Better laws, better world.
About four years go, a monthly event called Mission Street Food was incredibly popular in San Francisco. After a while, the organizers decided they wanted to open a permanent, charitable restaurant called Commonwealth, and get members of the community to invest in it.
I was a huge fan of the idea. One share was $500, you got .08% of the profit as an annual dividend, and you got some gift certificates to boot. I signed up right away.
A few weeks later, I got a follow up email from Anthony Myint—that’s right, of Mission Chinese fame:
Poor dude. Accreditation is a thing that any wealthy investor type knows about, but for the layperson, it’s news: the USA has banned middle-class Americans from investing in higher-risk investments since the Depression.
In the end, Commonwealth opened anyway and is a wonderful, thriving restaurant. But I never forgot about the enchanting idea that I could back local businesses in my area, and really be invested, literally, in my community.
Almost exactly four years later, Nick Chirls tells me about a new company he’s starting over coffee. He told me about new legislation being passed, the JOBS act, which includes a crowd funding provision, Title III.
Title III effectively lets anyone, poor or rich, put a percentage of their salary into investing in businesses. In anticipation of the bill, Nick founded Alphaworks, a new kind of funding platform aimed directly to support newly empowered communities find businesses and make investments.
There’s an incredible amount of work to be done: education, support, financial guidance, and compliance work. But as Nick described his vision, I knew I had to be on board. So I’m happy to announce I’ve joined as VP of Design at Alphaworks, alongside an amazing crew: Kristian Kristensen, Nick Barr, Rachel Troy, and Jennifer Patrick.
Crowdfunding has been popular for years, but as the Oculus Rift acquisition yesterday indicates, we need a new way for people to champion and invest in amazing products. I’m thrilled to be part of the progress.
If you’re new to the JOBS Act, or Title III, here’s some great intro articles on the subject.
Forbes: JOBS Act Title III: Investment Being Democratized, Moving Online
Harvard Law: Jobs Act Title III Crowdfunding Moves Closer To Reality
Crowdsourcing.org: Jobs Act, Title III: A brief update on what’s happening behind the scenes
We’ve only just begun: follow along with Alphaworks on Twitter or our blog as we build out the product. And if you’re an engineer interested in joining the team, please get in touch.