Denver Business Intelligence Expert Explains The New JOBS Act & How This Affects Small Businesses & Startups
There’s something big that happened this week in the world of business and the business of startups. As of Monday, May 16, 2016, more people will be able to invest in startups through crowdfunding than ever before through the third piece of the JOBS Act. Prior to this rule change, only accredited investors — an individual whose net worth, or joint net worth with that person’s spouse, exceeds $1 million, as defined by the SEC — were allowed to invest in startups through equity crowdfunding in the United States.
What Does This Mean For Businesses?
This means that more people will be able to go after that bright idea that they’ve been mulling over for years. They can get the funding they need much easier thanks to the JOBS Act. “The implications of legalizing equity-based crowdfunding are both significant and far reaching. Crowdfunding has the power to help democratize the capital raising process by giving entrepreneurs, for the first time, direct access to tens of millions of prospective investors,” says Brian Burt. Entrepreneurs are no longer limited by the size of their personal network or their connections in venture capital firms.
A Rise Of Entrepreneurial Spirit
You see it in major hubs like Silicon Valley, but startups are popping up everywhere around the nation. As a Business Intelligence Firm in Denver, Colorado, we see this happening left and right. Denver has a growing startup scene with major initiatives by the local government and nonprofits like Denver Startup Week that draw thousands upon thousands of new startup visionaries. Ideas are colliding and now funding is more accessible to help these ideas take root.
Smart Investing
As someone who understand investing AND business growth, I know that it is essential for any startup to have the right information ready to entice investors, whether they come from a venture capitalist firm or they come from crowdsourced efforts. You have to be able to defend your idea and your plan to execute said idea. Data and analytics can help any business from the startup phase to an established, thriving business. It’s actually to a startup’s advantage to embrace data from the beginning and set your business on a trajectory for success. Take the time to employ data organization and tracking strategies in your startup plans. You will attract quality investors who can easily see that you have a smart plan in place for growth.
Crowdfunded investors are a truly exciting new opportunity for the startup community in the United States. It is certainly a fun time to be part of the startup community in Denver and the United States at large!