Small businesses in California employ nearly half of the state's private workforce but lack the capital to grow. Though a recovery is underway, access to money has grown more acute since the Great Recession. Banks aren’t lending in the amounts that small businesses and entrepreneurs need; venture capital, angel investing, and crowdfunding have become important alternative forms of financing. In fact, California’s small business owners tap these alternative means of capital – often from Silicon Valley and Silicon Beach -- far more than small business nationwide. But the state can do much more for small business, from crowdfunding legislation to greater support for minority entrepreneurs to reaching out beyond the world of technology.

Moderator

Carolyn Karo, Associate Director, Strategic Initiatives, Center for Regional Economics, Milken Institute

Speakers

Autumn Burke, Assemblymember, 62nd District, State of California

Manny Fernandez, Angel Investor; Co-Founder and CEO, DreamFunded

Chris Hameetman, President, Tech Coast Angels; CEO, Rainforest LA

Victor Parker, Los Angeles District Director, U.S. Small Business Administration

Richard Swart, Senior Advisor, CrowdSmart.io; Filene Research Fellow, University of California, Irvine