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Entrepreneurship
MGT602
VU
Lesson
36
SOURCES
OF CAPITAL
PRIVATE
PLACEMENT
A
final source of funds is private
placement with investors who
may be family and friends or
wealthy
individuals.
Type
of Investors
1.
An
investor usually takes an equity position
and can influence the nature of the
business to an
extent.
2.
The
investors' degree of involvement is
important for the entrepreneur to
consider.
3.
Some
investors want to be actively involved in the
business, and others are
more passive.
Private
Offerings
1.
Public
offerings involve much time
and expense.
2.
Registering
the securities with the Securities
and Exchange Commission
(SEC) requires a
number
of reporting procedures once the
firm has gone
public.
3.
This
public process was
established to protect unsophisticated
investors.
A
private
offering is
faster and less costly
than other funding.
4.
5.
These
sophisticated investors still
need access to material
information about the company.
Regulation
D
Regulation
D contains:
1.
a.
A
number of broad provisions designed to simplify
private offerings.
b.
General
definitions of what constitutes a private
offering.
c.
Specific
operating rules-Rule 504, Rule
505, and Rule
506.
2.
The
entrepreneur carries the burden of proving
that the exemptions granted
have been met.
a.
Each
offering memorandum needs to be
numbered and contain instructions
that
the
document should not be disclosed.
b.
The
date that the investor reviews the
company's information should be
recorded.
c.
The
book documenting all specifics of the
offering should be placed in the
firm's
permanent
file.
3.
Under
Rule 504 a company can
sell up to $500,000 of securities to
any number of investors in
any
12-month period.
4.
Rule
505 permits the sale of $5
million of unregistered securities in the
private offering in
any
12-month
period.
a.
These
can be sold to any 35
investors, and an unlimited number of
accredited
investors.
b.
"Accredited
investors" include:
(I)
Institutional
investors
(ii)
Investors
who purchase over $150,000
of the issuer's securities.
(iii)
Investors whose net worth is $1
million.
(iv)
Investors with incomes in excess of
$200,000 in the last two
years.
(v)
Directors,
officers, and general partners of the
issuing company.
c.
Rule
505 permits no general
advertising.
d.
Two-year
financial statements must be
available.
e.
All
companies selling private-placement
securities must furnish
appropriate
company
information to both accredited
and unaccredited investors
and allow any
questions
to be asked prior to the
sale.
5.
Rule
506 allows an issuing
company to sell an unlimited amount of
securities to 35 investors
and
an unlimited number of accredited
investors.
81
Entrepreneurship
MGT602
VU
In
securing outside funding, the
entrepreneur must disclose all
information as accurately as
possible.
1.
If
the business turns sour, both
investors and regulators
scrutinize the company's
disclosures.
2.
When
a violation of security law is
discovered, management can be
held liable.
3.
Lawsuits
under securities law by damaged
investors have almost no
statute of limitations.
4.
The
entrepreneur needs to be careful to make
sure all disclosures are
accurate.
5.
The
SEC can also take
administrative, civil, or criminal action, without
any individual
lawsuit
involved.
BOOTSTRAP
FINANCING
Bootstrap
financing is particularly important at start-up
and early years of the venture when
capital is more
expensive.
Outside
capital has many
costs:
1.
It
takes time to raise outside
capital when the company can
least afford the time.
2.
Outside
capital often decreases a
firm's drive to make
money.
3.
The
availability of capital increases the
impulse to spend.
4.
Outside
capital can decrease the
company's flexibility and
hamper the creativity of the
entrepreneur.
5.
Outside
capital may cause more
disruption and problems in the venture
than without it.
In
spite of these potential
problems, an entrepreneur at times needs
equity funding.
1.
Outside
capital should only be sought after all
possible internal sources of funds
have been
explored.
2.
When
outside funds are obtained, the entrepreneur should
not forget the basics of
the
business.
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