It’s that time of year again. PIE Demo Day is October 11 at 2PM in the Gerding Theater at the Armory. And while the show has been sold out for weeks, they want as many people as possible to be able to join us. So they’re livestreaming the event.
That’s right. Tune in to this page around 2PM tomorrow and the box below will a magic world of startup awesomeness.
But there’s something else interesting happening tomorrow. See, this is the first time a Portland demo day has taken place since the rules on general solicitation changed—and its potentially the first major demo day to livestream since the rules went into effect on September 23. And that puts PIE and this class of startups in a very unique position.
What’s the whole “general solicitation” thing? Well putting on my “I’m not a lawyer but I’ll give you my layman’s view of the situation” hat, this rule applies to how startups raise capital from potential investors. See, it used to be that the startup had to have a pre-existing relationship with an accredited investor before they could even broach the topic of fundraising with them. So no public mention of the fact they were fundraising. No openly asking for assistance. No general solicitation. Which made things like demo days a bit difficult, to say the least.
Also, did I mention that I’m not a lawyer?
But now, those rules have been relaxed a bit—with a bunch more paperwork and increased onus on the startups to be especially diligent about accredited investors. And this change now allows startups to announce that they’re raising money more openly. To the public. During things like demo days. Or blog posts. Or whatever.
Pretty cool, hunh?
Will any of the PIE startups be taking advantage of this new ruling? You’ll just have to tune in and see. (HINT: Yes.)
For more information, visit PIE.
(Full disclosure: I am the cofounder and general manager of PIE. So I’m a tad biased.)
