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SEC Delaying Rulemaking for the JOBS Act…What Now?!

By  for Ecopreneurist.com

DECEMBER 17, 2012

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair, Mary Schapiro, recently announced her resignation from the position, but prior to doing so; put the brakes on removing the ban on general solicitation and advertising for issuers of certain offerings.  While not directly related to crowdfunding, this provision of the JOBS Act is potentially one of the most important and necessary components to eventually provide the much awaited crowdfunding regulations.

The SEC was charged to form regulations by July 4th 2012 and clearly blew through that deadline.  However, for startups that are looking to utilize crowdfunding to raise early stage capital, there are a few considerations that need to be kept in mind in light of these recent developments:

Don’t Give up Hope

Crowdfunding regulations were anticipated much earlier, but as with anything that requires changing of timeless regulations, it was bound to take longer than the optimists had estimated.  The spirit of the legislation still holds to support startups and small business, and some of the members of the new guard at the SEC are believed to be strong supporters of crowdfunding.  What appeared to be new delays may actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise by accelerating the pathway to implementation of equity crowdfunding.

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Crowd-funding meant to help small start-ups

By Wayne T. Price for FLORIDA TODAY

12/16/12

 

The Space Coast likes to boast, often with good reason, about the area’s deep pool of entrepreneurs.

Some of them are trying hard to get the attention of investors through the Space Coast Energy Consortium’s “Space Coast Challenge,” a venture with the New York-based crowd-funding company RocketHub Inc.

Last month, the consortium selected 10 area entrepreneurs to participate in the fund raising challenge using RocketHub as the launch site. Two dropped out of consideration and now there are eight in the group.

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CROWDFUNDING YEAR IN REVIEW

By Posted by Eric Mack  for crowdsourcing.org

Dec 17, 2012 03:52 pm GMT

In case you hadn’t heard, 2012 was the year that crowdfunding exploded onto the scene. Sure, Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Rockethub and others were around before this year, but the last 12 months saw the very concept permeate much deeper into the collective consciousness.

Numerous new platforms like WhenYouWish.com and niche platforms like Medstartr opened their doors, the JOBS Act in the US and other laws in Europe opened the door for equity crowdfunding, and donation-based campaigns began to collect seven-figure totals from the crowd.

To kick-off our year-end review of crowdfunding in 2012, our team profiled the five highest-grossing projects of the year. Lots of them have to do with gadgets and gaming, as you’ll see. I want to make it clear that these big money-makers are just a small slice of the overall crowdfunding pie, and we believe this top five reflects the fact that gamers and gadget early adopters have emerged as a kind of early “sweet spot” for donation-based crowdfunding. More about that in a massolution research report coming out soon.

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Crowdfunding could Revolutionize Lending!

8:44AM GMT 17 Dec 2012

Andrew Haldane said that he believed the rise of peer-to-peer lenders such as Zopa and Funding Circle – which match up companies needing money with investors – and crowdfunding, where small amounts are raised from a number of funders, will challenge major banks.

“The mono-banking culture we have had since the 1990s is on its way out,” Mr Haldane told The Independent.

“Instead, we are seeing a much more diverse eco-system emerging with the growth of new non-bank groups offering peer-to peer lending and crowdfunding which are operating directly with a wider public.”

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Platform Review: Pozible

Summary: Pozible is a crowdfunding platform for creative-minded individuals looking to raise funds, realize their aspirations, and make great ideas become a reality. Project creators are able to present their visions to a worldwide audience, as the platform recently went global.

Best Feature: Unlike some of the other crowdfunding platforms, Pozible offers a variety of resources to help their users succeed. The Pozible Handbook provided by the team includes guidelines for before you start, how to set up your campaign, what to do during your campaign, and where to go after your campaign. Furthermore, the site provides a helpful blog with crowdfunding tips as well as an advice section from previous crowdfunders.

What To Consider: Pozible has an “all or nothing” approach. Each project owner is forced to set a funding goal and time limit (from 1-90 days) for their idea. If you are unsuccessful in raising your goal during the set time period, all pledges are canceled and the funds are not transferred. If you are able to estimate your projected funding, then this will not be an issue, but the race against time could deter you from your ultimate goal.

Ideal User: Pozible is developed for artists, musicians, filmmakers, journalists, designers, social change makers, entrepreneurs, inventors, event organizers, and software developers. The platform brings the creative-minded together.

Cost: There is a standard service fee of 5% as of June 6, 2012. Fees only apply to successful projects.

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Christie Street New Object-based Crowdfunding site Promises to Carefully Check Projects Out First!

When the disappointment of unfulfilled pledgers set in on Kickstarter, the notion was that something had to be done. I thought the solution would have been to better educate backers on the potential fallibility of the design process, but I realize that’s unrealistic, given how long it takes us ID’ers to learn what we know: Two to four years of school, the internships, the first few floundering projects executed as a freshly-minted designer.

For Full Story Click Here Core77.com

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Crowdfunding: Investors at your fingertips

As an innovative means of raising funds, equity crowdfunding has emerged as an alternative solution for start-up and early stage businesses. Businesses looking for cashflow may not often think beyond the traditional types of funding. Bank loans, overdrafts, invoice financing and all manner of other solutions available from banks are naturally a first point of call for SMEs, and finding the right solution can ensure a business has the finance it needs for anything from day-to-day cashflow, to expansion or growth.

For the full story click Here The Guardian