Tagged: amy wan

July 25, 2017 @ 7:03 pm By Amy Wan  |  

My Facebook Messenger was blowing up this afternoon. “OMG Have you seen this?” “What does this mean?” “Can you explain what this says in stupid people talk?” They were all referring to today’s SEC  announcement on ICOs. So, I’ll take 15 minutes from what was… Read More

July 25, 2017 @ 5:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an investigative report on the fast-growing Initial Coin Offering (ICO) market that will squelch the ICO market, at least in the US. The report, embedded below, was specifically directed at the DAO or Decentralized Autonomous Organization that launched… Read More

July 25, 2017 @ 9:00 am By JD Alois  |  

  Bootstrap Legal is a new Legaltech and Fintech startup that has officially launched today. Bootstrap Legal is a software service that automates the drafting of complex legal documents for smaller real estate projects. The service was luanched in recognition of the fast changing world… Read More

June 26, 2017 @ 11:41 am By JD Alois  |  

Not too long ago the SEC came out with an Investor Bulletin, emanating from the Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, regarding the utilization of SAFEs as an investment vehicle on crowdfunding platforms. The SEC stated; “Some issuers have been offering a new type of… Read More

May 16, 2017 @ 7:49 am By JD Alois  |  

NextGen Crowdfunding, a platform that helps people explore new types of crowdfunding, has announced a webinar special celebrating the one year anniversary since Title III regulations took effect in May 2016. The webinar will take place today (May 16, 2017) at 1PM PT / 4PM ET…. Read More

May 15, 2017 @ 11:00 am By Samuel Guzik  |  

With the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act having just reached its five year milestone, Regulation Crowdfunding hitting its one year milestone, and the two year anniversary of Regulation A(+) fast approaching, I thought this would be a good time to (briefly) reflect on the… Read More

April 24, 2017 @ 10:48 am By Amy Wan  |  

Victoria Silchenko called out crowdfunding industry professionals earlier this year for not having invested in crowdfunding companies themselves. So, in that same spirit, I’m opening up my crowdfunding portfolio. Before I disclose, I’m going to say that I am NOT a financial advisor or any… Read More

March 28, 2017 @ 12:30 pm By Amy Wan  |  

So, you want to start a real estate crowdfunding (RECF) platform. This article is intended to serve as a basic guide to launching a real estate crowdfunding platform in the United States. Decide on what you want to do There are many different types of… Read More

March 20, 2017 @ 11:47 am By Amy Wan  |  

On Monday, March 6, 2017, Congressman Patrick McHenry gave keynote remarks at the Lendit Conference in New York City. Among the themes of his speech, McHenry talked about the need for financial inclusion, citing a statistic that counties with less than 100,000 in population saw… Read More

March 19, 2017 @ 9:42 am By JD Alois  |  

Investment crowdfunding is very different from rewards-based crowdfunding. Participating in a project on Kickstarter or Indiegogo is more akin to a donation where you may (or may not) receive some sort of perk for your financial support. In investment crowdfunding, you are giving your money… Read More

March 6, 2017 @ 10:20 am By Amy Wan  |  

It seems that at least once a week nowadays, I get a call asking whether an initial coin offering (ICO) is regulated at all, and the question came to a head at a recent Legal Hackers LA discussion on smart contracts by Daniel Rice. The… Read More

February 5, 2017 @ 9:31 am By Amy Wan  |  

Since Reg CF became effective, I’ve noticed a disturbing pattern in Reg CF deals—their valuations and economic terms are oftentimes unjustified. Unlike a normal angel or VC investment, which includes back and forth negotiations on terms with a lead investor, Reg CF issuers largely set… Read More

December 13, 2016 @ 10:37 am By JD Alois  |  

uFundingPortal (UFP, LLC), disappeared from the ranks of approved Reg CF crowdfunding platforms in early November. Before their removal, a multitude of crowdfunding industry insiders questioned the operation and the investment offers posted on the site. The posted investments lacked transparency while proposing valuations and… Read More

December 8, 2016 @ 3:00 pm By Amy Wan  |  

Crowdfunding campaigns tend to look like sexy, overnight successes, but rarely are the successful ones so effortless. What I’m about to say sounds dumb—so dumb that I’m reluctant to have to even say it—but a lot of folks contact me thinking that crowdfunding is easy,… Read More

November 10, 2016 @ 11:30 am By Amy Wan  |  

Many people feel deeply hurt from the outcome of the Presidential election. Here’s a kinder, simpler explanation as to why. This week, we saw a completely unexpected outcome in the Presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. As the punditry and chattering classes scramble… Read More

October 26, 2016 @ 8:00 am By Joe Green and John Coyle  |  

A Reply on the Use of SAFEs in Crowdfunding On September 22nd, Crowdfund Insider published a post summarizing the arguments presented in our new essay entitled “Crowdfunding and the Not-So-Safe SAFE“ (forthcoming in Virginia Law Review Online). Our essay raises a number of concerns about… Read More

October 13, 2016 @ 10:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

Reg CF investment crowdfunding (Title III of the JOBS Act) has only been actionable since May of this year. At the end of May, there were 10 FINRA/SEC approved Regulation CF platforms with only a handful listing live investment opportunities. The approved platforms at the… Read More

September 27, 2016 @ 12:01 pm By Amy Wan  |  

This article is a response to the draft paper referenced in the article entitled “Crowdfunding and the Not-So-Safe SAFE” authored by Joseph M. Green and John F. Coyle. There are many so words to describe my thoughts about the paper: patronizing, impractical, misguided—but mostly, unfortunate. One… Read More

September 23, 2016 @ 5:34 pm By Amy Wan  |  

FinovateFall celebrated its 10th anniversary this last week with a two-day show on September 8-9, 2016 in New York City. The show featured demos from 72 companies presenting a diverse range of Fintech startups. In total, Finovate’s 30 events over 10 years have seen more… Read More

September 19, 2016 @ 6:00 am By Amy Wan  |  

First off, don’t panic. We’re not talking about hacking into computer networks or anything. Legal hacking, or hacking the law, doesn’t involve anything surreptitious. From an organization standpoint, Legal Hackers is an organization originating from Brooklyn Law School and now a global movement with over… Read More