<img src="https://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/5a5a2d45-503b-4c4d-95e5-83d544ceedf6?size=2" nborder="0" align="left" hspace="5" vspace="5" title="DXLogoSmall.png" alt="Dream Exchange"/>This Independence Day, Dream Exchange founder and CEO Joe Cecala says record numbers of new American businesses need a public market built to help them grow. The company supports legislation similar to the Main Street Growth Act, which would authorize venture exchanges for small and mid-sized companies. Key points: <ul type="disc"><li style="margin-bottom:8pt;">Americans filed a record of nearly 5.5 million applications to start new businesses in 2023, and filings stayed near 5.2 million in 2024, far above the roughly 3 million that was typical before 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.</li><li style="margin-bottom:8pt;">In the Federal Reserve’s 2025 Small Business Credit Survey, about one-third of small firms reported a funding gap, having applied for financing but did not received all that they sought. The Federal Reserve also reports that minority-owned firms are among the least likely to receive the full amount of funding that was contained in their application.</li><li style="margin-bottom:8pt;">Dream Exchange, a stock exchange in formation led by founder and CEO Joe Cecala, supports legislation similar to the Main Street Growth Act to authorize the creation of venture exchanges – regulated public markets that would give smaller companies a route to growth capital and would let everyday investors take part earlier in a company’s growth. </li></ul> CHICAGO, July 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Independence Day celebrates a radical idea, that people have the right to build a future of their own making. Over time, it took on an economic life. The freedom to start a business, to own what one builds, and to share in its success is among the clearest expressions of the American promise. By that measure, the promise is still alive. Americans are starting businesses at a pace rarely seen before. New business applications reached a record of nearly 5.5 million in 2023 and stayed near 5.2 million in 2024, far above the roughly 3 million that was typical before 2020.1 A wide range of founders and their businesses, including many minority-owned and veteran-owned businesses, are turning ideas into working enterprises. Founding a business is not the same as growing one. The harder test comes when a young company needs capital to expand, and here the promise begins to fray. In the Federal Reserve’s most recent Small Business Credit Survey, about one-third of small firms reported a funding gap, having applied for financing but have not received all the financing that they sought.2 The Federal Reserve reports that minority-owned firms are among the least likely to receive the full amount of funding requested. Much of the growth capital that does move now flows through private channels that most Americans cannot reach. That gap matters more in an economy being reshaped by artificial intelligence (AI) and supercomputing. Nearly half of small firms reported using AI in 2025, and most of them reported gains in productivity.3 Small companies can now do more with fewer people than ever before. Whether ordinary Americans have a fair chance to take part in that growth, rather than watch it from the outside, depends in part on a public market built for companies at that stage. Dream Exchange supports legislation similar to the Main Street Growth Act, which would authorize venture exchanges -- regulated public markets for small and mid-sized companies. If authorized, such markets would be designed to: <ul type="disc"><li style="margin-bottom:8pt;">Open a regulated public tier for smaller companies, giving them a route to raise growth capital without the cost and scale a traditional listing demands.</li><li style="margin-bottom:8pt;">Provide secondary market liquidity, giving founders, early backers and employees a regulated venue in which to buy and sell shares.</li><li style="margin-bottom:8pt;">Allow everyday investors to consider these companies at an earlier stage, in a transparent and supervised setting, rather than only through private markets closed to most of the public. </li></ul> “For nearly a quarter of a century, the door to the public markets has been closed to most small companies,” said Joe Cecala, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Dream Exchange. “Americans are building businesses faster than ever, and they deserve a fair path to the capital that lets those businesses grow. The creation of a venture exchange would help restore the on-ramp to the public markets, so that those who build a company, and the public that believes in it, can take part in its future.” “This is about giving ordinary people a fair chance to build and to own,” said Dwain Kyles, Managing Member of DX Capital Partners, LLC. “A free society is strongest when that chance is shared widely.” A country that asks its people to build owes them a fair chance to grow what they build. That is the bargain Dream Exchange is working to keep. Frequently Asked Questions What is Dream Exchange? Dream Exchange is a stock exchange in formation, led by founder and CEO Joe Cecala. It is pursuing registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a national securities exchange through the Form 1 application process. If approved, it would become the first minority-controlled company to operate a licensed stock exchange in the United States. What is a venture exchange? A venture exchange is a proposed type of regulated public market for small and mid-sized, early-stage companies to list and trade their shares. It does not yet exist in the United States and would require enabling federal legislation like the Main Street Growth Act. It is intended to give smaller companies a route to public capital and to give everyday investors a supervised way to invest earlier than private markets allow. What is the Main Street Growth Act? The Main Street Growth Act is federal legislation, expected to be proposed in Congress, that would authorize the creation of venture exchanges in the United States. It has not yet been enacted. Dream Exchange supports the passage of the Main Street Growth Act, or of similar legislation, as the legal foundation for a public market built for smaller companies. Who is Joe Cecala? Joe Cecala is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Dream Exchange. He is a securities attorney and certified public accountant who has worked on more than 100 capital-raising events for small businesses across a 30-year career. Mr. Cecala is a longtime advocate for the Main Street Growth Act and the creation of venture exchanges. Why does small business capital access matter now? Americans are starting businesses at a record pace, with new business applications reaching nearly 5.5 million in 2023, the highest annual total on record, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Yet in the Federal Reserve’s 2025 Small Business Credit Survey, about one-third of small firms reported a funding gap after applying for financing. Venture exchanges are intended to help address that gap. About Dream Exchange Dream Exchange will be re-filing its Form 1 application with the Securities and Exchange Commission, seeking registration as a national securities exchange and authority to be a marketplace that facilitates the trading of securities in the national market system. While it builds its registered stock exchange and develops the necessary infrastructure, it will also focus on providing an “on-ramp” for small to mid-sized companies to access the public markets once legislation like the Main Street Growth Act is enacted into law and venture exchanges are created. Learn more at <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=l_F_Ec7R0nqknjerwpM6KGnm0MtB2fQf2AsgyN4lqciFm4-X-1JTTUj1bZ2hcoyjEbV-KcIZrLdTjv4KeL3qidPNAJqHB52ZNicnVyR45Yg=" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="">www.dreamex.com</a>. Media Contact Robert Todd, PR Manager, Dream Exchange 773-914-1182 <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=vY-RHIgRwQYInDYwL0KDl0Dn7WDqAsi5xLsHSEhsCaQSBoyYxkrLB7GUqPvoWw0XuXb_61OvZ4GuRhK-PfZVBUDKEpHxhHcypEvqRY9BNLk=" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="">rtodd@dreamex.com</a> <hr /> 1U.S. Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics. New business applications totaled approximately 5.48 million in 2023, the highest annual total on record, and approximately 5.20 million in 2024, compared with an annual range of roughly 2.5 to 3 million from 2005 to 2016. 2Federal Reserve Banks, 2025 Small Business Credit Survey (2026 Report on Employer Firms). Approximately one-third of small firms reported a funding gap after applying for financing. The Federal Reserve further reports that minority-owned firms, and Black-owned firms in particular, are less likely to receive full approval for the financing they seek. 3Federal Reserve Banks, 2025 Small Business Credit Survey. Just under half of small firms reported using artificial intelligence in some capacity, and a majority of those firms reported increased productivity. <img alt="" src='https://ml.globenewswire.com/media/OGM5NzNlMDEtNDJjMi00NDAwLTk2OTgtMDFjOTQ5MzU2NjE2LTEzMTc1MjEtMjAyNi0wNy0wNC1lbg==/tiny/Dream-Exchange.png' referrerpolicy='no-referrer-when-downgrade' />

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Dream Exchange Calls for Venture Exchanges to Help Close the Small Business Capital Gap

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