Make Sure to Research Before Choosing Crowdfunding

As a quick history lesson, before the JOBS ACT was passed in 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission limited private company investments to accredited investors – folks with an individual or joint net worth with a spouse that exceeds $1 million (not counting the primary residence).  But soon nonaccredited investors will be able to back private companies via crowdfunding – the raising of capital in small amounts from multiple backers. Lawmakers are currently hashing out the rules.

Previously, nonaccredited investors were prohibited from investing in private companies because the SEC seemingly assumed that such individuals could easily end up losing their life savings. The counter argument was that startup investing wasn’t any riskier than investing in penny stocks or gambling at casinos. What’s more, with proper controls and the convenience of Web-enabled tools, crowdfunding could help stimulate the economy by making it easier for startups to succeed.

Read the rest of this post in the Wall Street Journal, which I guest authored this week.

For future posts, please follow me at:  www.twitter.com/georgedeeb

Top 4 Traits VC's Desire in Startup Founders

Having a great, defensible business idea in a scalable market is only part of the puzzle to attracting venture capital.  A more important part is having a backable management team that can pull off the execution of the plan  Below are the top 4 traits VC’s desire in their startup founders.

Read the rest of this post in Forbes, which I guest authored this week.

For future posts, please follow me at:  www.twitter.com/georgedeeb.

How to Calculate Equity Split Between Co-Founders in a Startup

There are a lot of variables that go into calculating a fair equity split for a startup team. These key factors must consider each employee’s role(s) within the company, the compensation they receive for their work, the people investing in the company, and the people behind the idea of the company. Let’s tackle each of these points below.

Read the rest of this post on The Next Web, which I guest authored this week.

For future posts, please follow me at:  www.twitter.com/georgedeeb.

What Type of Entrepreneur Are You?

The other day I read an interesting book called Entrepreneurial DNA, by Joe Abraham, the founder of BOSI Global, an operating partner to venture-backed and owner-operated companies. The book is based on Joe’s study of over 1,000 entrepreneurs. The research confirmed the discovery that all entrepreneurs are not all wired the same way. The book suggests entrepreneurs fall into four distinct types of entrepreneurial DNA’s that leverage unique strengths, weaknesses and tendencies typical in each specific type of entrepreneur.

Read the rest of this post on Entrepreneur.com, which I guest authored this week.

For future posts, please follow me at: www.twitter.com/georgedeeb

Chicago's Startup Scene Is On Fire

When I started iExplore in 1999, Chicago was jokingly referred to as a “flyover city”, as the big venture funds in Boston or Silicon Valley would fly back and forth to each other looking at deals, ignoring Midwest startups altogether.  And, even worse, they would insist that any startup that wanted their funds, would need to relocate their business to their city in order to close a financing (which many aspiring entrepreneurs did, having no other choice), in order to leverage their expertise and tap into their local ecosystem.  But, that was a different time for Chicago, before it started to build a robust startup ecosystem of its own. 
Read the rest of this post on Forbes, which I guest authored this week.

For future posts, please follow me at:  www.twitter.com/georgedeeb.

Try to Kill Your Startup, Before You Start

Earlier this year, I was sitting on a venture capital panel with Joe Dwyer of OCA Ventures, who made a very interesting comment.  He was counseling the startups in the room to try to kill their startups.  My initial reaction was: that is strange guidance to give to a room full of aspiring entrepreneurs trying to successfully get their businesses off the ground.  But, as he went on to explain it, he said “if you have done everything you could have done to kill your startup, and were unsuccessful in doing so, then you are truly on to something that is defensible and worth building.”  Which I thought presented very interesting pearls of wisdom.

Read the rest of this post on Forbes, which I guest authored this week.

For future posts, please follow me at:  www.twitter.com/georgedeeb.