Crowd funding platforms are coming to the startups industry

Friday April 11, 2014 , 2 min Read

Over the last couple of years, crowd funding platforms have become a popular way for entrepreneurs to raise funds for their projects and create new products and companies without the need of traditional funding methods. But, despite the growing popularity of these types of platforms, there hasn't been one built solely for use by startups—until now. With the launch of StartupValley, aspiring founders can launch a fundraising campaign to fund their projects and rather than giving out a reward, they offer investors equity in the company. While this sort of fundraising isn't technically legal yet, StartupValley is still allowing entrepreneurs to sign up for their service in anticipation of new legislation that will make it legal.

In a recent interview from South By Southwest in Austin, Texas, Murray Newlands of YourStory interviews Daryl Bryant from StartupValley to learn more about the company and what entrepreneurs and investors can look forward to in the future in regards to emerging fundraising platforms.

To find out more, watch the full interview below:

These are they key takeaways from the video:

StartupValley is an "equity crowd funding portal and platform for tech startups" that allows entrepreneurs and businesses to raise startup capital and invest. Right now, this type of fundraising is technically illegal, but the SEC is currently drafting new legislation that should pass mid-2014, making StartupValley's services legal for startups and investors.
Once new legislation is put in place, a platform like StartupValley will only be available for US citizens to use, but as long as your company is US-based, it will be able to use StartupValley for equity crowd funding to raise startup capital.
In the interview, Daryl explains that crowd funding platforms like Startup Valley are becoming more popular because the ways in which companies are receiving funding in 2014 have changed drastically. Angel investors are no longer willing to take on as much risk and are investing in much safer investments. With a platform like StartupValley, entrepreneurs will be able to fund their businesses without support from traditional angel investors and venture capitalists.

If you have any questions after watching the video, please leave them in the comments below!

To find out more about StartupValley, visit their website at startupvalley.com.