May 16, 2016

For the first time since 1933, SEC regulations allow privately-held companies to raise capital from the general public in exchange for companies’ shares – something that was only previously possible via the traditional path of an IPO.

Nov 02, 2015

We are now experiencing historical momentum where technology, after disrupting just about every part of our human and social lives, is finally impacting the venture financing industry – with important implications for Los Angeles.

Oct 09, 2015

Recently I’ve been noticing a lot of hype in the entrepreneurial community regarding Reg A+ and there have been a lot of cheerful pitches about the new regulation that would allow young companies “to raise up to $50 million without the expense and complexity of a traditional IPO”.

Oct 26, 2015

Says Silchenko: “I like the idea of ‘testing the water,’ which allows companies to promote their potential offerings via public domains, including social media, and to collect unbinding pledges from potential investors to invest in the company before it files the offering to the SEC.”

Nov 17, 2014

Once I heard a fellow investor confess “I don’t do startups” with such a delighted tone, as if he were saying “I don’t do drugs.” Well, if you think about it, every startup by definition is the weakest player in the market with the least resources, an unproven business model and a team with a questionable potential to actually execute.

Dec 03, 2012

Los Angeles has always been a hotbed of opportunity and creativity. But even with the highest number of entrepreneurs living here of any U.S. city (580 per every 100,000 adults, according to a Kauffman Foundation study), it still remains better known for its entertainment industry than any entrepreneurial spirit.

Nov 04, 2013

After more than a year of delays in crafting a workable proposal around the most controversial part of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission has finally given birth to regulatory guidance for equity-based crowdfunding that would enable entrepreneurs to solicit funds from the general public over the Internet in exchange for equity.

Mar 09, 2016

Investors Wanted

If anything, May 16th, 2016 should be opened with the ringing of a bell, similar to the one at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE),...

Feb 22, 2016

Do you remember that story from the early '90s when Arthur Fox pioneered royalty financing as a new form of venture capital? No, me neither. But the fact is that's when we got the first revenue based financing model operating here...

Dec 27, 2015

2016 marks the start of a new era in venture financing and capital formation and if you are an entrepreneur searching the galaxy for capital, well, to borrow a Star Wars saying - May the Force be With You. 

The Force I'm referring to is the emerging army of individual...

Sep 14, 2015

Those who wonder what the hell is going on with the accelerating number of startups getting billion-dollar valuations and above, please raise MY hand.

According to my favorite source on this one - CB Insights, which keeps updating the full list in real time - there are, at...

Jul 21, 2015

The devil is in the data. How else do you explain the fact that $23.3 billion was invested in the marijuana penny stock market last year -- almost as much as the $24.1 billion total of angel investments over the same period.

The popularity of marijuana...

Jun 24, 2015

Okay, let me state upfront that I am completely biased when it comes to running a compelling business: for I believe if you happen to live in the 21st century, your company's stock should be worth money, and you should be able to turn around and sell it.

In other...

May 26, 2015

"Our goals are to become a home for companies raising capital through the JOBS Act, to keep building up US and global securities and to build a diverse community of broker-dealers - and to do so by using technology and transparency." That was one of the insights that Cromwell Coulson,...

Mar 29, 2015

Curious? I don't blame you - especially if you are an entrepreneur or an indie-producer in search of capital and have been patiently waiting for the JOBS act rules to come to life.

In a rather surprising recent move, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chaired by...

Mar 05, 2015

In life, whatever it is we are seeking will not arrive in the form we are expecting.

Such is the case with raising equity in a post JOBS Act market - something that fascinated but at the same time confused many business owners.

Dec 02, 2014

While some might think that royalty based crowdfunding is a new sheriff in town, the truth is that selling a portion of a future sale (royalty) in return for an investment has been quite popular for many years in the pharmaceutical and oil & gas industries, as well as among...

Nov 03, 2014

"Every one of my books had killed me a little more," - this profound and highly personal quote by American author Norman Mailer has become one of my favorites since I started writing about startups funding. For with each new article, the more I would dig deep into research, the...

Nov 21, 2013

The Oscar-winning writer of The King's Speech David Seidler is an extraordinary human and a great friend I am fortunate to have in my life. When I asked him to open our NextGen Entrepreneurship and Global Crowdfunding Forum last week here in Los Angeles, he asked...

Nov 05, 2013

If equity crowdfunding had the same alert system color code as Homeland Security, it would have jumped from green to orange on October 23rd, 2013.

For that was the date on which the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally issued their delayed by 15 months proposal (Title III...

Jul 16, 2013

It is official -- on July 10th, 2013 the Security and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.) lifted theban for private offering advertising. This means that once the rule goes into effect (60 days after publication in the Federal Register -- so we are talking about mid September), startups along...

Jun 11, 2013

I have to confess, I've never believed in the camping by the White House -- trying to make the proverbial "Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle" as my personal (perhaps idealistic) motto. Ultimately, just like many other entrepreneurs frustrated with a broken financial system that somehow got detached...

May 06, 2013

Nikola Tesla wrote once, "The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine." I can see this being quoted by any supporter of equity based crowdfunding (or crowdinvesting) -- an innovative online tool that would give you a legitimate right to own a stake in a...

Apr 12, 2013

When I arrived to Palo Alto on the eve of April 3rd to attend the Silicon Valley Crowdfunding Conference on the following day, I found myself in a group of some of the most prominent leaders in the crowdfunding community, such as Ruth Hedges (creator of

Mar 11, 2013

For the first time in a digital and human history, a film funded by the people (a.k.a. crowd) has won an Oscar. Inocente had the help of 294 backers who donated over $52K in total via Kickstarter, the leading crowdfunding platform which utilizes contribution (donation) model. The beautifully done story...

Feb 05, 2013

When I opened our monthly Global LAVA group meeting last Friday, I couldn't help but pronounce it out loud: "If anyone would like to know what the market trends are, check out our LAVA (Los Angeles Venture Association) meetings and see how packed the room is!"...

Dec 11, 2012

What is the five-letter word sure to strike fear into the hearts of investors everywhere? Fraud.

But what I can't understand is why this particular f-word keeps being associated with equity crowdfunding. Sure, the involvement of large crowds statistically does increase the probability of a fraud in any industry. The...