Author Archives: joewallin@outlook.com

Intellectual Property 101 – A Basic Guide to Understanding IP. from Ashley Long

Angel groups are important for all sorts of different reasons. But the SEC has recently elaborated on a particular aspect of their importance that is worth calling out. In particular, can angel groups help you with your Rule 506(b) offering without blowing the non-generally solicited nature of your offering? The SEC says yes, they can.Continue reading “The Importance of Angel Groups, Per the SEC”

Washington State passed one of the first state-level equity crowdfunding laws in the nation in 2014, to great fanfare. The regulations implementing the law went into effect November 1, 2014. You can find a good summary of the rules at this link: http://www.dfi.wa.gov/small-business/crowdfunding The trouble is–despite the rules being in effect now for almost aContinue reading “How to Make the Washington Crowdfunding Law Better”

Q: Can a member of the board of directors receiving a stock option as compensation for board member service receive an incentive or statutory stock option (an “ISO”)? A: No. A board member who is just a board member, and not otherwise an employee of the company cannot receive an ISO. Only employees can receiveContinue reading “Stock Options: ISOs vs. NQOs”

Is a Demo Day a general solicitation of securities putting your company in Rule 506(c) as opposed to 506(b)? The SEC has issued new guidance on this question. Per the SEC’s new guidance, a Demo Day is not necessarily a general solicitation. However, it depends on what you do at the Demo Day. If youContinue reading “Is a Demo Day General Solicitation?”

There is a lot of confusion in the early stage company ecosystem about general solicitation. When you are trying to sell shares in your company (or a convertible note, or convertible equity), how much can you say about that in the media? Can you post something on Facebook? On Twitter? On LinkedIn? How about emailing aContinue reading “General Solicitation: Can I Generally Solicit My Offering?”

Last Thursday the SEC issued guidance on what constitutes general solicitation. This guidance is helpful to companies trying to conduct Rule 506 offerings. Thanks to the JOBS Act, we now have two types of Rule 506 offerings. Those that cannot be generally solicited and those that can. This might sound harmless but if you generallyContinue reading “New SEC Guidance on General Solicitation”

If you are a founder, there are certain deadlines you do not want to miss. This blog post focuses on what I consider to be the two most important deadlines to worry about. Of course, as your company grows other deadlines will arise as well. But at the founding, there are two deadlines you wantContinue reading “Deadlines: Founders, Which Deadlines Should You Worry About?”