So, 2 1/2 years later, crowdfunding in the US is still just a dream. The politicians passed a law, but SEC tangled it up in refusing to publish the regulations. So what could have been a huge plus for start-ups has to date been a complete bust.
As a result, I will no longer be maintaining this blog. Instead, I’m focusing my efforts on PHP Frameworks. I currently run two blogs, Laravel Tips and Yii 2.
Ok, that actually happened on April 5, 2012. The President signed the Crowdfunding law into actual law and now theoretically it’s easier to get capital. The platforms that want to offer crowdfunding deals still have to get approval from the SEC, so who knows how long that is going to take, but hopefully it won’t take too long.
Originally I was going to do a lot of investing in crowd-funded ventures, but then I decided to create another venture of my own, Tunii, so now all my available funds will go towards seeding that.
It’s hard work starting something, even when you have years of experience and expertise behind you. Sometimes being young and less weathered works to your advantage, especially when the work day stretches to 20 hours per day.
I’m not complaining though. I always wanted to build a forward looking website that takes advantage of every advance in technology, has social elements and is built on a solid foundation from the ground up. Pick one thing and do it exceptionally well, preferably something that no one else is doing.
People automatically assume there’s no money in the music business, but I disagree, obviously. The music business model just needs a little recalibrating and that’s what I intend to do for it, should I get the chance.
There’s no guarantee that I’ll actually get the chance, since I’m seed funding myself and I’m breaking the cardinal rule of not having a co-founder. I probably could have used a co-founder in building the site, if the co-founder was an engineer, but I didn’t know anyone willing to take on that task. Anyway, I’m using a team of people to build the site, so it’s way beyond the capacity of one person to code at this point.
I don’t know if I will pursue crowdfunding for Tunii or not. The cap of $1 million per year really limits the attraction. Why have all those shareholders for a lousy $1 million? Of course if my seed dries up, I will probably change my tune quickly and literally.
At the pace I’m going now, I should have the site launched by July 1st. I will beta until March, where I will launch big at SxSW. Should be a lot of fun.
Entrepreneurs do what they do they because they have a passion to create, to build something. They enjoy finding clever and innovative ways of solving problems and find opportunity where others only find headaches.
That’s not to say the road for startups isn’t fraught with headaches, it certainly is, and those with a low threshold for pain don’t last long. One headache that is ever present in startup hell is the need for cash.
With today’s efficiencies, startups can start lean, and it’s always best if someone in the venture is a programmer because technical talent will suck up money faster than oxygen. This is where the new crowdfunding environment can really make a difference. By democratizing capital, more startups will come into being, both good and bad. For those with experience, picking the winners will be relatively easy. Tech is booming, evolving, pushing in new directions, with mobile evolving so quickly it makes my head spin sometimes.
People who are foolish will no doubt lose money. But that’s the way it always is in free markets, freedom of choice means freedom of risk (not free from risk).
It’s an exciting time to be an entrepreneur. I as I move into new ventures, I do so with the passion of a kid. I do it because I love engineering, because I love to build. And I hope to make some money too, knock on wood…
The Crowd Stock blog is born! I’m going to be blogging about all things to do with crowd funding, including following the Jobs act as it works it’s way through Congress. I’m really looking forward to becoming a crowd funder and a big part of my blog will go into analyzing the best deals and of course the risks involved.
crowd stock 