Non-accredited investors are estimated to constitute approximately 92% of the U.S. population. Yet restrictive rules governing exempt offerings have significantly limited their freedom to invest in private offerings and prevented or discouraged issuers from selling them privately offered securities. But in a recently issued concept release, the Securities and Exchange Commission has signaled a
Raising Capital
Behind 2018’s Boom Year for Venture Capital

2018 was a historically good year for venture capital in the United States in terms of dollars invested by VC funds in U.S. companies, dollars raised by VC funds and dollar value of exits by VC-backed companies, according to the Venture Monitor for Q4 2018 published by PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association. VC…
“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,…
What Can’t be Cured, Must be Endured: Delaware Limits Defective Corporate Act Ratification

A recent Delaware Chancery Court decision provides important guidance on what types of defective corporate acts may be ratified under Section 204 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”), and what types may not. Paul Nguyen v. View, Inc. also underscores the importance of focusing on whether to opt out of the class vote…
The JOBS Act at Five: Congressional Hearing Highlights Need for Further Reform
On March 22, the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Securities, and Investment of the Financial Services Committee conducted a hearing entitled “The JOBS Act at Five: Examining Its Impact and Ensuring the Competitiveness of the U.S. Capital Markets”, focusing on the impact of the JOBS Act on the U.S. capital markets and its effect on capital…
The Snap IPO: Speculation Without (Board) Representation

The just completed IPO of Snap Inc. has received enormous buzz and plenty of press coverage, mostly about its eye-popping valuation and offering proceeds, the big winners among the founders and early investors and the millennials who bought shares. But not nearly as much attention has been given to Snap’s tri-class capital structure…
Valuation Disconnect Leads to 2016 IPO Drought
2016 turned out to be a terrible year for IPOs, both in terms of number of deals and aggregate proceeds.
According to Renaissance Capital’s U.S. IPO Market 2016 Annual Review, only 105 companies went public on U.S. exchanges in 2016, raising only $19 billion in aggregate proceeds. The deal count of 105 IPOs was…
SEC Adopts Rules to Facilitate Intrastate and Regional Offerings

On October 26, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted final rules intended to make intrastate and regional offerings more viable pathways for smaller raises. The new rules (i) amend Rule 147 to simplify the “doing business” standard, (ii) create a new intrastate exemption, Rule 147A, which allows use of the internet and other forms…
Seed Round Model Structures, Part I: Equity

The cost of launching an Internet-based startup has fallen dramatically over the last 15 years. This democratization of internet-based entrepreneurship resulted primarily from two innovations: open source software and cloud computing. During the dot-com era, Internet-based startups had to build infrastructure by acquiring expensive servers and software licenses and hiring IT support staff. So the…