Month: April 2012

President Obama signs JOBS Act making it easier for startup entrepreneurs to raise capital

ATLANTA, Georgia – April 9, 2012 — Small business crowdfunding pioneer 40Billion.com (http://www.40billion.com), the leading professional social funding platform, has helped drive several provisions in the new JOBS Act recently signed by President Obama and passed by the U.S. Congress. Now, startup entrepreneurs and small businesses can seek out everyday investors and advertise their fundraises and offerings publicly over the Internet.

Part of the JOBS Act facilitates crowdfunding, in which entrepreneurs use the Internet to raise money from a large number of investors and funders. The legislation allows small businesses to use Internet services like 40Billion.com to raise up to $1,000,000 in funding from lots of everyday people, including social networks of friends, family, peers, and others.

“We’re excited about the recent news of the passing of the JOBS Act and what it means for our nascent industry and for aspiring business owners across the country who want to do their part to boost the economy while realizing their American dream,” said Cornelius McNab, founder of 40Billion.com. “When I dreamed up 40Billion back in early 2008, so many folks were skeptical that a social funding network for business startups over the Internet would ever work. Just four years later, we’ve made skeptics into believers. Crowdfunding has become an industry, and we’ve worked with the federal government to help create new laws that revolutionize how small businesses raise money.”

Before the advent and widespread acceptance of Internet social networking tools, it was nearly impossible for entrepreneurs to tap into micro-funding sources cost-effectively. 40Billion.com applies state-of-the-art online tools to enable businesses to build social networks of friends and family members that facilitate raising capital.

With 40Billion.com, users launch business fundraising projects online via the Web. It then enables users to route the projects to people in their social network – friends, family, and other contacts – most likely to fund that project, either through gifts, donations, private direct loans, or commercial paper (short-term loans up to $1 million for 270 days or less). The platform does not facilitate equity investments or sales of company stock at this time.

According to Harendra Jani, VP of Strategy and Planning at 40Billion.com, “Business crowdfunding has been legitimized by a grassroots effort that culminated in the passing of the JOBS Act to help U.S. small businesses and entrepreneurs. This movement will help close the $40 billion funding gap.”

Raising funds from one’s friends, family, and peers can be a daunting challenge as an entrepreneur raising capital for a startup business, and there are many questions. Whom should you contact to request funding? How do you facilitate multiple fundraising requests and manage multiple funders (i.e., those who provide funds, such as investors, donors, and lenders) in a structured and scalable way? How do you give potential funders peace-of-mind and increase their trust so that they are more willing to provide you the money you need? How do you reward funders when their motivation is not purely a financial one? How do you find business resources after you raise money?

“Do you know how it seems really hard for entrepreneurs to raise funding? What 40Billion.com does is lets entrepreneurs use their Internet social networks to raise more funding quickly, easily, and affordably so they can start and grow successful businesses. It’s friends-and-family funding on steroids,” said McNab.

With over $60,000,000 in Raises facilitated so far, 40Billion.com is seeking partnerships and strategic investors to promote growth and provide additional services that would benefit its users. Interested parties are invited to contact the company.

About 40Billion.com

40Billion.com is the social funding network for small businesses and startup entrepreneurs. 40Billion.com, Inc. is the first Internet-based microfinance company serving American small businesses. 40Billion.com’s scalable platform helps entrepreneurs raise funding more affordably through friends and family than through banks or other traditional financial institutions. Using proprietary online tools, entrepreneurs build social networks – including friends, relatives, colleagues, customers, and other contacts – and use these connections to raise capital through small business loans and gifts. Entrepreneurs create fundraising profiles and invite their connections to offer funding in exchange for discounts or potential returns. In business since 2008, the company aims to address a $40 billion funding gap. 40Billion.com, Inc. is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. For more information, visit http://www.40Billion.com.