Articles

Answers for founders raising capital.

Plain-English answers to the questions founders ask before they raise: from people they know, from accredited investors they don't know yet, or from anyone under Reg CF and Reg A+. Each answer covers the legal half and the half that decides whether investors say yes. Written and reviewed by Joel Arberman, who has taken 17 companies public and prepared more than 30 private placements.

Start here

Raising from people you know

Family, friends, colleagues and customers: the rules that still apply, fair terms, and how to ask without straining the relationship.

Raising from investors you don't know yet

Rule 506(c): advertising to accredited investors, verifying them, and what it all costs.

The rules: exemptions, advertising and filings

What the law allows, what you have to file, and the shortcuts that surface later in diligence.

Choosing and using an exemption

Filings

Who you can pay, and for what

Crowdfunding and Reg A+

Raising from the public, accredited or not.

Getting investable

An offering can be legal and still not be investable. The documents, the investor conversation, and what decides whether people write the check.

Not sure where to start?

A Readiness Assessment ($1,500, credited in full within 60 days) tells you how much to raise, under which exemption, and what investors will push back on.

See the Readiness Assessment