UVA School of Engineering's Entrepreneurship & Finance Class

Important to keep up with the pipeline of funding for new inventions. Grants, then investors, then IPO for investors to recoup their original investment plus a profit means that changes in the IPO (though not the only method for liquidity) market means a change in the willingness of investors to fork over cash.... how long will it take for them to get it back... plus a profit?

http://www.wsj.com/articles/ipo-market-dries-up-as-investors-retreat-1455841745

IPO Market Dries Up as Investors Retreat The IPO market is foundering. Of the almost 175 companies that made their U.S. stock-market debuts in 2015, more than 70% are now trading below their IPO prices.

And then there's this.... from our famous UVA School of Engineering grad Alexis Ohanian of Reddit....

http://www.entrepreneur.com/video/253314

Reddit Co-Founder Alexis Ohanian: Don't Be Fooled by the Glamorous Trappings of Entrepreneurship The fundamentals of building a business aren't always fun, but they're worth it.

Hoping this isn't behind a pay wall!

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-uberization-of-finance-1446835102?mod=rss_Technology

The Uberization of Finance The familiar middlemen of 20th-century banking and investing are giving way to something very different. Are we ready for the opportunities—and the risks?

A worthy read: The Angel Capital Association's blog about the new crowdfunding rules (for equity, not T-shirts) indicates a complicated process, probably still not available until about Spring 2016. But, here's a great summary analysis with links to a deeper dive!

http://www.angelcapitalassociation.org/blog/crowdfunding-rules-approved-by-sec-the-early-skinny/

Crowdfunding Rules Approved by SEC – The Early Skinny ACA Blog

Crowdfunding changes are coming. Here's an unsolicited email I received this morning about a meeting about the RULES for crowdfunding. If you're not familiar with them, and you have a true interest in raising funds, and not getting caught asking for funds from the WRONG person and being forever banned from future fundraising, read this.... then research what it means! (his links don't show up in this reposting but if you give me your email on private messenger on FB, I'll forward it to you so you can review the links yourself!)

Sent to me via email today, Wed., Oct. 28, 2015:

Hi ,

After three and a half years, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) is finally voting on Title III of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act).

I lobbied for the JOBS Act in 2011 and was there at the first ever SEC meeting held to discuss the equity crowdfunding law on 20 April 2012, two weeks after President Obama signed it into law 5 April 2012. Title II and IV have been approved to date. Title II broke the 80-year-old ban on general solicitation for startups and early-stage companies while Title IV is the famous Regulation A+.

However, Title III of the JOBS Act took more time to enact. Title III will enable non- accredited investors to participate in equity crowdfunding. It is a great feat that the SEC will finally decide to vote on this rule of the JOBS Act on Friday, 30 October 2015, in a meeting at 10 am.

This move by the SEC is a momentous event. The fact that six members of Congress issued a letter on October 5 requesting SEC Chair Mary Jo White to set free the Title III rules held captive since 2012 is a good indication for Friday’s meeting.

SEC will also consider the proposed "funding portal rules" by FINRA together with the newly instituted rule 4518, which will enable FINRA to more closely monitor brokers who are utilizing Title III. Should the SEC adopt these rules, then they will be made effective by FINRA within the next 90 days.

Crowdfunding has grown immensely since the JOBS Act came into the landscape. I founded CFIRA (Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Advocates) with Startup Exemption & Gate Tech on 18 March 2012 and suggested to divide it into CFIRA and CfPA (Crowdfunding Professional Association) in 2012. I have also established two online publications to help the financial ecosystem: The Soho Loft News and Times Realty News.

The Soho Loft News now covers stories on Alternative Finance which include crowdfunding and FinTech. Our The Soho Loft Conferences currently hold regular master classes and workshops on real estate alternative financing and other investor-focused events.

Times Realty News is the go-to site for information on current market news on real estate crowdfunding, as well as the real estate crowdfunding platforms which have been consistently tracked since 2013. It also recently released the 2015 TRN Real Estate Crowdfunding Report.

My main goal in all of these collective efforts is the same since the first day we lobbied for the JOBS Act in Congress: support and educate investors, startup entrepreneurs, and small and medium enterprises with the new rules to boost our economy, locally and globally.

This Friday, 30 October 2015 will be another milestone in this journey. Thank you and let me know what are you doing at your end and how we can continue to work together.

Yours truly,

David Drake
LDJ Capital

Check this out! Thanks AC!

How to Apply We're looking for awesome founders with game changing ideas that disrupt their industries

From a female Cal Techie... on life pondering what to be when you're sure you probably not going to be a mechanical engineer!

My New Gig As a mechanical engineer who doesn't really enjoy machining or designing things on the computer, I'm pretty screwed when it comes to industry jobs. I'm also not really sure how to turn playing wit...

https://wbthomason.typeform.com/to/Yhgv3r

Hack.UVa 2015: Registration Built with Typeform, the FREE online form builder that lets you create beautiful, cross-platform online forms, surveys & more. Sign up now and try it out!

By UVA students... for UVA students! Arrives via online. Check it out! (But, needs a bright graphic to accompany the "sharing" on FB function. Only Text share below it appears! :( )


http://www.getdrinkmate.com/pages/terms_and_conditions.php

Drinkmate It's got your BAC!

Five years teaching at UVA and no one in my Entrepreneurship & Financing for Tech Ventures ever came up with an app like this to solve the problem of class attendance... for themselves! VERY clever, read to the app!

http://www.wsj.com/articles/cracking-down-on-skipping-class-1421196743?mod=WSJ_hp_EditorsPicks

Cracking Down on Skipping Class Skipping class undetected for a game of ultimate Frisbee might become a thing of the past as more universities adopt mandatory-attendance policies and acquire high-tech trackers that snitch when students skip.

Live and learn! HUGE but simple error!

http://tinyurl.com/q8fq4xn

My $2375 Amazon EC2 Mistake Public repos can be scary. You need to make sure your API keys are secure, and away from hackers. Click to learn how.