<p><pre><code>    &gt; I haven&#x27;t heard a rationale for equity crowdfunding 
    &gt; that makes sense to me.
</code></pre>
My take is that it&#x27;s political, meaning that we&#x27;re trying to avoid the perception that only industry insiders can participate in and benefit from these types of investments. I&#x27;ve read some press about how companies are taking longer to go public, and that by the time they do, there&#x27;s very little growth left.<p>(edit: Crowdfunding seems to me like an attempt to allow &quot;retail&quot; investors to participate in pre-IPO investments.)