On March 25, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission finally announced rules for several aspects of the 2012 America JOBS Act, which legalized “crowd funding” as we know it. The announcement by the SEC has the potential to unleash large amounts of new capital into American startups. It could also spell the end of venture capital as we know it. Don’t get me wrong, investors in startups, whether they are institutional or individual, will continue to make large amounts of money. But the control exerted by early-stage angels and venture capitalists, along with the structure of deals, could change significantly.
