On April 5, 2012, President Barack Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, better known as the JOBS Act. The act is designed to "reopen American capital markets to small companies," defined in the act as Emerging Growth Companies . This is one of the most significant legislative initiatives in finance since the Securities and Exchange Acts of 1933 and 1934, and it opens up funding to a slew of companies previously shut out of the capital markets.

Here's the good news: Small businesses and startups will be able to raise up to $1 million in equity (or debt) funding online via what are called Crowdfunding Platforms -online communities and websites. Imagine an eBay-like site that allows you to post your idea for a commercial venture online and then allows investors to purchase equity shares or stakes in it. As one journalist put it, it's "social media meets venture capital."

How can you get in on the new funding opportunities? That's what The JOBS Act: Crowdfunding for Small Businesses and Startups is all about. Investment expert William

Michael Cunningham shows how the new law will enable you to use the internet to raise significant amounts of capital funding for your startup. After discussing briefly the development and implementation of the law, what it means, and how it will impact the business startup marketplace, he delivers the nuts and bolts of how to take advantage of the JOBS Act to access new sources of capital for your small business or startup. As you'll see, the act has the power to unleash a new wave of innovation, increase employment, and set many more average entrepreneurs and investors on the road to wealth.

Not just for entrepreneurs, The JOBS Act: Crowdfunding for Small Businesses and Startups will benefit investors, securities lawyers, community development specialists, educators, venture capitalists, and those offering services in the new crowdfunding arena. It is, simply, the most current and most comprehensive compendium of information on the law and its impact on this new market.

Autorentext

William Michael Cunningham is an economist, investment advisor, researcher, and social investing policy analyst. Cunningham researches, evaluates, develops, and creates specific socially responsible investments. On February 6, 2006, he warned the SEC that statistical models he created using his Fully Adjusted Return Methodology signaled the possibility of system-wide economic and market failure. A former securities broker and institutional salesman, he works with pension fund trustees, investment managers, community activists, government agencies, and financial industry organizations to create and implement social and community investing initiatives. Cunningham has testified before the Ways and Means and Financial Services Committees of the U.S. House of Representatives. In an October 1998 petition to the United States Court of Appeals, he opposed the elimination of the Glass-Steagall Act, citing evidence that growing financial market malfeasance greatly reduced the safety and integrity of large financial institutions. Cunningham has been involved in the provision of online resources to small businesses for over fifteen years, posting his first website in 1995. In 2002, he created a proposal for an early version of Crowdfunding. Cunningham holds an MA in economics from the University of Chicago, as well as an MBA in finance from the university's Booth School of Business.

Inhalt

Introduction Part I: Summary of the JOBS Act Chapter 1: The Act: Summary and Definitions Chapter 2: The Startup Financing Environment: Why Now? Part II: Disclosure Chapter 3: Emerging Growth Companies Chapter 4: Accounting and Other Standards Chapter 5: Crowdfunding Chapter 6: Funding Portals Part III: The Act, by Title Chapter 7: Title I -- Reopening American Capital Markets to Emerging Growth Companies Chapter 8: Title II -- Access to Capital for Job Creators Chapter 9: Title III - Crowdfunding Chapter 10: Title IV -- Small Company Capital Formation Chapter 11: Title V - Private Company Flexibility and Growth Chapter 12: Title VI -- Capital Expansion Chapter 13: Title VII - Outreach Appendix Crowdfunding sites