Firms have myriad crowdfunding options

Thanks again for your coverage of the crowdfunding landscape here in central Indiana [Avoiding the crowd, Aug. 3]. We’re excited people are talking about it. As a clarifying point, there are nuances that are important to keep in mind when looking at the crowdfunding space as a whole.

Companies looking to raise capital have more options than ever before—the new Indiana crowdfunding law, a couple of new federal investment crowdfunding laws, traditional securities laws and traditional donation-based crowdfunding.

While the point of the article was to discuss the Indiana law, there are now several options a business has to find a regulatory approach that fits for them when raising capital, and many businesses are taking advantage of this. Scotty’s Brewhouse is the only Indiana company to use the new state law successfully to date. However, Localstake has worked with over 75 companies, including Moody Meats, in their efforts to raise capital utilizing other regulatory options available. All of these raises fall under the umbrella of crowdfunding. As more Indiana businesses like Scotty’s realize that this is an option for them to consider, it is our belief more will utilize the new state laws. In fact, nationwide investment crowdfunding as a broad category continues to help thousands of businesses raise capital, with an industry market value of $34 billion in 2015 according to industry research firm Massolution.

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Brandon Smith
Co-founder of Localstake