By Stephane Fitch | Forbes
In March 2012 Jilliene Helman was a 25-year-old vice president at Union Bank in Los Angeles, where she’d worked in real estate and wealth management, while dreaming of her own startup. That month Congress passed the JOBS Act, making it easier to raise capital through crowdfunding on the Web.
Helman saw her chance. She recruited Justin Hughes, a friend who consulted for businesses building online communities, to help her launch a real estate crowdfunding site. Clearing the path, the Securities & Exchange Commission issued two “no-action” letters saying it wouldn’t object if real estate projects were crowdfunded, so long as all investors were “accredited”–meaning with at least $1 million in investable net worth or annual income of $300,000-plus per couple.
