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
I’m often asked whether employees should have access to the company’s cap table. The cap table is one of the most sensitive and critical documents in any startup. At its most basic level, it lays out who owns what –...more
I’m often asked by clients whether startups should have a separate stockholders’ agreement among the founders. The answer largely depends on whether they have or will have certain other startup documents in place....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
Starting January 1, 2024, virtually all private companies will be required to report information about their beneficial owners to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network “FinCEN”) under the Corporate...more
1/8/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Financial Crimes ,
FinCEN ,
Ownership Interest ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SAFE ,
Startups ,
Venture Capital
A major theme of this Blog has always been ongoing legislative, regulatory and market initiatives to reform capital markets by targeting unreasonable or outdated impediments to capital formation to make it easier for...more
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank will have enormous repercussions for startups and VCs in ways seen and unseen. As for the unseen, SVB had deep relationships among the various players in the venture ecosystem. Founders...more
4/3/2023
/ Banking Crisis ,
Capital Raising ,
Depository Institutions ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
FDIC ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Loans ,
Receivership ,
Silicon Valley ,
Startups ,
Venture Capital
Two startups with competing, equally compelling technologies at the same stage of development are pitching venture capital investors for Series A funding. One startup is led by a serial entrepreneur founder, the other by a...more
2021 was a spectacular year for the American venture capital ecosystem, with VC investments, fundraising and exits all setting new highs. That according to the latest PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, the self-described...more
A new reality streaming television series called Unicorn Hunters debuted last week in which startups will pitch to a panel that includes Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and the panelists after some grilling of the...more
5/10/2021
/ Capital Formation ,
Crowdfunding ,
Early Stage Companies ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Offerings ,
Popular ,
Regulation CF ,
Rule 506 Offerings ,
Securities Regulation ,
Startups ,
Unicorns ,
Venture Capital
At the 1932 Democratic National Convention, the live band at one point burst into “Happy Days are Here Again”, FDR’s favorite, drawing raucous cheers from convention delegates. It went on to become the Democratic Party’s...more
Title III crowdfunding may be an attractive capital raising alternative during the current Coronavirus pandemic because it allows companies to use the internet to solicit potential investors and not be restricted to...more
2018 was a historically good year for venture capital in the United States in terms of dollars invested by VC funds in U.S. companies, dollars raised by VC funds and dollar value of exits by VC-backed companies, according to...more
A recent report on the state of Regulation Crowdfunding published by a major crowdfunding advisory firm is cause for both celebration and renewed reform efforts. The $100 million aggregate funding milestone and the prorated...more
Cornell Tech celebrated a historic milestone today with the dedication of its new campus on Roosevelt Island in New York City. A collaboration of Cornell University (yes, my law school) and The Technion – Israel Institute of...more
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
On March 22, the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Securities, and Investment of the Financial Services Committee conducted a hearing entitled “The JOBS Act at Five: Examining Its Impact and Ensuring the Competitiveness of the...more
2016 turned out to be a terrible year for IPOs, both in terms of number of deals and aggregate proceeds.
According to Renaissance Capital’s U.S. IPO Market 2016 Annual Review, only 105 companies went public on U.S....more
Earlier this year, Union Square Ventures Managing Partner Fred Wilson famously referred to corporate VCs as “The Devil”, when he asserted that companies should not be investing in other companies, that they should be buying...more