It's Okay If You Aren't Familiar With Crowdfunding

Chances are, whether you are a company looking to raise capital or an investor looking to be a part of a start-up company, you haven’t heard of crowdfunding. The reality is most people have not and the reason is simple: the regulation bringing crowdfunding to the everyday person is new.

In 2012, Title III of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act provided an exemption from registration for specific crowdfunding offerings. And it wasn’t until May of 2016 that companies were able to raise funds under Regulation Crowdfunding.

Simplifying Crowdfunding

The basis of crowdfunding is the ability for companies to raise capital in exchange for equity in their company. These funds can then be used to continue growing the business.

To simplify the idea of crowdfunding even further, it is helpful to consider a basic example. Let’s imagine there is a young boy named Ben. Ben wants to start a dog-walking business for the summer. Since Ben is a young kid and wants to enjoy his summer, he only wants to walk dogs between 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm.

He quickly realizes he will need a leash to walk the dogs, so he goes into his own pocket to buy the leash. The leash costs $30. At the start, Ben is walking one dog during his business hour. He charges $10 per walk. Suddenly, Ben is referred to four other customers that need their dogs walked as well! Obviously, one leash will not cut it for five dogs. But unfortunately, Ben does not have the $120 to buy an additional four leashes.

His choice is simple, find a way to buy the additional four leashes, or miss out on the potential business from four additional customers. He decides to ask a group of his friends for an investment. He asks six friends for $20 each, and in return, they will each receive 5% of his future earnings. They all agree and give Ben the money. He then uses the money to buy the leashes he needs to walk the additional four dogs.

Ben is now making $50 dollars a day for the five walks over the hour he works and he is putting the cash in a piggy bank. At the end of the summer, Ben worked a total of 50 days. When they broke open the piggy bank, they then had $2,500! Each of Ben’s friends that helped him out and gave him $20 to buy additional leashes each receive $125 and Ben was able to make $1750. Everyone involved is ecstatic.

At its most fundamental level, this is crowdfunding! Both Ben and his friends that contributed to his dog walking business would not have been able to achieve all they did without crowdfunding. Obviously, little Ben and his friends didn’t need to abide by the regulation set forth by the SEC, but the idea is still the same! Crowdfunding is so powerful in that it quickly allows businesses the opportunity to grow and also gives everyday individuals the opportunity to become venture capitalists.

PicMii Crowdfunding – Our Role

Our role in crowdfunding is to provide a simple platform to connect companies and investors. PicMii gives companies an outlet to find investors critical to making their business successful, while providing every day people a portal to be a part of these startups. Crowdfunding, especially equity crowdfunding, can be intimidating at first for companies and investors alike. But we are here to make crowdfunding less intimidating. Crowdfunding is simple at its core, and that includes equity crowdfunding. We are here to exploit the brilliance of crowdfunding to help companies and investors succeed.

PicMii Crowdfunding

PicMii Crowdfunding

We love startup investing. So much, that we created this platform to bring it to everyone.

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WHEN MAKING AN INVESTMENT DECISION, INVESTORS MUST RELY ON THEIR OWN EXAMINATION OF THE ISSUER AND THE TERMS OF THE OFFERING. THIS INCLUDES ANALYZING THE MERITS AND RISKS INVOLVED WITH INVESTING IN THE OFFERING. INVESTMENTS ON PICMII CROWDFUNDING ARE SPECULATIVE, ILLIQUID, AND INVOLVE A HIGH DEGREE OF RISK. THIS RISK INCLUDES THE POSSIBLE LOSS OF YOUR ENTIRE INVESTMENT.

Unless otherwise stated all securities-related activity is conducted by PicMii Crowdfunding, LLC, a funding portal registered here with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). PicMii Crowdfunding, LLC is not a registered broker-dealer and all activity involving escrow/holding funds is performed by Enterprise Bank and Trust, an escrow agent registered with the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission. PicMii Crowdfunding is compensated with an up-front fee and a percentage of funds raised in each offering. Fees may vary between offerings and investors should review the Form C linked on each offering page for PicMii's specific compensation for each offering.

Regulation Crowdfunding offerings (JOBS Act Title III), which are offered to both accredited and non-accredited investors, are made through PicMii Crowdfunding, LLC. Although these offerings are open to the general public, all securities offered on PicMii Crowdfunding have not been recommended or approved by any federal or state securities commission or regulatory authority. PicMii Crowdfunding does not provide any investment advice and does not provide any legal or tax advice with respect to any securities. All securities listed on The Platform are being offered by, and all information included on this site is the responsibility of, the applicable issuer of such securities. PicMii Crowdfunding does not verify the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information provided by the issuer. Neither PicMii Crowdfunding, nor any of its officers, directors, agents and employees makes any warranty, expressed or implied, of any kind whatsoever related to the adequacy, accuracy, or completeness of any information on this website or the use of information on this website.

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