This article was originally published on 07/01/2019

In April 2019, I became the first Black woman (arguably the first Black person) to raise over $1 million in capital through a secure token offering (STO) equity crowdfunding raise, using Title III of the JOBS Act.

This groundbreaking legislation signed into law by President Obama in 2012 loosened restrictions on capital raising for small businesses and allows companies to solicit capital from the general public (accredited and non-accredited). This is different from donation-based crowdfunding platforms (like Kickstarter and GoFundMe), where contributors may receive discounts on certain items or receive early access to a company’s new products, but never an equity stake.

In 2017, I raised close to $1 million for my company, PopCom, from accredited VCs and angel investors including TechStars and Backstage Capital. This process was exhausting. The requirement to be accredited and write a minimum check of $10,000 prevented many of my close friends and family from participating in our round. When I learned about the JOBS Act I was particularly attracted to crowdfunding because it allowed me to leverage my personal network to accumulate relatively small amounts of investment from many individual contributors.

Traditionally, there has been a huge barrier to entry for the private equity investment market. An investor has to be both accredited AND in the network to have access to early-stage deals. Last month, there were posts being circulated on social media about early-stage investors in UBER and their returns. The posts claimed that one investor put in $5,000 and received a $25,000,000 return when the company IPO’d. Believe me, not just anyone with $5,000 to spare had an opportunity to invest in UBER. I believe the JOBS Act is helping to close that gap and creating a pathway to grow generational wealth in communities that have typically been left out of these deals. Every investment is a risk, investors can lose their money or win big. However, giving the general public access to early-stage technology deals can ensure more of us are on the winning side when companies IPO or exit.

Every day people ask me how I raised money and for crowdfunding advice. I have put together my top 10 tips for a successful crowdfunding campaign. This is what worked for me. It took us 100 days to raise $1,300,000 from accredited and non-accredited investors on Start Engine. However, the work to achieve this historical milestone started years ago.

Here’s what you should know BEFORE you consider a crowdfunding campaign:

If you want to stay updated on our progress, please subscribe to the PopCom YouTube page and sign up for my email list.

Dawn Dickson

Sign up for our daily Newsletter.