دانلود رایگان مقاله اجتناب کارآفرینان پونزی زمان سرمایه گذاری در مخاطرات جدید

Abstract

Crowdfunding has gained substantial interest in the U.S., allowing entrepreneurs to raise startup capital in exchange for equity in their ventures. This approach to equity capital can open up new sources of venture finance to legitimate entrepreneurs, but little attention has been given to how it offers new opportunities for illegal entrepreneurs to defraud investors. We adopt a forensic approach to examine entrepreneurs who launch Ponzi ventures—businesses that continually bring in new investors in order to use their money to pay returns to earlier investors—to demonstrate the ease, creativity, and audacity with which these illegal entrepreneurs operate. The provided examples of Ponzi entrepreneurs show how easily they can circumvent the safeguards purported to protect investors: screening by ‘the crowd,’ transparency and documentation requirements, independent audit reports, and withholding of funds until the venture's financial goal has been met. In this article, we offer possible solutions to help protect investors, legitimate entrepreneurs, and business in general from the damage created by illegal entrepreneurs.

6. Conclusion: Protect the honest and expose the illegal

The central argument of this article is not that entrepreneurs are inherently dishonest or that they should not be allowed to engage in equity crowdfunding. We view ethical entrepreneurs as essential to economic growth and innovation. However, we believe equity crowdfunding–—and entrepreneurship in general–—needs to be based on an assumption that some entrepreneurs will engage in wealth-destroying and completely self-interested activities that harm society. The aforementioned cases of Ponzi entrepreneurs demonstrate the ease with which scheming individuals can engage in crowdfrauding, raising money from large numbers of people who can least afford to lose their income or savings. Investors must exercise due diligence and carefully review all available information prior to investing in a crowdfunded venture. Even sophisticated and knowledgeable investors may not be able to spot a Ponzi entrepreneur. Crowdfunding proponents believe that self-regulation of the crowd, transparency and documentation, requiring an independent auditor’s report on the venture, and withholding funds until the entrepreneur reaches his/her funding goal will prevent crowdfrauding by Ponzi entrepreneurs, but these preventive measures all rest on faulty assumptions. Ponzi ventures often appear highly viable and likely to provide a reasonable return for investors; in fact, they look very similar to legitimate, ethical ventures. The goal of providing greater funding opportunities for startup entrepreneurs is a very important one and deserves additional attention. However, loosening the rules on crowdfunding or assuming the current rules will stop Ponzi entrepreneurs seems fraught with danger. Ponzi entrepreneurs harm the fabric of trust on which crowdfunding–— and business in general–—rests. Each time thousands of investors discover they have lost substantial amounts of money in a Ponzi venture, they become more cynical about entrepreneurial activity, the security of the financial system, and the ability of government to protect citizens from fraud.