Private placement offerings are terrific and venerable vehicles to raise company financing outside of the public capital market and without going public. However, because of their very nature they often involve a higher degree of risk than is typically associated with an underwritten and registered offering. That is not always the case, but it is

For those of us who study early-stage company growth and look to past examples, Facebook is a prime one. From its early days of raising private capital to its often ballyhooed IPO, it is a model for rapid, sustainable, investor growth. However, what is often overlooked is that its path to public markets was paved

With 506(c) and a variety of other major securities overhauls, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has loosened many of the most restrictive regulations addressing Regulation D private placement offerings. Now more than ever, private securities from private issuers will be making their way to the portfolios of individual and institutional investors alike. And

With private placement clients I often get the question “Why Can’t I get non-accredited investors into my Rule 506(b) round, when the rule gives me the right  to have up to 35 non-accredited investors?” Yes, it’s true. Rule 506(b) says you can have up to 35 non-accredited investors.   However, the devil is always lurking in

Early stage companies raising money have several core options to raise capital (e.g., crowdfunding). However, when raising money from funders who expect a return on investment (i.e., they are buying a security) those funders are essentially “investors” and the issuer company likely has triggered the securities laws. None of this should be cause for alarm

Most recognize that one of the major value propositions of a private placement memorandum is the risk disclosures that apprise the potential investor (hopefully in the best case such investor is accredited) of the potential headwinds, pitfalls, weaknesses, and general risks that apply not only to the issuer and the opportunity, but to the investment

The following lays out the very basics about a core blue sky notice filing in connection with a private placement offering, the federal Form D (NOTE: As of 2014, there are significant proposed changes to the Form D, due to the Jobs Act, are detailed in this article). One of the biggest sources of confusion

With the creation of new Rule 506(c) under the JOBS Act, private placement issuers are now authorized to leverage general solicitation, provided they verify that each purchaser in the offering is an accredited investor.  In theory, this is a very powerful concept, however there is still some confusion as to how that verification standard works