[LINK] O/T - Americans About to Unleash Crowd Sourced BootStrtapping

TKoltai tomk at unwired.com.au
Tue Jan 31 12:31:26 AEDT 2012


Now this is an interesting approach to kick-starting the economy.

And one of the few bits of recentely drafted US legislation that I agree
with.

Throw out the 12/20 rule and let thousands get involved in promising
looking start-ups.

Absolutely brilliant.

The checks and balances are via the qualified due diligence carried out
by V.C.'s who pre-vet the concepts/technology/Busplan.


Quote/ [From:
http://www.businessinsider.com/if-this-guy-has-his-way-youll-only-need-1
00-to-invest-in-startups-2012-1]
If This Guy Has His Way, You'll Only Need $100 To Invest In Startups
Boonsri Dickinson	 | Jan. 30, 2012, 3:13 PM | 783 | 

AngelList democratized the funding of startups.
But a new platform launched today called Wefunder wants to open up the
funding process to the masses -- as long as a critical bill passes
Congress.
Wefunder will take a Kickstarter approach to crowdsource funding. The
plan is to pick one company per week. First, accredited investors will
do due diligence and put in $25,000. At that point, anyone will be able
to invest $100 to $1,000 in the startup of the week.
"I'd love to give a small portion of my income to entrepreneurs changing
the world, rather than blowing it in Vegas, or investing in GE,"
Tommerello said. "I want to invest in start-ups, and I'm frustrated that
I can't. I think I can add some wisdom to go along with my $5,000/year,
and get the feeling that I am helping startups change the world."
If the bill, Democratizing Access to Capital Act of 2011, is passed in
favor of crowdfunding, then startups wil be able to raise up to $1
million a year from small investors. It already passed the House and is
now in the Senate. 
"We're meeting Senators in DC soon, and we're told that we'll be able to
help influence the debate if we can show that people actually want to do
this," Tommarello said. So far, through Wefunder, more than 400 founders
have signed a petition to pledge more than $1 million if the bill
passes.
It looks like this is becoming a trend. The tech guys know how to use
online persuasion to influence policy in DC. It worked with SOPA. Now,
thousands of others are putting their money where their mouth is. If the
bill goes through, this could give more power to entrepreneurs and
founders who want to invest in other startups, and change the climate of
early stage venture capital.
"There won't be a Wefunder if the bill doesn't pass. So we're putting
our focus 100% on the petition. But if the bill passes, our goal is help
everyone invest in high quality start-ups," Tommarello said.

/Quote




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