A Fraud? Us?
We talk a lot about the danger of fraudulent companies posing as legitimate ones, but just as real, if less discussed, is the danger that legitimate companies will be unfairly dismissed because they don’t look legitimate. This possibility was highlighted for me in a bit of irony this week. I had just finished a presentation […]
What Has to Happen Before CrowdFunding Goes Legal (Or How I Quit Worrying and Learned to Love the Administrative Process)
One of the best parts of my job is talking to entrepreneurs, both the entrepreneurs whose businesses are considering securities-based crowdfunding and the entrepreneurs who are starting crowdfunding platforms. The one question I hear the most from both camps is “When are we going to be able to start?”. Unfortunately, the only answer we can […]
Even “Low-Dollar” Fraud Can Have Huge Costs
The Verge has another interesting article on how Kickstarter handles fraud in the wake of the Mythic scam. While the article is filled with a lot of interesting information, I found a statement from an unnamed Kickstarter board member troubling. According to Emily Gera, this board member said “that the company ‘can’t’ protect backers from […]
Don’t underestimate the risk of fraud in crowdfunding
The Economist has a really excellent article on the rise of crowdfunding that shows how it has expanded from fad to multi-billion dollar capital-formation vehicle. If I have one quibble with it it is that the article is too dismissive on the risk of fraud. The article quotes Mr. Yancey Stickler, a co-founder of Kickstarter, […]
Read Sara’s article in Newsday
Steps for SEC to regulate crowdfunding
Waiting for Clarity
It has been a while since we updated the blog. No, we haven’t lost our love of crowdfunding. Rather, we have been spending much of the past month meeting with entrepreneurs and talking about the promise and peril that crowdfunding poses. These conversations have been inspiring and informative. They also show that there is a […]
Five steps the SEC can take to make crowdfunding work
Five steps the SEC can take to make crowdfunding work – Reuters Op-Ed
CrowdCheck in the Washington Post
As regulators set rules for equity-based crowdfunding, investors prepare for its impact
CrowdCheck in the Washington Business Journal (subscription)
Implications of the JOBS Act, Part One: Crowd control?
Crowdfunding could open doors to more startup investment
Crowdfunding could open doors to more startup investment (pay wall) – New Orleans City Business