The anti-child trafficking thriller “Sound of Freedom” just opened in theatres on July 4th. Based on a true story, it stars Jim Caviezal as former Homeland Security special agent Tim Ballard who quits his job with the agency and embarks on a mission to rescue children from traffickers in Latin America. Another true story relating to the film is that the cost of marketing it has been funded through an equity crowdfunding campaign under Regulation CF. What makes it even more interesting is that the investment instrument issued in this crowdfunding offering was not your typical stock, convertible note or SAFE, but rather something called a revenue participation right.Continue Reading Revenue Participation Rights as a Crowdfunding Instrument Alternative
crowdfunding
Securities Safety Check for New TV Series “Unicorn Hunters”
A new reality streaming television series called Unicorn Hunters debuts May 10 in which startups will pitch to a panel that includes Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and the panelists after grilling the entrepreneurs will make decisions on whether or not to invest, similar to Shark Tank. But unlike the couch potato viewers of Shark…
Why Private Capital and Crowdfunding Markets Should be Nervous about President Biden’s Regulatory Freeze
A freeze on government regulation is generally perceived by most people as being a positive development for private enterprise. Not necessarily so, however, when the regulation being frozen is itself a reform of preexisting regulatory burdens.
Among the many Presidential Actions taken by President Biden on his first day in office was one entitled Regulatory…
Strict Traffic Rules for New Crowdfunding Vehicles – Part Three of Exempt Offering Amendments Deeper Dive
You just raised $1 million in your crowdfunding offering under Title III/Regulation CF. That’s the good news. The bad news? You now have over a thousand shareholders on your cap table, making it unwieldy, an administrative nightmare and likely to impede future funding. It means a huge challenge seeking consents for such things as director…
Exempt Offering Amendments Deeper Dive, Part One: Higher Offering Caps
Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission passed sweeping reforms of the rules governing exempt offerings (the “2020 Reforms”) to make it easier for issuers to move from one exemption to another, to bring clarity and consistency to the rules governing offering communications, to increase offering and investment limits and to harmonize certain disclosure requirements…
COVID-19 Capital Needs Addressed by Temporary Relaxation of Title III Crowdfunding Rules
Title III crowdfunding may be an attractive capital raising alternative during the current Coronavirus pandemic because it allows companies to use the internet to solicit potential investors and not be restricted to accredited investors. But some of the requirements under Regulation Crowdfunding may diminish its utility for issuers with urgent capital needs as a result…
In my Backyard: Real Estate Developers can Use Equity Crowdfunding both to Fund Projects and Convert Opposition
Real estate developers should seriously consider equity crowdfunding to fund development projects for two major reasons, one of which has little or nothing to do with money. The first reason is that new securities offering legislation enacted in 2012 creates new legal capital raising pathways which allow developers for the first time to use the…
“Third Time’s a Charm”: House Adopts JOBS Act 3.0 to Fix Earlier Capital Raising Reform Efforts
It’s not often that the House of Representatives votes nearly unanimously on anything noteworthy these days, but that’s exactly what the House did on July 17 in voting 406-4 for the “JOBS and Investor Confidence Act of 2018”, also known on the street as “JOBS Act 3.0”, which is the latest iteration of the effort…
Regulation Crowdfunding Surpasses $100 Million but Still Needs Reform
A recent report on the state of Regulation Crowdfunding published by a major crowdfunding advisory firm is cause for both celebration and renewed reform efforts. The $100 million aggregate funding milestone and the prorated year over year growth data indicate that the market, while still in its infancy, is growing at a nice pace. Nevertheless,…
Good Choice: Important Capital Formation Reforms in Financial CHOICE Act of 2017 Passed by House
On June 8, 2017, the House of Representatives passed the Financial CHOICE Act of 2017 on a vote of 233-186. Congress loves acronyms, and here “CHOICE” stands for Creating Hope and Opportunity for Investors, Consumers and Entrepreneurs. Although the thrust of the bill is focused on repeal or modification of significant portions of the Dodd-Frank…