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Can I Raise Money for My Startup via Twitter?
by Scott Edward Walker on January 5th, 2011Introduction
I get this question all the time (in one form or another): “Hey Scott, can I raise money for my startup via Twitter? I have a lot of followers, and I know some of them would be interested in investing.” As discussed below, the answer is no — unless the tweet is a direct message (a “DM”) to a follower with whom you have a substantive, pre-existing relationship.
“Ask the Attorney” – Securities Laws
by Scott Edward Walker on January 12th, 2010Introduction
This post is part of a new series entitled “Ask the Attorney,” which I am writing for VentureBeat (one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs). As the VentureBeat Editor notes on the site: “Ask the Attorney is a new VentureBeat feature allowing start-up owners to get answers to their legal questions.”
The goal here is two-fold: (i) to encourage entrepreneurs to ask law-related questions regardless of how basic they may be; and (ii) to provide helpful responses in plain english (as opposed to legalese).
Rescission Offers: Five Tips For Entrepreneurs
by Scott Edward Walker on November 24th, 2009In light of the Madoff affair and other significant external pressures, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and State securities law commissions and departments are dramatically stepping-up enforcement of securities laws. Indeed, there is a heightened level of regulatory scrutiny that entrepreneurs need to be aware of as they struggle to raise capital during this difficult economic period. I have discussed the most common securities law violations in a relatively recent post: “Five Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make in Raising Capital”; and as I pointed out in “Mistake #1”, non-compliance with applicable securities laws could result in serious adverse consequences. (more…)
Sec Form D And Related Securities Laws: Q&A For Entrepreneurs
by Scott Edward Walker on November 3rd, 2009As I mentioned in a recent post, one of things that surprised me when I moved to Southern California from New York City in 2005 was the lack of sophistication of some of the players in the so-called “middle market.” Indeed, I was particularly surprised to see so many investment bankers and other intermediaries running around and raising capital for private companies without being registered as a “broker-dealer” with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). As I have previously discussed (see mistake #4 here ), this is a huge potential problem for the issuer, particularly in light of the recent changes to SEC Form D. Accordingly, I thought it would be helpful to entrepreneurs to provide them with a basic understanding of the new, revised Form D and related securities laws via a question-and-answer format. (more…)