A new bill that’s gone up in front of the Florida legislature would legalize equity crowd funding. House Bill 275 would put in place a financial process that allows companies to accept funds from investors in exchange for stock in the company. Crowd funding allows individual retail investors to get in on the ground floor with smaller amounts of cash while opening the door to further investment capital. Orlando entrepreneur Carlos Carbonell, PowersDMS General Counsel Matthew Huggins, and business lawyer Johathan Killman are behind the bill. State Rep. David Santiago, R-Deltona, is the sponsor of the bill. Thirteen other states have legalized crowd funding already.
“The challenge that early stage companies face is access to capital. We have angel investing in Florida and some venture capital, but this is another opportunity to obtain investment capital” stated Kilman, a partner with law firm Foley & Lardner LLP.
