This post is the eighteenth in a series giving practical advice to startups with respect to understanding and negotiating a venture capital term sheet. In the prior seventeen posts, we provided an introduction to negotiation of the term sheet and discussed...
Many of us are anxiously awaiting the SEC's implementation of the rules that will allow funds and companies to engage in general solicitations as part of their fundraising efforts. The SEC was directed to implement those rules within 90 days of the...
This article is appearing simultaneously on The Venture Alley and on Startup Law Blog . The below flowchart may be helpful to you in answering the question whether you qualify for the exemption for "venture capital funds" under Section...
In this post, I decided to go over the first steps a founder should take (in my humble opinion) to start his or her own business. What should come next, after you get an idea for a business? Well, you would most likely want to run it by your friends and...
The sale and refinancing of real property are common sources of EB-5 investment monies for Chinese investors. However, recent changes in the Chinese banking sectors may make it harder to obtain a home equity loan in China. Since late last year, there...
by Trent Dykes and Nathan Luce Earlier today, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took an important step in making securities-based crowdfunding a reality for many small companies with the release of its proposed rules governing crowdfunding...
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation or APEC has been the talk of the town. Established in 1998, APEC is a premier forum to facilitate the economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region. The world’s two biggest economies...
With the failure of the Congressional Supercommittee to reach agreement by its deadline, some $1.2 trillion in automatic discretionary defense and non-defense federal spending cuts are set to become effective January 1, 2013 (although it remains to be...
As the 1990s drew to a close Congress passed legislation signed by the President ensuring the deregulation of the derivatives markets. At the time CFTC Chairwoman Brooksley Born was one of the sole voices of dissent. Less than ten years that dissent...
As the EB-5 program continues to flourish and develop, with around 4 billion dollars being invested into US projects, changing the very infrastructure of certain areas (for example Brooklyn, New York) as well as creating much needed jobs, yet again the...
If you are reading this post, then you probably share my belief that one of the best things our government can do to spur economic and job growth is to support the startup community. In recent years, government entities ranging from state (See Maryland's...
As we know, the Senate changed the version of the Jumpstart our Business Startups (JOBS) Act in only one way, they added an amendment, drafted by Sen. Merkley (but also supported by Sens. Bennet and Brown), which added more investor protections to...
Laws don't often get their own parties. But for the irresistibly named Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, President Obama held a rare public ceremony in the White House's Rose Garden in its honor. Even more notably, this party was quite...
On December 5, 2014 USCIS held their EB-5 Stakeholder’s Meeting in Washington, DC. This was the first stakeholder’s meeting after President Obama’s November 20 speech relating to his Executive Order. Interestingly, although the USCIS...
This is the second post in a series exploring recent SEC regulations which define the term "venture capital fund" for the purposes of determining whether a fund's manager is exempt from SEC registration requirements under the Dodd-Frank...
In the prior fifteen posts, we provided an introduction to negotiation of the term sheet and discussed binding and non-binding provisions and discussed valuation, cap tables, and the price per share , dividends on preferred stock , liquidation preferences...
The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) recently published an article that may indicate an increasing role of Corporate Venture Capital's increasing role in the startup investments arena, as reflected in Money Tree's Investment Analysis...
by Phillip J. Kardis II , Robert K. Smith, and Barry Spatzer Excerpt: On April 5, 2012, the President signed into law the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act (H.R. 3606), which incorporates several initiatives aimed at easing the regulatory...
I clearly remember first hearing about Groupthink when I was in school. It was after the Challenger disaster in 1986. I must have been about 10 years old at the time. The disaster was memorable for me - I still recall watching the Challenger disaster...
Among the features of the recently enacted JOBS Act that has attracted the most attention are the legislation's provisions for "crowdfunding." Under these provisions, a company is permitted to raise up to $1 million during any 12-month...
by Trent Dykes , Megan Muir and Kiran Lingam I. Introduction / Background With the passage of the JOBS Act, the regulation governing most private securities offerings is undergoing a dramatic makeover. Congress tasked the Securities and Exchange...
On August 12, 2013, the crowdfunding platform AngelList submitted some really great and thoughtful comments to the SEC with respect to the SEC’s proposed Reg. D amendments related to new Form D filing requirements and enhanced penalties for failure...
"Everyone agrees the title was a work of pure genius," says Dick Phillips of K&L Gates in a recent podcast , referring to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. "It's impossible to vote against in an election year."...
In an interview for NACD Directorship magazine entitled Noteworthy Legal Issues for Pre-IPO and Small-Cap Directors , DLA Piper partner and colleague Peter M. Astiz , co-head of our Global Technology Sector Practice, provided updated information concerning...
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed two bills designed to improve capital formation, one addressing the 500-shareholder threshold for SEC registration and one addressing offerings under Regulation A . 500-Shareholder SEC Registration...