Claire Brown and Drea Schmidt, members of Tonkon Torp’s Entrepreneurial Services practice group, made a presentation to Oregon Executive MBA students on the topic of raising capital through “crowdfunding” and general solicitation. Their remarks focused on how to take advantage of business equity financing mechanisms without running afoul of existing securities laws.
Crowdfunding refers to raising capital by selling securities to ordinary investors using the Internet and social networking sites. While it will eventually permit entrepreneurs and small businesses to raise up to $1 million per year in this manner, final SEC rules related to crowdfunding are not yet in place. The new general solicitation rules will allow companies to use advertising to raise an unlimited amount of capital from any number of accredited investors, as long as companies comply with certain other rules.
Tonkon Torp’s Entrepreneurial Services attorneys help entrepreneurs lay a financial and structural foundation for success, providing advice on issues ranging from entity formation and governance to capital raising, intellectual property protection, tax and regulatory compliance.
