(click here to see the full abstract of Mr. Eric Finseth’s presentation at the Symposium) While Silicon Valley tech companies and VC firms did not have any clear hand in contributing to the recent financial crisis, several new regulations may nonetheless present new burdens on their industry. While exemptions were written throughout most of the Dodd Frank act to prevent VC firms from the obligations imposed on other financial institutions, some “collateral damage” has unfortunately manifested itself (in preventing relatively small companies from financing themselves through the “friends and family” channel).