One of the most interesting—to me, at least—sessions at the 2015 EmTech MIT conference was a panel on energy, involving experts in solar, battery storage, and nuclear energy. Indeed, I would say this, coupled with the artificial intelligence and robotics panels, were the panels I enjoyed the most. Of them, again due to personal interest and background, the nuclear energy session led by Leslie Dewan of Transatomic Power was particularly interesting for the following reasons:…

I recently had the pleasure of listening to a panel sponsored by Wharton Fintech discussing investments in the fintech sector. Also, a friend asked me recently about what companies in the fintech sector I thought were particularly interesting. It seems apposite, therefore, to set out some of my thoughts in a more structured and public form.…

First, it is important to note that the liquidation preference is not just a tool of venture capitalists. It shows up in growth capital private equity as well. There are a number of good resources that have described the liquidation preference, including a blog post by Brad Feld, a post on Venture Beat, and a blog post by Ryan Roberts at Startup Lawyer.…

The starting point for the sale of securities—broadly defined to include equity and debt instruments, investment contracts, certificates of deposit, securities index, participation rights in a profit-sharing agreement, interests in mineral rights, derivatives, and interests in investment funds howsoever organized1—in the United States is the prohibition in the SAon offering or selling any security sold using the instruments of interstate commerce unless such security is registered with the SECor is exempted from registration.…

Now, I should emphasize that my familiarity with venture capital is somewhat less extensive than my familiarity with private equity, infrastructure and real estate. I have some familiarity with it, having followed the sector in the trade publications and by speaking with local venture capitalists, but it was not an…

Valuing Contributions First, let’s look at valuing contributions to the startup. These can come in the form of cash, intellectual property, equipment, real estate, or past and future services to the startup. Cash is easy to value. It is the other contributions that are hard. Real estate, off-the-shelf equipment, and other tangible property are the next easiest to value, as the founders can find the market value by having it appraised by expert valuers or by finding the market value of equivalent equipment or property.…

I knew the SEChad released its proposed rules in November 2013, and had read a summary of its key provisions prepared by one of the law firms I trust. I had also noted a number of articles critical of the proposed rules. I had not, however, devoted much attention to equity crowdfunding.…