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dog tailNew institutions like private stock markets emerge. It will be entertaining to watch the dogs in DC chasing their tails after they institute their new financial institution regulatory overhaul, and when they try to regulate hedge funds, derivatives, money funds and more. A key point from the article:

Besides the economy, startup investors say the high costs and regulatory requirements associated with going public have also stymied many smaller, younger companies. According to the National Venture Capital Association, the median span from a company’s founding to its IPO was 9.6 years in 2008. In 1998 it was 4.5 years.

One factor is compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley anti-fraud law, which was enacted in 2002 after accounting scandals at companies like Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc. A key part of this law requires public companies to file reports on the strength of internal financial controls and fix any problems – steps that can be costly for a startup.

Issues like this have “just made it more and more difficult for companies to make it to that next step,” said Thomas Foley, chief executive of XChange, which he developed with venture capitalist Tim Draper.

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