- Boalt Law Professor William Kell speaking about a diagnostic model to help social entrepreneurs assess business and legal needs
- Founder of Starter Law, Pietari Grohn, speaking about 3 ways investors fund social entrepreneur startups
- Partner at Hanson Bridgett (which is a B corporation), Jonathan Storper, speaking about benefit corporation legislation in California
- CEO of Cutting Edge Capital and Managing Director of Katovich Law Group (both of which are B corps), Jenny Kassan, speaking about ways for social entrepreneurs to raise money
1. Try to avoid falling under purview of securities laws. For example, offer donations for a perk, lend money without interest, pre-sell product.
2. Form partnerships with local governments and non-profits. An example of this is Mandela Foods in Oakland partnered with a local non-profit to raise funds. Enables joint application for certain grants.
3. Structure the business as a co-op. Most states have certain exemptions for cooperatives, including exemption from securities registration requirements.
(note: see Namaste Solar co-founder talk about what it is like to be a co-op here)
4. Do a direct private offering, but have a different audience. This could involve offering an investment without public advertising, or raising capital from unaccredited investors using state exemptions.
5. Do a direct public offering. Do full securities law compliance–like IPO but there is no intermediary. This method may enable entrepreneurs to seek funding from broader base of investors.
Roger Hamilton
I Like Your Article, I Want Share this quote with
"Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really.
Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success.
But it isn't at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it,
So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that?s where you will find success."
An encouraging sentiment…Thanks for sharing!