Identifying potential investors is one of the most difficult challenges facing early-stage companies. The range of amounts sought at this stage is typically greater than what could be provided by the founders and friends and family, but below what would attract a VC or a registered broker-dealer. The problem is even more acute in geographic
Elon Musk’s contentious relationship with the Securities and Exchange Commission is
likely to become even more complicated as a result of Mr. Musk’s filings with the Commission to report his recent purchases of shares in Twitter, Inc.
On April 4, 2022, Elon Musk filed a Schedule 13G with the SEC to report his ownership of
The Securities and Exchange Commission just proposed new rules to protect
investors in private investment funds. The proposed rules would require private fund advisers to disclose certain information and avoid certain practices. But these retail-like protections for private fund investors seem inconsistent with the long-held belief that such investors can fend for themselves. The proposed
Ever since the SPAC market exploded in late 2020 and early 2021, the SEC has sounded
alarm bells through investor alerts, staff statements and public comments. In March of 2021, it warned investors not to invest in SPACs just because of celebrity endorsements. In April, an SEC staff announcement said SPACs needed to account for
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced on July 13, 2021 that it settled fraud charges against a special purpose acquisition company, its sponsor, its sponsor’s CEO and its proposed merger target for making misleading statements about the target’s technology and national security concerns. Charges against the target’s CEO are proceeding. The settlement order imposes
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
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
The Securities and Exchange Commission expanded the definition of “accredited investor” by adding new categories of investors that have sufficient investment knowledge and expertise to participate in private investment opportunities. The amendments mark a shift away from wealth as the sole focus of eligibility. The new rule is effective 60 days after publication in the
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
Public companies stressing over how to meet filing deadlines during 
the COVID-19 crisis and what to say about the pandemic’s impact just received a filing reprieve and disclosure guidance from the SEC. The Securities and Exchange Commission issued an order on March 25, 2020 conditionally extending the deadlines for certain public company filings under the