RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Startups in North Carolina are getting some help with crowdfunding.

LocalstakeNC is launching, extending a service the parent firm Localstake Marketplace based in Indianapolis already offers in Indiana, Michigan and Colorado.

Localstake NC

The site offers ways to help investors find crowdfunding opportunities.

It also provides services for a variety of fees to entrepreneurs who are looking for funding.

“After lots of hard work starting almost five years ago when we first started putting together the NC PACES crowdfunding legislation, we are finally ready to launch the first investment crowdfunding platform exclusively serving North Carolina,” serial investor Mark Easley tells WRAL TechWire.

Easley, who was one of the largest proponents behind efforts to bring crowdfunding to North Carolina, worked with the group Crowdfund NC to bring Localstake to North Carolina.

“Investment crowdfunding has been growing significantly around the nation, with billions of dollars raised across many different platforms,” Easley writes in a blog post.

“Now it’s our turn North Carolina! It’s time to start investment crowdfunding our most promising North Carolina startups and small businesses to help grow the economy, create jobs, and enable new products and services in communities all over our state.”

The Triangle Business Journal reported on Monday that very little has happened in terms of crowdfunding in North Carolina since the law was passed in 2016.

Easley is hopeful the addition of LocalstakeNC will change that.

Easley points out that LocalstakeNC  “is the first investment crowdfunding platform exclusively serving North Carolina. Startups and small businesses ranging from technology startups to retail shops and restaurants can use the platform to raise money to get a company started or to help it grow. A variety of equity and debt offerings can be made using various securities law exemptions, including the new NC PACES Act investment crowdfunding law, which provides a great new innovative option for raising money from all North Carolina residents.”

Mark Easley headshot

Mark Easley

NC PACES Act stands for North Carolina Providing Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs and Small Business Act. It was signed into law in July 2016 following approval of crowdfunding at the federal level by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Easley points out that “regional crowdfunding” is part of the federal JOBS Act but notes “it is more complicated and expensive to implement.” But according to Easley, LocalstakeNC supports both national and regional funding.

“And for the first time, all North Carolina residents can invest in startups and small businesses that use the NC PACES Act or Regulation Crowdfunding to raise money,” Easley explains.

“North Carolina residents can now allocate a portion of their investment funds in an organized and transparent way by opening an investment account on Localstake NC, which is a registered Broker/Dealer in North Carolina. This enables investors to connect with local businesses that are raising money, access organized company profiles and financial information, and build and manage a diversified portfolio of local investments.”