Our Progress Report on the JOBS Act Two years after President Obama signed the act into law, we lay out the good and the bad.

Entrepreneurs and small-business advocates had hoped the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, which President Obama signed into law in April 2012, would be a boon for startups needing financing. But with the Securities and Exchange Commission still hammering out the rules on equity crowdfunding--the proposed initial regulations were too costly and cumbersome for many small startups--the law hasn't exactly ignited a bonanza of new businesses. Two years later, here's our progress report.

The good news: Title II of the JOBS Act went into effect in September 2013, allowing private companies to publicly advertise that they're raising capital. This general solicitation rule has greatly benefited 'treps seeking accredited investors; no longer must they keep mum in public forums about their fundraising efforts for fear of breaking securities laws.

"Title II seems to be working," says Chris Tyrrell, chair of advocacy group Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Advocates, founded after the signing of the JOBS Act. "In the first seven months of operation, over $100 billion in private offerings used some part of Title II."