Governor Holcomb’s Executive Order 20-43, signed on September 24, 2020 requires all businesses situated or operating in Indiana to create a COVID-19 response plan outlining measures and safeguards for the safety of employees, customers, clients and members of the public. The plan must be provided to all employees and posted publicly. Existing policies should be reviewed and updated to reflect current practices and standards.

The minimum requirements of the COVID-19 response plan include:

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reports that in 2019, out of a total estimated $2.7 Trillion dollars raised through private offerings, only $62 Million – or about 0.0023% of all private fundraising, was completed through crowdfunding offerings. Since the inception of the rules allowing for this type of crowdfunding in May 2016, through December 2019, the SEC states that 795 crowdfunding offerings have taken place with an average raise of $210,000 per raise.

This summer, I had the opportunity to work as a Summer Associate at Gutwein Law. It has been a great privilege to be able to complete a full Summer Associate program at an exceptional law firm amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to grow as a professional and get to know the great people at Gutwein Law. Even among the COVID-19-related changes and uncertainties in their own personal and professional lives, the members of the Gutwein Law team, at all levels, were willing to go above and beyond to ensure that I was put in a position to be successful and always received the support I needed.

Internships are exciting, nerve-wracking, and can change the course of your career in a few short months. I accepted a three month internship at Gutwein Law expecting a challenging summer while working closely with my coworkers learning more about the practice of law. Then the COVID-19 pandemic began and changed my expectations completely. I was hopeful to still have an internship or some semblance of one. I am grateful to be one of the lucky individuals to have had a full internship at an incredible firm as most of my peers had their internships canceled.

When we speak with clients about fundraising and identifying investors, standard advice usually includes avoiding general advertising and general solicitation regarding the funding round. While that may not be necessary in every case, avoiding public references to fundraising leaves companies with many more options for securities exemptions than they would otherwise have. (For an overview on securities exemptions and why an exemption is required for a private company to legally fundraise, check out this post, and for a further explanation as to what might constitute general advertising or solicitation, take a look at this one.)