(2011-12-15) Investment Crowdfunding Bill

In February 2011, a group of entrepreneurs banded together and formed 'The Startup Exemption' with the goal to lobby Washington DC to update the Federal Security Laws to make it legal for Entrepreneur-s to use Crowd Funding for a limited amount of early-stage equity-based financing (Private Capital). With the assistance of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council (SBEC) they partook in two hearings on Capitol Hill. Their framework was the basis for the Entrepreneur Access To Capital Act (HR:2930) introduced by Rep. Patrick Mc Henry (R-NC). In November 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R 2930 in a vote 407-17. It reduces restrictions on small-scale crowdfunding of for-profit businesses currently present in state and securities law. The Democratizing Access To Capital Act (S:1791) was awaiting action in the U.S. Senate. (Investment Crowdfunding)

Mar'2012: this has become the Jobs Act.

FloydNorris thinks this is really about undoing the improvement of regulation that came after the DotCom bubble pop. “In three years, or maybe five years, they’ll be back to fix these loopholes, because there will be a huge amount of fraud,” Mr. PaulGillis forecast. He suggested the bill be renamed the “Jump-start Our Bilking of Suckers Act.”

Mar23: the bill passed the Senate. Fred Wilson gives his thoughts.