Supporting Crowdfunded Startups

In 2012, the U.S. Congress passed the JOBS Act.  In March, 2015, the SEC issued regulations that made Title IV of the JOBS Act come alive.  For the first time, unaccredited investors (ordinary people) in every state were given the chance to become investors in startups.  Crowdfunding a business became possible.

The folks behind iConsumer Corp. created Shareholder Academy to nurture the new community growing up around crowdfunded investing.  For many in this community, investing in startups is new.  In fact, for many, investing in anything is new.

Investing in startups isn’t using Kickstarter or IndieGoGo.  It’s a world filled with unfamiliar buzzwords.  SEC, JOBS Act, filing, IPO, crowdfunding, investing, equity, debt – just navigating through the maze can be daunting.  Wikipedia can help, but it can’t give context.

There are lots of resources for people who want to become investors in big companies, like IBM or Facebook.  There are even some resources for rich people investing in startups. But there’s nothing that caters to the ordinary newbie – the first time unaccredited investor.  So that’s going to be us.

Our plan is to draw on the various people and companies who already work hard to educate consumers on investing, and ask them to provide materials and insights specific to first-time investors in crowdfunded startups.  As of October, 2015, there were already 30 companies that had filed with the SEC under the new regulations, with plenty more in the filing pipeline.  Their experiences, along with an insider’s view of the iConsumer experience, will provide our readers with insight and education.

Think Khan Academy.  Bite sized morsels of really useful information that you can consume when you’re ready and in whatever order suits you.

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