Crowdfund Investing For Dummies

Learn about: What crowdfund investing is and how you can raise money for your business The risks and rewards of crowdfund investing Maximizing the benefits and preventing fraud Want to rise above the crowd in crowdfund investing? Are you an investor or entrepreneur looking to get in on the newest big thing on Wall Street? Crowdfund Investing For Dummies walks you through this new investing experience, explaining everything you need to know about crowdfund investing: how much funding you can realistically raise; how to plan and launch a campaign; how to manage the crowd after a campaign is successful; and how to work within the SEC's regulations at every stage. Crowdfund Investing 101 — get an overview of how this form of private equity or debt investment works and what the potential benefits are to entrepreneurs, small businesses, and investors Make a plan — find out how to present a solid business plan, define your financial needs, and prepare for a crowdfund investing campaign Manage your campaign — discover how to market your pitch, tap into your social networks, prepare for potential problems related to your campaign, and successfully complete a crowdfund investing campaign Run with it — grasp how to communicate clearly and regularly with your crowd, avoid mistakes that could lead your investors to revolt, and keep your investors happy even when your plans are delayed Put the "I" in investor — get the 4-1-1 on how to measure risk and thoroughly examine opportunities available to you as a personal investor Open the book and find: How the crowdfund investing concept evolved Why crowdfund investing gained bipartisan support Advice on planning your crowdfund investing campaign How to evaluate crowdfund investing opportunities Best practices in crowdfund investing SEC regulations you need to know Tips for building your crowd and your team Online links to informative videos

Introduction  1 Part I: Tapping the Potential of Crowdfund Investing 7 Chapter 1: The Crowd’s in Your Corner: Funding or Investing in a Business 9 Chapter 2: Tracing the Origins of Crowdfund Investing 23 Chapter 3: Raising Capital for Your Startup or Small Business with Crowdfund Investing 41 Chapter 4: Becoming Part of the Crowd: Investing with Caution 67 Part II: Planning Your Crowdfund Investing Campaign  83 Chapter 5: Defi ning Your Goals and Financial Needs 85 Chapter 6: Focusing on Your People: Building Your Crowd and Your Team 109 Chapter 7: Picking a Powerful Crowdfund Investing Platform 127 Chapter 8: Networking Your Way to Successful Funding 141 Part III: Managing Your Crowdfund Investing Campaign  155 Chapter 9: Making Your Pitch 157 Chapter 10: Troubleshooting Campaign Problems 177 Chapter 11: Moving Forward When You Reach Your Funding Target 191 Part IV: Running Your Business with Your Investors in Mind  207 Chapter 12: Communicating with Your Investors 209 Chapter 13: Crowd Mentality: Staying Afl oat in the Face of Investor Revolt 219 Chapter 14: Knowing Your Options If Your Plans Go Astray 231 Part V: Becoming a Crowdfund Investor  243 Chapter 15: Evaluating Crowdfund Investing Opportunities 245 Chapter 16: Committing Your Capital 259 Chapter 17: Adding Value: Playing the Right Role as an Investor 271 Chapter 18: Exiting a Crowdfund Investment 283 Part VI: The Part of Tens  293 Chapter 19: Ten Best Practices for a Crowdfund Investing Campaign 295 Chapter 20: Ten Reasons Every Country Should Consider Crowdfund Investing 301 Chapter 21: Ten Crowdfunding Cases 309 Chapter 22: Ten Stories That Inspire 315 Appendix: Resources  321 Index  325

Sherwood Neiss, Jason W. Best, and Zak Cassady-Dorion are the founders of Startup Exemption (developers of the crowdfund investing framework used in the 2012 JOBS Act). They deeply understand the process, rules, disclosures, and risks of capital formation from both the entrepreneur's and the investor's points of view.