Does Equity Crowdfunding Have Potential in the U.s.?
Open Access
Author:
Brandolini, James Brian
Area of Honors:
Finance
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Professor Christoph Hinkelmann, Thesis Supervisor James Alan Miles, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
crowdfunding equity crowdfunding jobs act equity online fundraising
Abstract:
Numerous crowdfunding platforms have proliferated over the years. Sites like Kickstarter, Kiva, and IndieGoGo have begun to change the ways entrepreneurs are able to seek startup capital. There are five common crowdfunding methods available today, but until the year 2014 one of them, equity crowdfunding, was completely obstructed by Federal laws in the U.S. Recent changes have opened the possibility of an online equity crowdfunding platform, but the risks involved and the laws in place raise many questions regarding how successful an online platform could be. This paper seeks to address the problems involved with the laws and limitations of a platform and determine whether or not such a platform would be feasible.