A familiar name is recognized beside those that founded Kickstarter and America Online, a congressman and top Securities and Exchange Commission executive.
Candace Klein was named a top 10 most influential person in business crowdfunding by Forbes.
Cincinnatian Candace Klein, founder of Bad Girl Ventures and SoMoLend, was named by Forbes.com among this group of top influential people in business crowdfunding.
Crowdfunding is the practice of raising small bits of money from individual investors to help grow a business. It’s the basis of SoMoLend, the startup Klein founded in 2011 and launched earlier this year, letting small businesses leverage social media and their smartphones to seek loans from any qualified investor. More than 400 crowdfunding businesses have popped up around the country, according to Crowdfunding.org.
Klein, a former lobbyist, was among a key advocate for a recent federal crowdfunding bill, which President Barack Obama signed into law in April. It eliminates a rule that limited the number of investors in any one startup to 500 before it must file an initial public offering. It cans a requirement that those investors be accredited by the Securities and Exchange Commission before investing. It allows startups to raise up to $1 million a year through crowdfunding.
Klein is credited as a founder and co-chair of the Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Advocates and co-founder of the Crowdfunding Professional Association, two national groups representing the emerging crowdfunding industry.
