companies,” said Bobby Franklin, President and CEO of NVCA. (more…)
Nine New Directors Elected to Board for Four-Year Terms
WASHINGTON, DC – The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) today announced that Scott Kupor, Managing Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, will serve as the 2017-2018 Chair of the NVCA Board of Directors. His appointment was made official at the NVCA Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.
Kupor becomes Chair of the NVCA Board of Directors at an important time for the organization and its advocacy work representing the interests of its members and the entrepreneurs they support. As Chair, Kupor will assist NVCA in delivering value to its members as well as promoting the U.S. as the most attractive place to start and grow companies.
“I look forward to rolling up my sleeves and assisting Bobby and the team in representing our industry in Washington,” remarked Kupor at the start of his term. (more…)
WASHINGTON, DC – The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) will convene tomorrow venture investors, policymakers and other stakeholders from the entrepreneurial ecosystem for two days of policy discussion and meetings to support new company creation at the NVCA Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.
“We are totally rewriting the script this year for the NVCA Annual Meeting to focus exclusively on policy and direct engagement with policymakers,” said Bobby Franklin, President and CEO of NVCA. “We are bringing VCs to DC to so that the venture community can better understand how policymakers approach our policy issues and in turn how policymakers can better understand how the policies they are working on are impacting new company formation. (more…)
WASHINGTON, DC – The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) issued the following statement today after the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) voted to advance the nomination of Scott Gottlieb, M.D. for Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Gottlieb has deep experience in the venture industry, previously serving as a venture partner in life sciences startups at New Enterprise Associates (NEA).
“With Dr. Gottlieb’s nomination moving forward to the full Senate for confirmation, the FDA should very soon have a leader in place who has substantial experience and knowledge of the medical innovation ecosystem,” said Bobby Franklin, President and CEO of NVCA. (more…)
WASHINGTON, DC – The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) today submitted to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs proposals to increase economic growth and enable consumers, market participants and financial companies to better participate in the economy. The submission came at the request of Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID) Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman and Ranking Member of the committee respectively.
Specifically, NVCA proposed that the committee (1) Exempt investment in venture capital from the Volcker Rule; (2) Modify the venture capital exemption from registered investment advisor (RIA) requirements to fully exempt venture capital activity; and (3) Prioritize capital markets reforms to encourage more U.S. IPOs. (more…)
WASHINGTON, DC – The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) today announced it will have a full-time presence in San Francisco, CA beginning June 1, 2017 with the relocation of Maryam Haque, Vice President of Research, from Washington, DC. With the relocation of Haque as a full-time staff member based out of San Francisco, her title will change to Vice President of Research and Strategic Engagement to reflect her new responsibilities for greater in-person engagement with NVCA members and other constituencies of the ecosystem, in addition to her research-focused responsibilities.
“While we are increasing our time focused on the development of local and regional ecosystems between the coasts, the San Francisco Bay Area continues to be the center of our industry and the primary location for a majority of our membership,” said Bobby Franklin, President and CEO of NVCA. (more…)
