What due diligence looks like – Part 2: Checking the corporate form
The first installment of our Due Diligence Series addressed a fundamental issue in crowdfunding due diligence: making sure that the offered shares have been properly issued. This installment concerns an equally basic and essential issue: making sure that the company whose shares you are buying has been properly incorporated. There are many corporate forms a company can use, such […]
What due diligence really looks like
There’s been a lot of discussion about what due diligence is (and isn’t) in the crowdfunding context. As we get closer to going live on crowdfunding, we thought it might be a good idea to start a series of blog posts that explain what good “due diligence” really looks like, and the things that investors […]
The perils of the pivot
Everyone in the startup world knows a good pivot story, right? The wedding planner site that became a peer-to-peer boat rental outfit, the “gay Groupon” that became a fabulously successful retailer. It’s not that unusual for a team to find that their original concept just isn’t going to work, but they have this other idea that is going to […]
Sara Hanks quoted in The Street article on crowdfunding
JOBS Act Creates Crowdfunding Industry but No IPOs
Sara Hanks quoted in Businessweek article on crowdfunding
Crowdfunding’s on Hold. So is Crowdfunding Fraud.
Investor protection: not just avoiding fraud
There’s a lot of talk in the crowdfunding community about investor protection. Folks in the regulatory community and in the press are focusing on the potential for fraud. And at CrowdCheck we absolutely agree that preventing fraud is vital. After all, we were founded with the mission of avoiding fraud. But you know what? Investor protection […]
Seeking crowdfunding abroad: you still have to play by US rules
Earlier this month at the American Bar Association Business Law Section Fall Meeting, Paul Dudek, Chief of the SEC’s Office of International Corporate Finance, reminded US companies seeking funding abroad that they are still subject to US regulation. A US company that offers its securities on a foreign crowdfunding platform, for example, must make sure […]
Crowdfunding not number one on SEC’s to-do list
Well, as we’ve already pointed out, it will not be legally or logistically possible for the SEC to have its crowdfunding regulations in place by December 31. Some commentators have speculated that we might get the proposals December. Or January. All I can say with respect to timing is that at a tribute dinner on Thursday […]
Let’s (NOT) make that video!
Hello, entrepreneurs! Are you busily working on that killer video you’re going to use to raise funds once crowdfunding is legal? Have you recruited top film talent to really sell your company and your terrific business plan? Will it be a tribute to your company’s stellar qualities? I hope not. I really hope not. Yes, […]
What is an “offer” of securities and why should you care?
One aspect of US securities laws that frequently trips up the unwary is the fact that US law regulates both the offer and the sale of securities. This is unlike most other securities regulation regimes, and it seems counterintuitive to most folks. After all, if you offer securities in a way you shouldn’t have and […]