Crowdcheck Blog
Insights and information for online capital formation
1. Know what you are buying
Startups can offer equity or debt, or different classes of shares with different rights. Understand what you are buying and what rights you have. In an equity investment, the investor becomes a shareholder, and owns a small part of the business. Whether the shareholder has a vote or not depends on what sort of shares the startup is offering, and you might not have any say in the company's direction. Until the company "goes public" and does an IPO, the only way to get any of your money back is through the private markets: finding an accredited investor (someone rich) to buy your shares, selling the shares back to the company (if…
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Want to Raise Money With Crowdfunding? Consider These Tips - Entrepreneur Magazine
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Great article in Entrepreneur Magazine on the things Crowdfunding Entrepreneurs need to keep in mind when they pursue crowdfunding, including advice from our CEO Ms. Sara Hanks!
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Washington, DC- Today Sara Hanks, securities attorney and cofounder of CrowdCheck, applauded the JOBS Act for expanding crowdfunding investments to for-profit businesses, but cautioned that entrepreneurs and investors must be vigilant against possible fraud in the marketplace.
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Recently there has been some concern about the risks that accepting equity crowd funding may present to a company if they were to seek Venture Capitalist or other institutional funding later. David Marlett, the Executive Director of the National Crowdfunding Association has a useful post discussing why the concern is overblown and what steps entrepreneurs can take to structure their crowdfunding so that they, and their "crowdholders", are not at a disadvantage when it comes time to get VC funding.
The fact is that VCs are intelligent, adaptable people ...otherwise they wouldn't make it to be VCs. So long as an entrepreneur is smart about HOW they structure…
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As CrowdFunding continues to take the country by storm it makes sense that the industry needs a trade association. Enter the National CrowdFunding Association. Check out the NCFA's press release and (temporary) webpage to get more information on the CrowdFunding industry as a whole and the exciting plans for the future!
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For Immediate Release: April 2, 2012
Contact for media inquiries: Abigail Gardner | agardner@skdknick.com | 202.464.6603
Washington, DC- Today Sara Hanks, securities attorney and cofounder of CrowdCheck, applauded the JOBS Act for expanding crowdfunding investments to for-profit businesses, but cautioned that entrepreneurs and investors must be vigilant against possible fraud in the marketplace.
President Obama is expected to sign the legislation into law soon. Hanks, the former general counsel for the Congressional Oversight Committee for TARP that monitored the federal banking bailout, said the new law will strike a good balance between allowing the Internet…
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Not sure about some of the crowdfunding provisions in the JOBS Act? Well, we'll be providing a plain-language summary of the Act on this site very soon. In the meantime, a couple of the Senators most concerned with crowdfunding have made some very helpful comments that clarify, for example, that crowdfunding portals are allowed to perform due diligence services, and act as holder of record for crowdfunded investments. See Thursday's Congressional Record.
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Corporate crowdfunding is the talk of the town! Our CEO Sara Hanks talks with NPR's All Things Considered about the promise and peril of crowdfunding. Check back for more information about how Crowdcheck helps investors avoid fraud and helps entrepreneurs show the world they mean business.
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Hot off the digital presses is a copy of the JOBS Act (PDF) that is awaiting the President's signature. It is a big bill addressing many areas besides Crowdfunding, but the good stuff is in Title III of the bill. I'm not going to lie, it reads like a statute (all the lawyers in the audience just shuddered) in a few places. But never fear! Follow this blog to get regular insight and analysis from our CEO and our other experienced security lawyers on what this means for entrepreneurs and investors.
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