Want to raise money for your new small business or entrepreneurial venture? Until now, it’s seemed easier for a twenty-something techie in San Francisco to raise millions of dollars than an experienced businesswoman in Ohio to raise thousands. Thanks to new equity “crowdfunding” rules that went into effect in May, that situation may have changed.
In the height of the Great Recession, President Obama proposed the JOBS Act (Jumpstart Our Business Startups), making it easier for small businesses and start-ups to raise funds. In 2012, Congress enacted the legislation legalizing equity crowdfunding.