Last year, President Obama opened up a whole new source of funding when he signed the JOBS Act to let small business owners crowdfund. Part of the legislation has yet to be realized. The bill allows small business owners to give equity in their companies, but they still can’t do it. The SEC has yet to come up with the necessary regulation to put the provision in place. Sherwood Neiss, …Read More

Sang Lee is the founder and CEO of Return on Change (www.returnonchange.com), the next generation’s equity crowdfunding platform aiming to connect investors with innovative and socially conscious startups. As a board member of CFIRA (Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Advocates) and CfPA (Crowdfunding Professionals Association), Sang strives to educate innovative entrepreneurs about equity crowdfunding’s immense potential to provide high-impact startups with critical early stage capital as well as everyday investors with the …Read More

CFIRA welcomes the SEC’s approval of FINRA’s Form for Funding Portals. We see this as a very positive and proactive sign that both agencies intend to prioritize rule making on the JOBS Act. This information request is the first public and meaningful step toward developing rules and the implementation of securities-based Crowdfunding,” says DJ Paul of GATE Technologies and CFIRA Board member. Kim Wales, the Founder of Wales Capital, CfPA …Read More

Now here is the 1 percent that you do want to hear about! The world is on the precipice of creating a trillion-dollar crowdfunding market. In Australia, the ASSOB has offered a crowdfunding investment portal since 2005. In the U.K., equity crowdfunding is already in progress, with investment platforms such as Crowdcube and Seedups. And in the Netherlands with Symbid. The crowdfunding components of the American JOBS Act and the Italian Decreto Crescitaare now in the process of finalizing …Read More

There are some restrictions on how much investors may invest.  Investors who have either annual income of less than $100,000 or whose net worth (presumably excluding the principal residence) is less than $100,000 may only invest in any 12-month period the greater of $2,000 or 5 percent of the investor’s annual income or net worth.  One thing companies using crowdfunding will need to consider is whether they want to set …Read More

Tuesday’s Crowdfund Texas Conference, held at the Omni Hotel in downtown Austin, attracted 235 industry luminaries, state officials, and aspiring entrepreneurs to the one-day event hosted by Texas super angel investor and Laughing at Wall Street author Chris Camillo. In partnership with the Crowdfunding Professional Association (CfPA) and Startup Texas, the conference featured prominent Crowdfunding platforms, legal experts and analysts discussing the current state of the industry. Attendees provided interesting insight into …Read More

Congress passed a law last year that allows startup companies to raise money directly from investors through online crowdfunding portals. The only problem is the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not yet released rules to tell the crowdfunding industry how to do that. It’s part of the nitty-gritty details of theJumpstart Our Business Startups, known as JOBS Act, that are still being hashed out even after President Obama signed …Read More

Sherwood Neiss is passionate about entrepreneurship. And he has helped lead the charge to change nearly 80-year-old federal securities laws about investing, so that entrepreneurs can gain access to capital. Called crowdfunding, the changes will allow small investors to fund start-up businesses, hopefully creating jobs and boosting the economy in the process. Earlier this month, while Neiss was in Dubai speaking at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, we emailed him questions. …Read More

Sherwood “Woodie” Neiss is passionate about entrepreneurship. And he has helped lead the charge to change nearly 80-year-old federal securities laws about investing, so that entrepreneurs can gain access to capital. Called crowdfunding, the changes will allow small investors to fund start-up businesses, hopefully creating jobs and boosting the economy in the process. Earlier this month, while Neiss was in Dubai speaking at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, we emailed him …Read More

The main organization lobbying to legalize equity crowdfunding in Canada is teaming up with a major U.S. group to bolster its efforts. Invest CrowdFund Canada (ICC) announced today it is formally partnering with the U.S.-based Crowdfunding Professionals Association (CfPA). The new partnership – referred to as the CfPA/ICC National Canadian Board – will feature CfPA co-chair Sherwood Neiss as well as board members from ICC including ICC national chair Dr. …Read More