Georgia Exemption Opens Door for Equity-Based Crowdfunding | WABE 90.1 FM

Community-based crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indegogo make it possible for just about anyone to donate to a project.

But if a small company wants to sell shares to raise cash, federal regulations make it nearly impossible.

Unless you live in Georgia or Kansas, which are currently the only two US states to allow what’s known equity-based crowdfunding.

Adam Lee, co-founder of Bohemian Guitars, shows a custom-wrapped oil can the company uses to produce its unique-sounding instrument. Bohemian hopes to raise $150,000 using the Invest Georgia Exemption and start-up SmarkMarket.

Atlanta-based Bohemian Guitars hopes that concept will help propel it from shoe-string start-up to big time musical instrument company.

“So just from it rubbing up against your body, you get a really unique tone,” says Shaun Lee as he turns a metal oil can into a gritty-sounding electric guitar.

The brothers heard a street musician play an oil can guitar on a visit to their native South Africa. They brought one back and people started asking about it.

So last year they used crowdfunding site Kickstarter to found Bohemian Guitars.

“Our goal was $32,000 and we did $55,000 after about 35-days,” says Adam Lee as he sweats inside the company’s headquarters–an unairconditioned loft near the Sweat Auburn District.

via Georgia Exemption Opens Door for Equity-Based Crowdfunding | WABE 90.1 FM.