Ad Packs an Illegal Ponzi Scheme – SEC Calls Online Advertisements If you are soliciting investors to purchase online advertisements known as “Ad Packs” the SEC might deem them securities and prosecute you for legal violations. The Securities and Exchange Commission recently warned investors to beware of online “paid-to-click” scams that promise an easy payday…
As you might have heard, the Republicans have unveiled a plan to dramatically revamp or even repeal the Dodd-Frank Act. The Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee are fighting back by trying to sway public opinion away from repeal or reform. What do you think? Â Should Congress repeal Dodd-Frank? You can vote on Twitter…
The Bradshaw Law Group focuses on helping businesses grow by guiding them through capital raises like private offerings to crowdfunding and to initial public offerings.  Often the first question we ask our clients is “have you properly protected your intellectual property?”  Often, the first round of capital is invested into intellectual property protections.  Patent trolls and…
Bernie Sanders’ campaign was fueled by crowdfunding. Bernie Sanders successfully launched himself as a legitimate party contender while largely being funded by small-time contributions by millions of people. He knows how to leverage the crowd and shows that the crowd and the internet can successfully leverage knowledge and financing to allow millions of people to…
A presentation on crowdfunding I gave at a networking conference. This Crowdfunding Presentation Highlights of the Recommended Final Regulation Rules The SEC prepared a release with highlights of the recommended final regulation crowdfunding rules. What is Crowdfunding? The Rules Would Permit a company to raise a maximum aggregate amount of $1 million through crowdfunding offerings…
Last week I did a presentation on Patagonia that I obtained from the Berkeley-Haas Case Series. I prepared a Prezi presentation on it which I link to here. Enjoy. Patagonia’s Background and Early History Between 2009 and 2013, Patagonia’s revenue doubled to over $500 million, and by 2015 surpassed $600 million with over 2,000 employees. …
Last week, in my groupie fan-club review of Commissioner Luis Aguilar’s best speeches, I chose his December 17, 2014 speech where he proposed updates to the rules regarding transfer agents as his “greatest speech ever.” Â A bold prediction if I do say so myself. Especially considering I haven’t read all of his speeches (Commissioner Aguilar,…
This story broke about Martin Shkreli in the New York Times recently.  If you remember, Shkreli bought certain pharmaceutical products and then raised the price astronomically. This is the same guy who ticked off the rap community when he bought the most expensive rap album ever made, which was the famous concept-art Wu Tang Album “Once…
Being a Responsible Steward: Ensuring that the SEC Implements Effective Cybersecurity Protocols for its Data Gathering Efforts Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar United States Securities and Exchange Commission[1] Dec. 16, 2015 I. Introduction The Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent initiatives to gather and analyze more information about the securities markets represent an essential component of being…
Remarks From Baruch College’s Financial Markets Conference Thomas Gira Executive Vice President, Market Regulation New York, NY NOVEMBER 11, 2015 Good morning. It’s a pleasure to be here. Let me thank Bob Schwartz, first, for the invitation to talk with you this morning, and second, for his tireless work to foster a greater understanding of…