Indiegogo May Enter Equity Crowdfunding Realm, Contingent Upon Regulations.
Slava Rubin, Indiegogo CEO, gave a presentation this past week at the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City. Prior to his speech he was interviewed by Thom Ruhe, Vice President of Entrepreneurship at Kauffman Foundation.
Rubin shares fascinating insight into the birth of the now ubiquitous and highly successful Indiegogo. The concept came from their own frustration in attempting to raise funds and the realization that companies like E-Bay were creating new markets – and perhaps they could do the same with seed funding.
The company was originally bootstrapped by the 3 founders in 2008 – just prior to the market crash. They found their start up short of funds and struggling to stay afloat. Rubin talks about how funds were very tight which in turn meant there were many constraints; but constraints engender creativity. They made every dollar count and persisted.
Another interesting insight into Indiegogo was the fact they originally thought they could enter directly into equity crowdfunding. That is until they reviewed the over 80 year old rules regarding solicitation from the Securities Act of 1933. Indiegogo is closely watching the nascent equity crowdfunding environment and will enter – contingent upon the final regulations from the SEC – if it makes sense.
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