In a typical bull market, private equity sponsors exit out of portfolio assets through IPOs, strategic sales and sponsor-to-sponsor buyouts. But the 2025 deal market has proven to be neither typical nor robust....more
7/14/2025
/ Business Strategies ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Corporate Governance ,
Exit Strategies ,
Financial Markets ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Investment Funds ,
Investors ,
Liquidity ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Valuation
Your company is invited by a local meetup group to present at demo day with other startups, and you accept. The group announces the demo day lineup of startups in an e-blast, on its website, on its Facebook page and through...more
6/30/2025
/ Capital Markets ,
General Solicitation ,
Investors ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulation D ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Startups ,
Venture Capital
According to crypto platform Kraken, the aggregate market cap for all meme coins is over $70 billion. Five meme coins would be considered unicorns (market cap over $1 billion) if they were startups. Dogecoin’s market cap is...more
When negotiating convertible notes, parties typically focus on the terms of conversion upon an equity financing, most notably the discount and valuation cap. This is understandable inasmuch as the not-so-hidden secret of...more
In the world of early stage investing, there exists a range of structures from the most founder friendly to the most investor friendly.
The most investor-friendly structure involves some type of a priced round in which...more
I had a chance to sift through Pitchbook’s U.S. VC Valuations Report for the first quarter of 2024. The data point that really jumped out at me was the increase in down rounds. The number of flat and down rounds as a...more
Identifying potential investors is one of the most difficult challenges facing early-stage companies. The range of amounts sought at this stage is typically greater than what could be provided by the founders and friends and...more
3/18/2024
/ Accredited Investors ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Capital Formation ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Early Stage Companies ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Finders ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Startups ,
Venture Capital
Judge Analisa Torres’ greatly anticipated Order in the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple is a split decision. The Order basically finds that Ripple’s digital token XRP is a security when sold privately to individuals and...more
7/17/2023
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Institutional Investors ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Smart Contracts ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities
The anti-child trafficking thriller “Sound of Freedom” just opened in theatres on July 4th. Based on a true story, it stars Jim Caviezal as former Homeland Security special agent Tim Ballard who quits his job with the agency...more
In the world of venture capital, there are certain investor rights that ensure the smooth execution of exit transactions. The primary such mechanism is the drag-along provision, under which one group of stockholders agrees...more
What do founders, employees and investors in privately held companies all have in common? Limited opportunity to sell their shares. That’s because of various legal, contractual and market factors that impede the sale of...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission just proposed new rules to protect investors in private investment funds. The proposed rules would require private fund advisers to disclose certain information and avoid certain...more
2/22/2022
/ Accredited Investors ,
Investment ,
Investor Protection ,
Investors ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rule 506 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Venture Capital
The impact of the Coronavirus and COVID-19 on venture capital investment will likely be similar to what we saw in the aftermath of the 2008 recession and the 2001 dot-com meltdown. VC investors will redirect their attention...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission is proposing to expand the definition of “accredited investor” to include additional entities that could bear the economic risks of investment and certain financially sophisticated...more
1/22/2020
/ 501(c)(3) ,
Accredited Investors ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Business Development Companies ,
Capital Formation ,
Comment Period ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Crowdfunding ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
General Solicitation ,
Investors ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Offerings ,
Private Offerings ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Regulation A ,
Regulation D ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rule 144A ,
Rule 506 Offerings ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Rural Business Investment Companies (RBICs) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Statements of Net Worth ,
Venture Capital
The corporate spectacle better known as The We Company IPO officially and mercifully came to an end September 30 when The We Company (“We Co.”), the corporate parent of WeWork, requested that the Securities and Exchange...more
10/7/2019
/ Anti-Dilution Terms ,
Business Valuations ,
Certificates of Incorporation ,
Corporate Governance ,
Dilution ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Notification of Withdrawal ,
Office Space ,
Preferred Shares ,
Registration Statement ,
Share Price ,
Sharing Economy ,
SoftBank ,
Venture Capital
Every founder of a growth startup dreams of a big, successful exit — a sale of the company for millions of dollars. But that dream could be shattered if the investors are able to cause the company to be sold prematurely with...more