The New York Times recently published a piece titled “Want to Invest in SpaceX? Here’s What to Know Ahead of Its I.P.O.”  In a section asking how much investors could make from the IPO, the article pointed to Tesla’s 2010 IPO and noted that a $1,000 investment in Tesla back then would be worth roughly $400,000 today.

That is not neutral context. That is jackpot framing.

Maybe the sentence is technically accurate. Maybe it is even relevant in the narrowest possible sense: Elon Musk led Tesla, Tesla went public, Tesla’s stock soared, and now another Musk company may go public. But journalism is not supposed to be a machine for laundering emotionally loaded anecdotes into investor excitement.

The message to readers is obvious: you missed Tesla, do not miss SpaceX.

That is FOMO with punctuation.

The deeper problem is the logical sleight of hand. Tesla’s past stock performance does not tell investors whether SpaceX is attractively priced. It does not tell them whether the IPO valuation...more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 27, 2026

The Crowdfunding Professional Association (CfPA) announced that its public comment letter to the U.S. Department of Labor is now available on Regulations.gov, responding to the Department’s proposed rule, “Fiduciary Duties in Selecting Designated Investment Alternatives” (RIN 1210-AC38).

The proposed rule would clarify how ERISA’s duty of prudence applies when plan fiduciaries select designated investment alternatives for participant-directed retirement plans, including asset allocation funds that may include alternative assets.

CfPA commended the Department for advancing a process-based, asset-neutral framework that preserves fiduciary discretion while recognizing the evolving role of private-market investment opportunities. At the same time, CfPA urged the Department to make the proposed safe harbor more practical by adding objective criteria and documentation thresholds that fiduciaries can apply consistently.

“Expanding access to private markets shou...more

This was originally posted at Superpowers for Good.

Teddy Lyons at Kingscrowd has done the investment crowdfunding community a real service with his analysis, “Who’s Hiding the Valuation? A Crowdfunding Transparency Study.” In the piece, Teddy and the Kingscrowd team reviewed 880 equity crowdfunding offerings and documented a troubling transparency gap, especially among Reg A+ offerings.

Teddy frames the issue well. “What is a startup actually worth?” he asks. That is the question every investor must answer before making an equity investment. Whether the security is common stock, preferred stock, a SAFE or a convertible note, valuation—or the mechanism for determining valuation—is central to the investor’s prospects for a financial return.

Other de...more

Not every company that needs capital is a good candidate for crowdfunding.

That is the first thing founders and executives should understand. Crowdfunding is not simply a financing transaction moved online. It is a public capital-raising campaign that requires a company to explain its business clearly, activate an audience, support investor diligence, comply with securities rules, and market the offering over a period of weeks or months.

The best candidates are not merely companies that want money. They are companies with leadership teams that can turn a financing need into a credible public campaign.

A strong crowdfunding candidate usually has five things: a clear story, a reachable audience or serious marketing plan, a concrete reason to raise now, the budget to run the campaign properly, and the discipline to manage ongoing compliance after the raise.

A clear and compelling story

A company does not need to be simple, but its public-facing story does need to be understandable.

Prospe...more

Advancing the future of private capital formation.

The CfPA SEC Subcommittee engages directly with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on policy alignment, industry compliance, exempt offerings, and the evolving regulatory landscape surrounding crypto and digital assets.

By bringing industry voices to the table, CfPA continues to advocate for balanced regulation, market integrity, innovation, and expanded opportunities for investors and issuers alike.

Progress happens when collaboration meets purpose.

Join the CfPA as a member today and lend your voice to any number of the CfPA Committees or Subcommittees working to make a difference in the Regulated Investment Crowdfunding industry.   

This article first appeared in Superpowers for Good.

Angel investors have long understood something ordinary investors are now learning: due diligence matters.

A well-known study of angel investors found that investors who spent more time on due diligence tended to earn better returns. The Angel Capital Education Foundation study, led by Robert Wiltbank and Warren Boeker, reviewed more than 1,100 angel investment exits and found that due diligence time, relevant experience and ongoing participation were all associated with stronger outcomes.

That makes intuitive sense.

If you are investing $100,000 in a startup, spending 40 hours studying the company, the market, the management team, the terms and the risks may not only be reasonable but essential.

If you are investing $25,000, the same may still be true.

But what if you are investing $1,000?

What if you are investing $100?

That is the practical challenge facing everyday investors who want to participate in Regulation Crowdfunding.

We ...more