Lara Slachta has over ten years experience as a corporate transactional attorney at large, international firms. Prior to joining FisherBroyles, LLP, she was Vice President and in-house counsel at Wellington Management Company LLP, a global investment adviser. Lara also spent eight years at the large international law firms of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP in Boston and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in their New York and London offices.

Are you a business owner looking to scale up your company? Then this is definitely the podcast you want to be listening to. As a business owner, you want to always be aware of the different financing options available to you, and Reg A+ gives you some new financial alternatives that startups haven't had access to before. What the SEC once deemed illegal, has now opened their doors and let in the everyday person to become an investor in a cause or company they firmly believe in.

 

Key Takeaways:

[2:35] What is Reg A+?

[3:20] Why was Reg A not being used?

[5:25] If people weren't using Reg A, then what other avenues were people using?

[7:15] How has Reg A changed with the new regulations? There are two tiers now available. Lara breaks it down further.

[11:05] What's are some of the differences between Crowdfunding vs. Reg A deals?

[14:00] How does this new regulation affect already existing crowdfunding platforms like Indiegogo and KickStarter?

[15:10] What's the difference between a funding portal vs. a broker-dealer platform?

[19:40] The industry is a bit wild wild west right now. People all of a sudden have access to new forms of capital.

[20:35] If an everyday investor is looking to invest their money, how would they go about doing that?

[21:55] How can people leverage social media to get more investments for their startup?

[22:15] You're now allowed to advertise your offerings. Before you could only offer them to people you personally knew and had a relationship with.

[23:50] One of the main reasons why the SEC was created was to protect people from fraud.

[24:20] The SEC is struggling to find a balance on what entrepreneurs can and can't do with their securities and/or equity. This is why Reg A+ was introduced.

[26:00] How can investors distinguish between fraudulent companies and legitimate ones that just went bust?

[26:50] The likeness of having significant returns in your investment is very rare with this particular industry.

[28:40] Lara shares a bit about herself, her background, and the company she works for.

[32:55] Lara has noticed a divide between nonprofit and for-profit people.

[35:25] This new opening in funding is way too new to predict where it will head in the future. We just have to wait and see.

[37:25] There are certain distinctions you need to be aware of regarding benefit corporations. 

[41:55] Crowdfunding and Reg A deals are not as liquid.

[44:45] Final piece of advice? Do your research. This is a fairly new industry and you don't want to be the test case.

 

Follow:

Indiegogo

KickStarter

Mass Challenge Accelerator

Investor Relations

Broker Check

Investment Adviser Check

 

Investment Sites:

Wefunder

StartEngine

SeedInvest

 

Connect with Lara:

FisherBroyles

Lara on FisherBroyles

 

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