Thursday, July 31, 2014 By: Daniel N. Zucker and Jeffrey C. Wagner of McDermott Will & Emery This blog post originally appeared in Venture Experts Included in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) are provisions that extended some of the more significant benefits of Internal Revenue Code Section 1202, the Code provision that permits eligible noncorporate taxpayers to exclude from taxable income (within limits) a specified percentage of any gain from the sale or exchange of “qualified small business stock” (QSBS) held for more than five years. That percentage, which, when Section 1202 was first enacted in 1993, was 50 percent of the recognized gain from the sale of the QSBS, was increased to 100 percent of such gain for QSBS acquired after September 27, 2010, and before December 31, 2010. The 100 percent exclusion was extended through December 31, 2011, pursuant to the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010. ATRA retroactively extended the 100 percent exclusion for QSBS acquired in 2012 and 2013. More importantly (to some), ATRA also extended the rule that excluded that gain not only for regular income tax purposes but for alternative minimum tax (AMT) purposes as well. Tags: Thursday, July 31, 2014 By: Robert Fisher, CEO of Fisher Tanner Associates. He is a member of Ohio Tech Angels, X-Squared Angels, and the Angel Capital Association. With speed approaching perilously close to that of light itself, recent deregulation has freed huge and heretofore inaccessible pools of private monies to fund new investment and unshackle innovation. Just kidding – that didn’t happen. Would have been nice, eh? One could argue it wasn’t for lack of good legislative intention. As part of the JOBS act – Congress did indeed instruct the SEC to remove the ancient prohibition against General Solicitation and Advertising under Regulation D. The concept: make it easier for start-ups to cast a wide net when seeking investors. You may recall good ol’ Reg D which provides exemptions from SEC registration. The Reg D exemption relied on by most private investors – now called 506(b) continues the solicitation ban. The new exemption since last September – 506(c) – eliminates the ban but not without a new gotcha of its own. Tags: Monday, July 21, 2014 By: Marianne Hudson, ACA Executive Director
In recognition of the importance of innovative startups, several Congressmen and Senators have established Startup Day Across America, as a way to celebrate and meet with startup companies while they are in their home states and districts. This is a great time for ACA members to contact their Congressmen and suggest they visit a portfolio company or attend an angel roundtable. The official day is August 5th, but any day in August
will work.
Tags: Protect Angel Funding Monday, July 14, 2014 By: Eric Liu, PHD/MD student at the University of Oxford
Editor's Note: Eric Liu is a DPhil student in Medical Oncology at the University of Oxford. Last year he served an internship at ACA member Life Science Angels, where he had a front seat in medical entrepreneurship and also provided valuable work for the angel group. Since his angel internship he has taken an internship with the Head of Global Strategy and Regulation of Bayer Healthcare. He highly recommends internships for young healthcare entrepreneurs, as you can see
from his enthusiastic story.
Tags: Tuesday, July 01, 2014 By: Michael Cope, Founder of Cope Ventures Editor’s note: Michael Cope is a Dallas-based angel investor, mentor, and serial entrepreneur. He recently shared with ACA his letter to the SEC on potential changes to the accredited investor definition. He has compelling thoughts, and wanted others in the startup ecosystem to consider it as an example of letters they could write on this important topic. The Honorable Mary Jo White, Chairman
US Securities and Exchange Commission
Tags: Thursday, June 26, 2014 By: Alan S. Knitowski, Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder at Phunware, Inc.
Alan S. Knitowski is well versed in the world of entrepreneurship. Beyond experience as an angel investor and fund manager, Alan is a successful serial entrepreneur with multiple exits to companies such as Cisco Systems, Level 3 Communications and Internet Security Systems (now IBM). Currently Chairman and CEO of Phunware, which helps brands to engage,
manage and monetize their customers across any connected device using its pioneering multiscreen as a service (MaaS) platform, Alan shared his perspective regarding the importance of accredited angel investors to his entrepreneurial success.
Tags: Protect Angel Funding Wednesday, June 25, 2014 By: Ken Kousky, angel investor, Executive Director of BlueWater Angels (Midland, MI), and member of ACA’s public policy committee. We invite you to get to know Ken and other ACA members via this periodic feature. If you have a great idea for a member profile, please contact Sarah Dickey.
How and when did you get involved in angel investing?
Tags: Protect Angel Funding Monday, June 23, 2014 By: Elizabeth Hess, CFO at TRX Systems, an ACA member portfolio company that provides algorithms and products that deliver location indoors and underground, in areas where GPS is unreliable or unavailable. Elizabeth shares her thoughts about the potential change to the accredited angel definition based on her experience with angel funding at TRX and other entrepreneurial companies. The potential re-definition of Accredited Investors would drastically reduce the number of angel investors, barring many from participating in backing new ventures. This is of great concern to those early stage investors, and an even greater concern to the entrepreneurs who rely on them. Early stage financing is the most difficult to obtain but it is the basis for everything. Entrepreneurs may do technical research, talk to customers, validate the market, and flesh out key elements of a business plan- but to progress beyond the “slideware” phase, they must hire employees and start the actual development work. Employees reasonably look for some indication of viability before signing on, both from a financial standpoint and a technical standpoint. Angels are willing to invest at this stage, before there are any real proof points, because of their background and experience, their ability to dive deep during due diligence, and to make an informed decision to invest. The angel investor provides both the funds to bring people on and the assurance that there has been some validation of the business concept. Tags: Protect Angel Funding Friday, June 20, 2014 By: Marianne Hudson, ACA Executive Director Last week, Scott Shane wrote a column in Entrepreneur.com, Would a Higher Accredited Investor Threshold Clip Angels’ Wings? While the answer to that question to me is obviously “yes”, Scott concluded “data on the angel capital market’s response to the 2010 increase in the (accredited investor) threshold doesn’t support that view.” I’ve read his column and traded an email or two with him since, and I have to say, Pardon Me? Tags: Protect Angel Funding Monday, June 16, 2014 By: Angela Jackson, Portland Seed Fund The largest ever ACA Regional Meeting took place June 3-5 in Portland, OR. Angels from Nevada to Alaska discussed emerging data and deal flow trends for angels, syndication, helping portfolio companies in crises, and celebrating exits, among other topics. In addition to interactive sessions, 20 companies from throughout the region presented investment opportunities. Event host Angela Jackson, Managing Director of the Portland Seed Fund, provides insights into the fun work of creating and hosting this important regional event - by angels for angels. It was a crazy notion, that we could entice 100 people to travel to Portland, Oregon on short notice for an ACA regional angel meeting. Yet, with enticements like a beautiful, walkable, transit-friendly city, a foodie's dilemma on every corner (Food cart or farm-to-table? Craft brew or Willamette Valley Pinot?) we thought we had a shot. Tags: |