Entries by mitch

Managing The Risks Of Crowdfunding

August 13, 2016 in /by

By Evan Bundschuh, Reprinted from Crowd Fund Beat For new ventures looking to raise capital or test their market/product, crowdfunding has proven to be the go-to solution with an ease and excitement that other methods of funding lack. With that excitement though comes challenges. As a fairly young platform with a legal landscape that has yet to develop, the risks of crowdfunding are often overlooked. While the risks may seem invisible, mistakes are inevitable, as are the lawsuits and damages that follow. The challenge is forecasting when and where the potential dangers/disasters will arise (before they do) in order to protect your business, its directors, and its newly formed brand. We outline these risks not to discourage the usage of crowdfunding but to bring risk concerns to the forefront so that they can be properly assessed, managed and mitigated. Poor communication and lack of transparency. When it comes to describing the performance/effectiveness of your product, prices, associated fees, turn around times, etc. […]

Commonwealth Capital Adds New Crowdfunding Chapter to Its Premier E-Book

August 13, 2016 in /by

CHICAGO, July 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Commonwealth Capital LLC, a pioneering provider of Corporate Finance Advisory and Regulation Crowdfunding services, announced today that it has updated its popular e-book with a new Chapter Two dedicated entirely to crowdfunding. The definition of the term “crowdfunding” has evolved in recent years. The term was originally used for donation-based crowdfunding only, but is now used to define capital-based crowdfunding — also known as Regulation Crowdfunding — under Title II (2) and then under Title III (3) of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act of 2012. The JOBS Act has significantly leveled the investment playing field, encouraging a growing number of entrepreneurs to begin fielding their own crowdfunded offerings. Unfortunately, in their excitement to take advantage of these new opportunities, many entrepreneurs fail to recognize that significant legal and managerial risks remain when raising crowdfunded capital. These risks can be devastating professionally and personally if not identified and addressed from the start. “What […]

Crowdfunding in Emerging Markets

August 12, 2016 in /by

A new report, Crowdfunding in Emerging Markets: Lessons from East African Startups, captures lessons learned from East African entrepreneurs who were among the earliest adopters of crowdfunding in the developing world. Crowdfunding is the practice of raising monetary contributions from a large number of people, typically online, to fund a project or venture. In the past 10 years, crowdfunding has evolved into a $16 billion market, largely concentrated in North America and Europe. In developing countries, the crowdfunding market is expected to reach $327 million this year—about 2 percent of the global total. Despite this slow adoption, crowdfunding has been heralded as an opportunity to expand access to capital for entrepreneurs. To better understand the challenges of crowdfunding in emerging markets, the World Bank Group conducted interviews with a number of East African technology entrepreneurs who ran crowdfunding campaigns, both successful and unsuccessful. From the interviews emerged six lessons about when, why, and how to launch crowdfunding campaigns: Crowdfunding is […]

Improving Legal Documents in Crowdfunding: Get Rid of the State Legends!

August 12, 2016 in /by

By Mark Roderick, crowdfunding attorney with Flaster/Greenberg PC. I see lots of offering documents like this, with pages of state “legends.” The good news is that in Crowdfunding offerings – Title II (Rule 506(c)), Title III (Regulation Crowdfunding), and Title IV (Regulation A) – you can and should get rid of them. The legal case is pretty simple: Before 1996, states were allowed to regulate private offerings. Every state allowed exemptions, but these exemptions often required legends, differing from state to state. The National Securities Market Improvement Act of 1996 added section 18 to the Securities Act of 1933. Section 18 provides that no state shall “impose any conditions upon the use of. . . .any offering document that is prepared by or on behalf of the issuer. . . .” in connection with the sale of “covered securities.” The securities sold under Title II, Title III, and Title IV are all “covered securities.” Hence, section 18 prohibits states from imposing any conditions […]

How CrowdFunding is Disrupting Old Banking

August 12, 2016 in /by

By Julie Hanna and Reid Hoffman, reprinted from Crowdfund Beat  In San Francisco, Teresa Goines is breaking down deeply entrenched cycles of poverty and crime, one bowl of peanut butter stew at a time. Old Skool Café, the 1940’s supperclub she started, gives jobs to at-risk and former gang youth. When banks turned her down, 41 people she’d never met crowdfunded a $5000 loan, putting their faith and money in Teresa, a former corrections officer with no restaurant experience in a city where most new restaurants fail. Their bet paid off. She repaid her loan in full. Each year, 25 troubled young people, most who have tangled with the law, get their lives back on track. Today, Teresa has an even bigger dream of opening Old Skool Cafes across the nation and revitalizing communities everywhere. As high-tech investors, both of us value high-impact, fast-growth companies that attract massive global user bases. Companies like these can scale quickly, create thousands of […]