Gunster’s VentureBuzz (June 2016)

Here is your roundup of recent significant events in the worlds of technology, entrepreneurship, startups and venture capital investing in Florida and beyond. Please share this information with others who may find it valuable.

The Big Buzz

Crowdfunding rules become effective, but don’t really work (but a fix may be coming). The SEC’s crowdfunding rules (under Regulation Crowdfunding) became effective on May 16, 2016. This marked the effective date of one of the most heavily anticipated and promoted components of the JOBS Act. Unfortunately, as widely reported, the execution of the final crowdfunding rules has resulted in a system that is probably not viable for most situations. To date, not much crowdfunding activity has occurred. A bill entitled “The Fix Crowdfunding Act,” however, is making its way through Congress and may help this situation. Read on for more details on the status of the crowdfunding rules and the potential for the improvement of these rules to make them viable.

Useful Stuff

We discuss the pros and cons of the new federal trade secrets law in the Daily Business Review: New federal law provides additional protection for trade secrets.

Recent Happenings

• Verizon’s 2016 Data Breach Investigations Report lists phishing attacks as the No. 1 cybersecurity concern. I agree – despite a significant increase in awareness and substantially increased vigilance, phishing attacks (and related attacks such as spear-phishing) continue to be very effective for the bad guys.

• Congratulations on a great biotech event! The 13th annual BioFlorida Celebration of Biotechnology was held in Progress Park, Alachua on May 12. More than 550 execs, researchers, scientists, community leaders and government officials gathered on the campus of RTI Surgical for the celebration. Here is the post-event press release.

• As venture capital dries up, tech startups discover frugality

• SEC Chair White says that cybersecurity is the biggest risk facing the U.S. financial system. I strongly agree. These public comments from Chair White clearly show that companies can expect increased regulatory agency scrutiny in the cybersecurity area. I also anticipate that the SEC and state regulatory agencies will impose more direct disclosure requirements in the cybersecurity area at some point soon.

• U.S. House passes Fostering Innovation Act. This would extend JOBS Act Sarbanes Oxley exemption for certain small public companies for five years. Good stuff for small public companies.

• AIG offers equity crowdfunding insurance designed to protect investors from losses due to fraud by issuer parties. May be helpful in mitigating crowdfunding losses in certain situations.

• BMW iVentures invests in mobile carpooling app startup Scoop. Good example of corporate venture capital investing by an established player in an innovative space.

• MagicLeap teams up with messaging startup Twilio. Result could be some very cool mixed-reality chatting.

• Congrats to International Technology Law Association for successful 2016 World Technology Law Conference in Miami. This event brought together technology and intellectual property practitioners from around the world.

• Fess up – is this you? Startups can’t explain what they do because they’re addicted to meaningless jargon

• Older workers are doing just fine with new technology in the workplace. Here are some positive metrics.

Events

	BizEdge Sales Crash Course presented by the South Florida Business Journal (Fort Lauderdale). Come hear experts share their secrets to help you get the most out of your sales efforts.
	6th Annual Jim Moran Institute Business & Leadership Conference (Fort Lauderdale)
	South Florida Business Journal's Fast 50 awards (Fort Lauderdale). Meet South Florida's 50 fastest-growing private companies! Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres followed by an awards program where we count down to number 1!
	Shared Services & Outsourcing Week Latin America coming up (Coconut Grove). Our friend Raul Vega is chairing
	BioFlorida Conference Jacksonville 2016: Connecting the Dots from Idea to Commercialization, a premier event for the life sciences community
	5th Annual ITPalooza by South Florida Technology Alliance (Fort Lauderdale)