Below is an article by GBM News entitled “EquityNet Offers New Way to Raise Capitals"
EquityNet Offers New Way to Raise Capital
By: GBM News Staff, GBM News
Jan 31, 2015
Looking for capital to start or expand your business? Then you need to check out EquityNet.
In November of 2014, EquityNet announced that its membership base of entrepreneurs, investors, and institutions had surpassed 50,000 individuals. As a result, over 400 companies have raised more than $250 million in business funding, making EquityNet one of the leading business crowdfunding platforms.
Judd Hollas, founder and CEO of EquityNet, stated, “EquityNet is more than just a large number of entrepreneurs and investors communicating online. Our crowdfunding platform streamlines the funding process for entrepreneurs and the due diligence process for investors. We are proud that we have achieved these numbers, and we look forward to the further expansion that will occur as the crowdfunding industry continues to grow.”
Game Changer
EquityNet allows entrepreneurs to publicly advertise for investors. This is a services that just a few years ago was fundamentally illegal. Until recently, entrepreneurs had to rely on friends and family. Only large companies or companies qualified by the SEC could “Go Public”.
Today, public marketing of an investment opportunity to “qualified investors” is now possible for small and start up businesses.
The US JOBS Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2012, focuses on the growth of private companies in the United States. In September 2013, EquityNet was the first crowdfunding platform to enable Title II of the US JOBS Act, which allows businesses to publicly advertise their need for equity funding online and take advantage of the lifting of the eighty year-old ban on general solicitation in the United States.
African Americans and Latinos lack capital
According to the Washington Post, Census Bureau records show that African Americans saw their overall net worth drop by 37 percent in the past 11 years. Among Hispanics, the median net worth dropped 42 percent. On the other hand, white households saw their median net worth grow to 18 times greater than African American households during the same period.
Some economists say the solution to this problem lies in more participation by black and Latino Americans in the capitalistic system. They say African & Latino Americans must become entrepreneurs.
Into this discussion, Scott Shane, Professor at Case Western Reserve University notes that African Americans are in fact far more interested in running their own businesses than their whites counter parts. African Americans are more likely to initiate the new-business creation process, although they are less likely to have an up-and-running business a few years later.
So what then is the problem? Many point to the lack of capital in the African American and Latino communities.
According to Adam Vanderbush, Chief Marketing Officer of EquityNet, their investor matching process and business development tools offer minority entrepreneurs a solution.
Adam Vanderbush speaks to Dr. Timothy Dey and Ralph Emerson of GBMNews about EquityNet.
This article was originally published in GBM News.