Samuel Guzik

Exit: SEC’s Dan Gallagher – Enter: The Crowdfunders!

  Are Final JOBS Act Crowdfunding Rules Truly Upon Us? It’s been too long since I graced the pages of Crowdfund Insider with one of my many missives – or as some at the SEC might say: missiles.  Well, since Regulation A+ went live in… Read More

SEC Staff Provides Early Guidance on Use of Regulation A+

  On June 23, 2015, the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission provided some public guidance on certain issues arising under the new Regulation A+ Final Rules. In a new section of the SEC’s Compliance and Disclosure and Interpretations (C&DI’s),  a Q and A… Read More

Regulation A+ Day 1: A Look Past the Mainstream Media Headlines

And Regulation A+’s Forgotten Crowdfunding Cousin Quietly Comes to Life in Congress Some History Lessons Though some may quibble over the details, June 19, 2015, was an historic day in U.S. regulatory history, at least as far as raising capital for small businesses is concerned… Read More

The State of Massachusetts vs. Regulation A+: State Regulators Take the SEC to Court

On the eve of the 2015 Memorial Day weekend, Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin set the stage for what I expect will be the final chapter in the continuing saga of what has popularly been referred to as Regulation A+,  a newly created avenue… Read More

SEC Commissioner Daniel M. Gallagher Speaks to the Crowdfunding Ecosystem – It’s Time to Listen and Act

Having just read SEC Commissioner Daniel M. Gallagher’s remarks at Vanderbilt Law School last Friday,  he may not be the only champion of smart regulation for small business capital formation.  But he is surely one of the most visible and important voices in this area. … Read More

JOBS Act State of the Union: What’s Become of Regulation A+ and Crowdfunding?

To borrow a line from SEC Commissioner Daniel M. Gallagher, quoting from the fight song of his alma mata, Georgetown University:  Oh How Long It’s Been! As we approach the three year anniversary of the signing into law of the JOBS Act of 2012 it… Read More

The JOBS Act, Crowdfinance & Building Social Consensus: Are Investors Unnecessarily at Risk?

Is the JOBS Act Title II ecosystem being built around the art of the “con” by some Internet funding platforms and companies raising money on these platforms?  The answer seems to be yes, judging by investment advice provided by Morningstar, FINRA, psychologists, and business world… Read More

The CNBC Crowdfinance 50 Index: When an Investor “Commitment” is Just a Kiss 

  In July 2013 the SEC implemented Title II of the JOBS Act of 2012 through Rule 506(c) of Regulation D, which for the first time in over 80 years allowed companies to engage in general solicitation of investors in an unregistered private placement so… Read More

Commissioner Gallagher: Are the US Capital Markets Competitive?

    Though time has seemingly stood still on JOBS Act rulemaking at the SEC nearly one thousand days after its passage, the world continues to complete a full rotation every 24 hours – and it seems that the rest of the world is passing… Read More

2015: The Ascendency of Small Business & the Middle Class in Washington, DC

As 2014 comes to a close, this is the time of year when all good journalists look back at the year’s events, and then look forward – typically with a list of bold predictions for the year ahead.  For those of you focused on small… Read More

On the Misplaced Priorities of Dodd-Frank & the SEC: A Call for a “New Deal” in Washington for America’s Small Business

It could have been the kickoff of a grand political campaign – a slogan that would be proud to adorn a bumper sticker for the most ambitious of politicians – and a sound byte that would be sure to grab the next day’s headlines in… Read More

SEC Government – Small Business Forum: A Tale of Two Gatherings

For those of you who have been reading my articles over the past four months, I have tried to create heightened awareness of a perennial SEC event, the SEC Government-Small Business Forum, an annual event borne out of bi-partisan legislation in 1980. Its primary purpose:… Read More

On SEC Proposed Regulation A+: Has Commissioner Stein Succumbed to the NASAA Kool-Aid?

Though SEC Commissioners Daniel M. Gallagher and Kara Stein may have travelled on the same plane on the way to the Los Angeles County Bar Association Annual Securities Regulation Conference to address a room of securities industry professionals on October 24, judging by their public… Read More

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the (2014 SEC Government Small Business) Forum

As one who has represented small and emerging growth companies over the past 36 years in navigating access to the capital markets, I have closely followed the legislative and regulatory developments in Washington, D.C. since the enactment of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of… Read More

Small Business SEC Regulatory Reform in Washington, DC: “All in on Red” on Election Day 2014

The place was Washington, D.C. The occasion was the Annual Meeting of the Angel Capital Association at the Hilton Hotel in March 2014. Hundreds of attendees were gathered for lunch in the main Ballroom, the largest in the City. The lineup of luncheon speakers was… Read More

An Open Letter to Chair White: It’s time to Lead the Crowd (funding)

  The place: Washington, D.C. – the occasion: the swearing in of a new federal agency head – one charged in part with regulating the flow of capital to small businesses.  President Obama and others listened with a hopeful ear. Her words were inspiring, especially… Read More

SEC Annual Forum on Small Business Capital Formation: Ground Hog Day for Small Biz?

Many of us are wondering when, if and how the SEC will finally roll out final regulations to implement major provisions of the JOBS Act of 2012, including Title III (investment crowdfunding) and Title IV (Regulation A+). So too were a group of Congressmen, gathered… Read More

The Misplaced Logic of Dodd-Frank: Protecting the Ordinary Investor by Redefining the Accredited Investor

Many of you are still reeling from the impact of the worldwide collapse of the financial markets in 2008. And most of us have rightfully observed that following one of the greatest debacles in financial history, no one has gone to jail – no one… Read More

Open Letter to the SEC: Please Don’t Hang Up on Small Business (And Please Don’t Put Small Business on Hold)

Some of you who read my article on July 1, 2014, entitled “Intrastate Crowdfunding at Risk -Has Intrastate Crowdfunding in Washington State Been Washed Out by NASAA and the SEC?” may have concluded that I was making a mountain out of a mole hill –… Read More

Intrastate Crowdfunding at Risk

Has Intrastate Crowdfunding in Washington State Been Washed Out by NASAA and the SEC? On May 5, 2014, I published an article in Crowdfund Insider highlighting recent informal “rulemaking” at the SEC Division of Corporation Finance, which in my opinion quietly dampened the efforts of… Read More