Category Archives: Uncategorized

Yesterday was a good day for equity crowdfunding. Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law Washington HB 1593. This bill will make it easier for companies in Washington State to use Washington’s equity crowdfunding bill. If you like, you can watch the bill signing ceremony. Thank you Governor Inslee, Representatives Brandon Vick (R-Ridgefield) and Steve KirbyContinue reading “A Good Day For Equity Crowdfunding”

First, let’s get the terminology of term sheets out of the way. Whether the document that outlines your deal is called a “term sheet,” a “memorandum of understanding” or a “letter of intent,” these terms mean nearly the same thing. We will use the “term sheet” in this article, but other words could easily beContinue reading “Term Sheets: Binding & Non-Binding”

UW students and faculty interested in startups can talk monthly, face-to-face, with a venture capital investor and startup attorney.  Randall Lucas of Voyager Capital and I hold open office hours the first Wednesday of each month at the University of Washington. Who comes to see us?  A wide range, from skateboard-toting sophomores who have codedContinue reading “Venture Capital Office Hours with Voyager Capital”

(This was a longer post but I have abbreviated it to simplify it.) Right now there is no guidance from the IRS which expressly countenances electronic signatures on 83(b) elections. This is unfortunate. I would recommend the new administration issue guidance right away which countenances electronic signatures on 83(b) elections to remove any uncertainty aboutContinue reading “Dear IRS: Let’s Make the Filing of 83(b) Elections Easier”

Good news! Senators Fain and Mullet have sponsored SB 5680 in the Washington State Senate. This is the same bill as HB 1593 in the House. The bill would make important technical improvements to Washington State’s equity crowdfunding law The highlights of the bill include: Allowing Delaware corporations to use Washington State’s equity crowdfunding law.Continue reading “Washington State Equity Crowdfunding Update”

My colleague Danny Neuman and I testified this morning in support of HB 1593. This bill would improve the Washington State equity crowdfunding law. The bill is sponsored by Representatives Vick and Kirby. HB 1593 Would Do a Number of Helpful Things HB 1593 would do the following: Eliminate the quarterly public disclosure of executive officerContinue reading “Washington State Equity Crowdfunding Update”

Congress is trying to make life easier for early stage and startup companies. This is good. But so far, nothing has been proposed to fix Section 83(b) of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 83(b) haunts every founder who receives shares subject to vesting. If you are founding an early stage technology company with other founders,Continue reading “Congress: Please Fix 83(b) Elections”

Congress is preparing a bill known as the Financial CHOICE Act of 2016. There is a lot in the bill (and so it is worth scanning the table of contents for issues you might care about). One of the provisions of the bill, Section 1066, would revise the Form D filing requirements to make them easier onContinue reading “The Financial Choice Act: How to Make it Better re Form D”

I testified yesterday before the Washington State House of Representatives Business & Financial Services Committee regarding the state’s Equity Crowdfunding law, and presented a list of recommendations for how to improve the regulations and make the law a more effective fundraising tool. Raising money is a hard job for startups. It is made harder because thereContinue reading “Recommended Improvements to Washington’s Equity Crowdfunding Law”

The first bill out of the new Congress next year might set the accredited investor definition to adjust with inflation. As the bill is currently drafted, every 5 years the financial thresholds would go up based on inflation. The bill is called the Financial Choice Act. You can find it here. I think this isContinue reading “The Accredited Investor Definition: Let’s Not Index it to Inflation”