You can go to vegas and blow $100,000 in a weekend, but you think it's too dangerous to let people put that in 10 seed stage startups? Because they might lose the money?
Further, I'm a sophisticated investor, I've done very well with complex derivative investments. I knew there was going to be a housing bubble in 2001 and profited from it until 2007. How many people were saying there was no bubble at that time?
I'm the very definition of a successful sophisticated investor, but I've been kept out of investing in startups-- the industry where I've worked for nearly 30 years-- because people like you think its "dangerous"?
Requiring me to have $1M in assets does not measure ones sophistication. Make it a $50k a year salary and a swear-under-penalty-of-perjury type form to cover the startup's butt and I'm ok with "accreditation".
Until then, it's just yet another way regulations give rich people better opportunities than regular people.
>You can go to vegas and blow $100,000 in a weekend, but you think it's too dangerous to let people put that in 10 seed stage startups? Because they might lose the money?
Casinos are highly regulated so I am not sure this is a good example.
I actually don't think it is dangerous because people will lose money, I think it is dangerous because scammers would have a major advantage over non-scammers in a deregulated start-up investment market. Like Gresham's Law [1] we would soon be left with a market totally dominated by scammers and all trust would soon be lost in start-ups (i.e 1920s). This was why the regulations in this area were brought in - to restore the trust of the public in the stock market.
You are a sophisticated investor, who has been very successful wth complex derivatives, predicted and profited from the housing bubble for 6 years...and you don't have $1MM in assets?
Further, I'm a sophisticated investor, I've done very well with complex derivative investments. I knew there was going to be a housing bubble in 2001 and profited from it until 2007. How many people were saying there was no bubble at that time?
I'm the very definition of a successful sophisticated investor, but I've been kept out of investing in startups-- the industry where I've worked for nearly 30 years-- because people like you think its "dangerous"?
Requiring me to have $1M in assets does not measure ones sophistication. Make it a $50k a year salary and a swear-under-penalty-of-perjury type form to cover the startup's butt and I'm ok with "accreditation".
Until then, it's just yet another way regulations give rich people better opportunities than regular people.