You know the problem of offering people money in the future for money in the present contingent on a business's success? The problem is that you are offering a security. (The related problem is that you're going to wade into chargeback hell in this business model.)
If anybody ever wants to organize a Our Fans Fund Us style thingy, avoid offering money. Instead, offer status, captured in the form of a specific deliverable. That can be a 16x16 pixel badge with your pre-order, whatever, but it will mitigate your payment processor worries and avoid an unpleasant conversation with the SEC. (They really will notice startups doing innovative things in finance. Ask Prosper - who didn't, after being shut down for 18 months.)
Interesting. Lives somewhere between Kickstarter – where you donate, and get non-monetary considerations from a fixed schedule – and ProFounder – where you contribute funding and get a future revenue-share.
If revenue-sharing formulas can get around the oppressive regulations on raising money through true equity, there could be room for a lot of novel crowdfunding models. ProFounder seems pretty confident in its own legality, and has a seemingly-knowledgeable group of managers, advisors, and investors:
I would probably try funding an idea or 2 for that rate of return, but it makes me really reluctant to put an idea in the ring. It'd have to be an amazing idea, and even then, I think I could fund it myself.
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[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 35.6 ms ] threadIf anybody ever wants to organize a Our Fans Fund Us style thingy, avoid offering money. Instead, offer status, captured in the form of a specific deliverable. That can be a 16x16 pixel badge with your pre-order, whatever, but it will mitigate your payment processor worries and avoid an unpleasant conversation with the SEC. (They really will notice startups doing innovative things in finance. Ask Prosper - who didn't, after being shut down for 18 months.)
So unless you've figured out a way to get around the law..
If revenue-sharing formulas can get around the oppressive regulations on raising money through true equity, there could be room for a lot of novel crowdfunding models. ProFounder seems pretty confident in its own legality, and has a seemingly-knowledgeable group of managers, advisors, and investors:
https://www.profounder.com/about/team