Indiegogo to launch campaigns combining perks and equity investment

Re:Indiegogo to launch campaigns combining perks and equity ... by ericd on Friday January 06, 2017 @02:58PM (#13339652)

I think the concern is that before the laws limiting this went into action in the 30s, some people got fleeced for a huge chunk of what they had. It's extremely hard and time consuming to do proper due diligence on bleeding edge companies, and many consumers don't have even the basic background for evaluating technical ideas. See the massive Kickstarter success of the razor that cuts with a laser, run off of a couple of AAs or some nonsense.

Your idea for technical vetting organizations is an interesting one that might solve some of this, but unless it's mandatory for getting investment, I imagine that most companies won't bother.

This is sort of the function that syndicate leads can provide, though.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Indiegogo to launch campaigns combining perks and equity ... by david927 on Friday January 06, 2017 @06:30PM (#13341286)

I get that concern, and make no mistake it's mine as well. The Kickstarter laser razor can be matched, though, by venture-backed nonsense like uBeam. And that will happen. VC's aren't better, they are just fewer. We can't stop people from taking their paycheck to Vegas, but we can enable those who want to invest responsibly to do so to a greater degree.

And my point is that I'm really driven by the upside here. We're on the cusp of huge technological change and what's holding us back is the pedestrian way we're approaching it. We're facing 21st century potential with 1960's Mad-Men-styled cigars and handshakes.

This tide will lift all boats. (Yes, silly and fraudulent projects will get funded, maybe even more so, but so also will the truly innovative projects we didn't even know we've been waiting for.) This is the moment in history when we need to liberate innovation from the current gatekeepers of sweaty bald men in suits who are really just looking for Facebook and Snapchat clones, to the public to better unleash the potential of what's possible.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Indiegogo to launch campaigns combining perks and equity ... by ericd on Sunday January 08, 2017 @03:05AM (#13348837)

I get what you're saying, and I want to be optimistic about this too. I agree that it will likely spur a lot of innovation if we make it easier to invest in interesting early-stage projects. And yeah, VCs definitely do get fleeced as well, I like Theranos as an example. They're more disciplined than many investors because their funds are structured, though, so they're not likely to dump their entire life savings into the hands of a charlatan, unlike many private investors.

Maybe there's a way to structure this to get the benefits while still protecting the little guys. Maybe the new law's restrictions are enough, since they'll ostensibly be enforced by the gatekeepers who facilitate the investment. I certainly hope so.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Indiegogo to launch campaigns combining perks and equity ... by Animats on Friday January 06, 2017 @06:17PM (#13341210)

I think the concern is that before the laws limiting this went into action in the 30s, some people got fleeced for a huge chunk of what they had.

That's still a big problem. Read "The Wolves of Tel Aviv", about the "binary option" scam industry.[http://www.timesofisrael.com/the-wolves-of-tel-aviv-israels-...] About 0.7% of Israel's GDP now comes from this scam, and that's just the part that pays taxes.[http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-binary-options-worth-125b...]

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Indiegogo to launch campaigns combining perks and equity ... by ericd on Sunday January 08, 2017 @03:17AM (#13348866)

Wow, they're operating like a casino with awful payout ratios, and then they don't even let you cash out? That's terrible, I hope those people get shamed thoroughly for working there.

[ Parent | on HN ]