Small businesses are the backbone of America’s economy, embodying the ingenuity, grit, and entrepreneurial spirit that make our country so vibrant. As the founder of a company that empowers small businesses, I’ve been fortunate to have Kelly Loeffler serve on our Board of Directors. I have seen firsthand how her vision and leadership can unleash the potential of businesses. Kelly is uniquely positioned to revitalize the Small Business Administration (SBA) and ensure it fulfills its mission to empower small businesses to grow, innovate, and thrive.
Kelly’s track record speaks for itself. With an impressive career spanning nearly three decades, she has demonstrated her ability to transform ideas into thriving enterprises. With humble beginnings, she worked on her family’s farm and small trucking business and helped put herself through school waiting tables in family-owned restaurants.
In 2002, she joined Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), then a small startup with fewer than 100 employees. As part of the executive leadership team, Kelly played a pivotal role in leading ICE through its IPO and contributed to over a dozen acquisitions, including the landmark purchase of the New York Stock Exchange in 2013. Intercontinental Exchange grew into a Fortune 500 company employing over 15,000 people worldwide today. That journey—from a startup to an industry leader—is the dream of countless small business owners, and Kelly has lived it. Her experience encompasses the vast range of challenges that businesses face every day – and the value they bring to our nation as job creators.
But Kelly’s impact didn’t stop there. In 2018, she leveraged her expertise to put together the talent and capital to launch Bakkt (NYSE: BKKT), a financial technology company, as its founding CEO prior to leaving for the U.S. Senate. Within a few short years, Bakkt became a publicly traded fintech innovator worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Kelly’s drive to exponentially grow small companies into large ones and navigate complex regulatory, competitive, and economic challenges is precisely the kind of experience the SBA desperately needs. She understands what it takes to overcome challenges, secure funding, and create jobs—skills she’ll use to help small businesses across the nation reach their full potential. Her Senate experience, where she was the only CFA charter holder to ever serve in Congress, means she understands the realities of Washington, D.C., and their cost to small businesses.
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In stark contrast, the Biden-Harris administration has mismanaged the SBA, undermining its effectiveness with reckless policies, neglect, and political favoritism. Taxpayer dollars have been wasted on frivolous lending programs, while politically motivated initiatives have created barriers to true economic growth. The results? Waste, fraud, and bureaucracy that often hinder the entrepreneurs it is meant to support.
Kelly Loeffler offers a much-needed course correction. As Small Business Administrator, she will bring the accountability, discipline, and focus of a tried-and-tested entrepreneur and venture capitalist to the agency to ask critical questions: How can we help small businesses get started? How can we foster an economic platform that enables them to succeed? How do we unleash the full potential of America’s economic engine, especially for the middle class?
Her track record proves she has the answers. Kelly knows how to cut through red tape and create an environment where businesses can flourish. She understands that the ultimate goal of many small businesses is to scale into large, successful enterprises. By eliminating burdensome regulations, streamlining processes, and ensuring access to capital, Kelly will empower entrepreneurs to achieve those goals.
Under Kelly’s leadership, the SBA will no longer be a playground for political activism and wasteful spending. Instead, it will return to its core mission: supporting hard-working Americans who dream of building something greater. She will hold the SBA accountable to taxpayers, cracking down on fraud and regulatory overreach. In doing so, she will restore confidence in the agency and direct its resources to where they are needed most.
Kelly Loeffler will help amplify President Trump’s popular America First agenda, which prioritizes common sense, meritocracy, and excellence. Small businesses—the lifeblood of our economy—deserve nothing less. Her leadership means that entrepreneurs can strive for success, knowing they have a partner in the federal government who knows that it's free enterprise, not an overreaching government, that drives opportunity.
As someone who has worked closely with Kelly, I can attest to her integrity, drive, and passion for helping others succeed. She has an extraordinary ability to see opportunities where others see obstacles, and she brings out the best in those around her. Kelly Loeffler’s appointment as Small Business Administrator is not just a smart choice—it’s the right choice for America.
With Kelly at the helm, the SBA will no longer be a bureaucratic bottleneck. It will be a catalyst for growth, innovation, and prosperity. She will help write the next great chapter in America’s entrepreneurial story and make the American Main Street Strong Again.
Michael Seifert is the CEO & Founder of PublicSquare.
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