Raising capital for your brilliant business idea through crowdfunding sounds like a simple and straightforward process, but it involves much more than setting up an online donation box. The SEC missing its original July 5 deadline to finalize regulations indicates this investment strategy is a little more complicated than it sounds. As the authors of the crowdfunding framework used in the JOBS Act (and life-long entrepreneurs ourselves), we offer the …Read More

Crowdfunding legislation advocates Sherwood Neiss and Jason Best now head the Crowdfunding Professional Association (CfPA), which was previously under the leadership of Berkeley Geddes, Crowdsourcing.org has learned. The CfPA enacted the transition during a board meeting on Tuesday, June 19. Officially formed May 7, a month after President Barack Obama signed the JOBS Act, the CfPA aims to grow and help cement the credibility of the nascent global crowdfunding community. Neiss …Read More

1.  Startups and small business need to know that using equity-based or debt-based funding may NOT be done until the SEC issues its final rules regarding equity and debt-based crowdfunding.  This is scheduled to occur in the first quarter of 2013, but the exact date will be determined by the SEC. 2.  Businesses that want to be successful with crowdfunding will still need to complete all the steps that are …Read More

Maurice Lopes, the president and CEO of equity-based crowdfunding platform EarlyShares, left the National Crowdfunding Association(NLCFA) in favor of the Crowdfunding Professionals Association (CfPA), he confirmed to Crowdsourcing.org earlier today. EarlyShares co-founder Renee Caputi, Crowdnetic founder and CEO Luan Cox, and CrowdCheck CEO Sara Hanks also left the organization, according to Lopes. Previously members of NLCFA’s interim board of directors, Lopes, Caputi, and Cox will now work with the CfPA to further industry goals …Read More

Since mid-June, Ben Powell’s Manhattan firm, Motive LLC, has attracted more than $12,500 from 370-plus backers for its product, a stylus to handwrite notes and draw on the iPad. Like other small businesses that have won over supporters through Kickstarter, a crowdfunding site for companies seeking to raise money online from individuals, Mr. Powell rewards backers with small gifts. Motive, for example, provides everything from a single black stylus for …Read More

Last month I spoke to the leaders of RocketHub, a popular crowdfunding platform, about the efforts they and others supported by the Crowdfunding Professional Association (CfPA) are making to advance the rules and safeguards for expanding Crowdfunding to equity crowdfunding for businesses with the implementation of the JOBS Act in 2013. Mr. Alon Hillel-Tuch testifies to the SEC regarding the crowdfunding aspects of the JOBS Act in Congress on June 26. While the actual implementation …Read More

Today is a very special day because we finally get to announce details surrounding the first annual Crowdfunding Bootcamp™ and CfPA Convention which will take place this October at the Ravella Resort and Spa in Lake Las Vegas. If you’re an entrepreneur looking to crowdfund for equity early next year then this event is for you! Presented by CrowdfundingRoadmap and the Crowdfunding Professional Association (CfPA), it’s already being referred to as the most anticipated crowdfunding …Read More

The recent news about the signing of the JOBS ACT bill created as much excitement as confusion through the entrepreneurial and investment community. Dana Mauriello does a great job here putting into simple terms what the new legislation means and what perhaps this could mean for entrepreneurs. The truth is, there is still much work to be done by the SEC and numerous organizations in order to figure out the details behind crowdfunding. …Read More

Last week I delivered the keynote address at the first Crowdfunding Made Simple conference in Salt Lake City, sponsored by theCrowdfunding Professional Association (CfPA). The CfPA plans another Salt Lake City event within the next several months.  The first event was well received by more than 200 attendees.  The slides from my presentation are available at http://www.slideshare.net/cconner01/crowdfunding-made-easy-conference-may-31-2012-slc. I was asked to give the audience a high level overview on the various sources …Read More

CfIRA representatives have already met with the members of the Corporate Finance, Trading and Markets and Office of the Compliance Inspection Divisions of the SEC. Our interest was to hash out new rules and regulations governing crowdfunding. The process is ongoing, and this meeting was just the start. In this series, we’ll lay out some of the important points covered, our concerns and suggestions. Any workable crowdfunding regulation will require an …Read More