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Crowdfunding is the practice of raising money for a project or venture from a large number of people utilizing an Internet website or platform. Funding from each individual can be quite small, $10 or less, although some projects have much higher minimums. Projects include films, musical recordings, new companies, products, inventions, personal causes and many others.
Since the
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In the United States, equity-based crowdfunding will not be legal until January, 2013 at the earliest, when the SEC issues its rules regarding the process. It will then be permitted, provided that it is done in strict compliance with those SEC rules, and the provisions of the JOBS Act, which was signed by President Obama earlier this year.
*original post
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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has very strict rules about who can raise investment funds for privately held businesses, and how they are allowed to go about doing it. At the moment, this is primarily limited to raising money from very rich people who qualify as Accredited Investors, and with whom you already have a pre-existing relationship.
As I write this, days after the 2012 presidential election, I’m probably not alone in feeling relieved that the political jeering and soapboxing that reached a feverish pitch during the seemingly endless campaign season has finally subsided. Yet amidst all the partisan cheerleading and name-calling, there has been some discussion of substance. One particular four-letter word has been used pervasively
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Yes and No.
The JOBS Act has several pieces, two of which are relevant here. The fascinating thing is that they allow for diametrically opposite activities! The key questions are:
Who can you MARKET to? Who can you SELL to?
Under the Crowdfunding provisions of the JOBS Act, a startup company will, for the first time, be able to sell
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Most all the talk about the JOBS bill is about crowdfunding, seeding, and the ability to advertise private placements. In my mind, other provisions are the really big news for young companies.
Those are the expansion of the size limits for “Reg A” offerings, and the newly created “regulatory on-ramp.” Together, these have re-opened a door to capital that’s been
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Last week I penned an in-depth critique of the portion of the JOBS Act seeking to legalize crowdfunding in the United States. The bill, which may have more to do with political grandstanding in an election year than with actual job creation, was approved by a strong bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives. As I argued last week, the
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The verb “to disrupt” in all its forms is rightly popular in the startup world. To many entrepreneurs, few things are as personally satisfying (or as lucrative) as disrupting an entrenched, complacent, monopolistic, inefficient or stagnant market in ways that often empower consumers and producers alike. Consumer Internet and mobile technology businesses continue to be rife with opportunities for disruption.
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