Crowdfund Investing For Dummies

Chapter 7

Picking a Powerful Crowdfund Investing Platform

In This Chapter

Figuring out what the law requires from funding platforms

Researching the services a funding portal offers

Getting specific in your portal shopping

Picking a powerful online crowdfund investing platform is just as important as pitching a winning idea to potential investors (a topic we cover in Chapter 9). That’s because the JOBS Act legislation states that you can use this type of platform to seek crowdfund investment; you cannot — we repeat, cannot — set up your own website, call people on the phone, put a notice in your local paper about the terms and details of your offering, or use other means to raise funds this way. (As we explain in this chapter, crowdfund investing also can take place using a broker-dealer, but the online funding platforms are usually less expensive and more suitable for the relatively small amounts being raised.) This requirement ensures that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can keep tabs on all crowdfund investing activity to protect investors and verify that everyone’s playing by the rules, which are spelled out on this book’s website, www.dummies.com/go/crowdfundinvesting ...