September 23, 2013
I am the owner of a healthcare IT startup that is working on a personal health engagement platform to help patients get information that helps them make decisions about their care in consultation with their physicians. I am currently working from an incubator in Seattle and have been learning about raising funds from accredited investors to help seed my company.
I am writing to express concern about the proposed requirement to file an Advance Form D 15 days before generally soliciting. Because the definition of general solicitation is not clear to me, I am concerned that this rule will make it more difficult to discuss my evolving product concepts with investors. I have participated in events such as "Startup Weekend" and may attend future events such as "hackathons" and "demo days" in which teams of engineers, designers, and business people brainstorm ideas and create working prototypes. It is not practicable to anticipate what one will be pitching 15 days prior to these events when the demo comes together mere hours before presentations to panels of judges, some of whom may be investors. This is one example of the difficulty presented.
I am financing my startup through my personal savings. I need to use my limited financial resources for developing software rather than paying for professional legal services to help me through an ambiguous and complex process. I respect the need to protect investors and I hope that the final regulations supporting the JOBS Act will simplify the process and achieve multiple goals- protect investors and make it easier for entrepreneurs to build companies and grow the new economy.
Thank you.