Joe Cecala is the Founder and CEO of Dream Exchange. He is a civil rights lawyer, securities lawyer, CPA, and former military officer with deep expertise in securities compliance, corporate finance, and accounting. In the late 1990s, he served as legal counsel for the entity that ultimately morphed into Archipelago, one of the first electronic communication networks to trade securities, which later became the electronic infrastructure of the New York Stock Exchange. Over his 30-year career practicing securities law, he has supported the growth and expansion of small businesses and conducted more than 100 capital events. In recent years, he authored and advanced the Main Street Growth Act through the U.S. Congress, briefing legislators on the need for venture stock exchanges and securing unanimous support. In 2018, he established the foundations to build the first venture stock exchange in the United States. That foundation led to the creation of Dream Exchange Holdings, Inc., which, when approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, will be the first national stock exchange backed primarily by individual investors in the country.