Dear colleagues at Crowdfunding Professional Association and beyond. We all love saying that the industry is doing great.

Math says "that's bs; CF industry is broke and dealflow is the problem." I am using funding portal data because transparency is forced upon these intermediaries.

Please don't shoot the messenger. I would like to be proven otherwise.

There are 70,000 startups in the United States within 33,000,000 small businesses. How many active Regulation Crowdfunding deals are there right now? 450.

Let's say that the average salary for a portal employee is $75,000 ($6 250 per month). Sounds like an OK living in the U.S. (unless you are in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc).

I went onto each of their LinkedIn pages and counted the number of employees. I assumed - rather generously - on average, only 50% of these "employees" are paid. The rest are advisors, investors, partners, etc.

I tried to count how much money each of the platforms will have left after receivi...more

The investment crowdfunding landscape can be confusing.

And one of the main reasons it's so confusing is because many of the key terms and labels were created by lawyers and legislators, who aren't really known for their ability to keep things simple. 

That means navigating and deciphering the nearly inscrutable alphabet soup of the relevant crowdfunding regulations, rules, laws, and requirements is about as much fun as …. well, navigating and deciphering an alphabet soup of laws, rules, and regulations.

So before trying to parse the fine print of crowdfunding regulations, here’s some overall context that should help.

In 2012, the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (get it? “JOBS”? Isn’t that clever…) was signed into law, and it did two important things:

1. Amended the Securities Act of 1933 (that's the set of laws passed after the 1929 stock market crash)
2. Required the SEC to update several of its Regulations

It’s helpful to think about crowdfunding regulations...more

Global spending on blockchain solutions is estimated to have reached $11.7 billion by the end of 2022, and the industry is expected to be worth over $163 billion by 2029. There are several reasons for this growth in popularity. Some of this popularity is the adoption of a trendy new buzzword. And, for some applications, blockchain may be a short-lived fad, like fins on 1950’s cars. But for others, blockchain is absolutely the right tool for the job.

Benefits of Decentralization

One of the major draws to blockchain technology is its decentralized nature. According to NASDAQ, decentralization means that there is no single entity with exclusive control of data or processes, allowing for secure transactions without the need for a third party or intermediary. Decentralization adds security since it is tough for hackers to target one single entity in a decentralized and transparent system. This is because there are many different nodes that act as validators of transactions, adding...more

When a company is looking to raise capital, there are many marketing strategies to get the word out. With any method, the primary goal is to convey what your company does and inform investors about the potential opportunities that their investment will create. Marketing strategies for raising capital are important to all companies and issuers.

Creating a Compelling Opportunity Set

The first step in any marketing strategy is creating a compelling opportunity set, which should position the company as a subject matter expert. A white paper can do it, which should answer all the “whys” for potential investors. It’s important to provide this information clearly and concisely, as potential investors will likely have a lot of questions. This document can serve as a launching pad for further content like blogs or videos. By providing all the relevant information upfront, companies can set themselves apart from the competition and make it more likely that potential investors will take the time ...more

In April 2023, the online startup investing market (Reg CF and Reg A) experienced a slight downturn, with a total of $48.3 million committed across equity and debt deals, compared to $82 million in March. Wefunder maintained its position as the top platform for dollars invested, with $20.2 million coming from equity Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) offerings.

The most popular industry for the month was Business Services, Software, and Applications, which attracted $8.2 million from Reg CF equity offerings. A total of 243 equity deals closed in April, consisting of 238 Reg CF deals and five Regulation A deals.

However, the number of new deals going live saw a decline, with only 103 new deals in April, down from 146 in March. Despite this slowdown, online startup investing remains an essential avenue for businesses to secure funding and for investors to discover promising opportunities.

For detailed monthly analytics covering the Reg CF and Reg A markets, check out KingsCrowd's market an...more

By Maureen Murat. Esq. and Samson Williams 

ABSTRACT. In 2016, President Obama introduced the Jumpstart Our Businesses & Startups (JOBS) Act. Now, via the JOBS Act Regulated Crowdfunding (Reg CF) exemption, existing companies, startups and founders can raise up to $5M from retail investors in a 12-month period. In the year 2022 alone, over $494M in investment dollars was raised from 394,000 people or entities, most of which are retail investors, over 1407 offerings on Reg CF investment crowdfunding platforms, with an average investment check of $1,256.00 dollars.  An additional $431M was raised from 107,000 investors using the Reg A+ exemption rules. Under the Reg A+ exemption, startups, founders and existing businesses can raise up to $75M per offering from retail investors in a 12-month period. Into this mix of startup capital we add the nuances of Name, Image & Likeness (NIL). How will Reg CF and Reg A+ investment crowdfunding impact the ecosystem of “studen...more