crowdfunding

A measure to amend the state securities laws in order to permit equity crowdfunding won approval in the Wisconsin Legislature following swift and unanimous passage in the Senate this week. The bill, called the Wisconsin Crowdfunding and Securities Exemptions (CASE) for Jobs Act, is aimed at providing better access to small business capital by connecting Wisconsin-based investors with startups through crowdfunding websites. Wisconsin now joins three other states, Georgia, Kansas and North Carolina, that have enacted similar securities exemptions. Lawmakers across several states, including in New Jersey, have cited frustrations regarding the delay in full implementation of the federal JOBS Act as a reason for creating the state-level exemptions.

Earlier this week, the Securities Exchange Commission’s (SEC) final rules allowing general solicitation went into effect. General solicitation broadly means the public advertisement that an entrepreneur or business is raising capital via the sale of securities (e.g., stock, loans, and bonds). The new rules are a major step toward a true U.S. investment crowdfunding market that should dramatically increase the availability of startup capital.

Georgia Tech has launched a crowdfunding resource for university-based students and faculty. Originally announced in the spring, Georgia Tech joins several other universities that are using crowdfunding to finance commercialization and the development of startups based on university research. The field has become common and relevant enough that an online community has started tracking this growth.

During a recent public hearing, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a new rule that moves equity-based crowdfunding one step closer to reality. As mandated by the JOBS Act (see the March 28, 2012 issue of the Digest), the new rule will allow companies to publicly advertise, market and disclose the fact that they are fundraising. However, the sale of securities is still restricted to accredited investors and the company must take reasonable steps to verify that all purchasers are accredited. Previously, under the general solicitation ban, companies had to raise money via word of mouth and other private forms of communication including secure online portals (AngelList, Gust, etc.). The new rule allows companies to buy ads or openly announce that they are seeking investors. According to Venture Beat, the final step of enacting the JOBS Act would allow the sale of securities to non-accredited investors, but that is still months away due to a lengthy SEC review process. Read the SEC press release...

The University of Virginia has announced a six–month pilot initiative to fund early stage research via an exclusive crowdfunding portal. In partnership with USEED Inc, a crowdfunding startup focused on philanthropic fundraising for higher education, the U.Va. Innovation administered portal will allow alumni, donors and others to make targeted, tax-deductible donations in support of specific research and development projects. During the pilot initiative, the site (https://uva.useed.net/) will feature up to 10 translational research projects across a spectrum of research topics that include making life-saving water purification tools more widely available in rural areas of South Africa and a new forensic dye that will help medical professionals visualize sexual assault injuries more effectively on women of all skin tones. According to university officials, this is the first university-crowdfunding startup partnership that has led to the launch of a university–administered portal to support faculty-led research.

Shortly after the first anniversary of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act — see the March 28, 2012 issue of the Digest) Mary Jo White was sworn in as the 31st Chair of the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). In the crowdfunding and tech communities, Chairperson White's appointment sparked significant discussion about the future of SEC regulation of equity-based crowdfunding and when the regulations would be released. According to a recent Bloomberg article, Chairperson White intends to prioritize establishing rules mandated by the JOBS Act by pushing for changes that will allow hedge funds to advertise to the general consumers. Although there is no clear timeline for the release of these equity-based crowdfunding rules — experts believe it could be as early as the end of 2013 or well into 2014 — some important questions remain:

On November 15, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) will host the "SEC Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation," an annual forum focused on the capital formation concerns of small business. This year's agenda will focus on the implementation of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act), specifically equity-based crowdfunding regulation. The forum also will look at issues related to capital for small business that were not addressed by the JOBS Act.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its first proposed rule that will help make equity-based crowdfunding a reality. The proposed rule (Rule 506) will allow for the general solicitation and general advertising of securities. At this point, however, the rule will only apply to accredited investors — an individual with income of more than $200,000 per year or a net worth of over $1 million dollars, excluding the value of the investor's primary residence. To ensure this, the businesses issuing the securities must take reasonable steps to verify that the purchasers of the securities are accredited. The SEC did not comment on when advertisement of securities offerings to non-accredited investors will be permissible.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the largest independent regulator of securities firms doing business in the United States, invites public comment on the appropriate scope of FINRA rules that should apply to firms engaging in equity crowdfunding activities, either as funding portals or as brokers. Under crowdfunding exemptions of the JOBS Act, intermediaries performing crowdfunding on behalf of entrepenuers and startups must register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a funding portal or broker. They also are mandated to register with an applicable self-regulatory organization (SRO) such as FINRA.

In 2011, European startups and other projects raised approximately €1.5 billion ($1.8 billion) through crowdfunding, according to a report from Nesta, an innovation focused foundation located in the United Kingdom. In The Venture Crowd, Nesta researchers found that a significant portion of those funds raised were by reward-based crowdfunding, where participants receive non-financial rewards in exchange for donating to a project. However, other crowdfunding models are growing rapidly including donation crowdfunding, crowdfunded lending and equity crowdfunding.