Lots of people are excited by the potential for equity crowdfunding ever since the federal government passed the JOBS Act. Many new businesses are popping up to exploit the new model, and there is a lot of buzz about equity crowdfunding these days. Of course, it is still not legal yet, and won’t be until the SEC finishes writing the rules. But I still hear the same question over and over: Should my company raise capital through equity crowdfunding? Unfortunately, in the case of most startups I don’t think it makes sense. Here’s why: [Read more…]
Considerations in Business Formation – Part II (Initial Capitalization)
October 1, 2012 By
I’ve been covering the steps involved in the Business Formation process. To recap, the steps are:
- Planning
- Entity selection
- Filing
- Initial governance matters
- Initial capitalization matters
- Initial agreements among stakeholders
My last post covered the Planning, Entity Selection and Filing steps, which takes us to the point where the state has returned stamped documents establishing a new entity. Now we are at a complex stage: establishing how the business will be managed, initial capitalization, and what the rights of all stakeholders will be going forward.