IndieGoGo, one of the big competitors to Kickstarter, is a better example. It actually has a category for Small Businesses and doesn't limit what kinds of projects are allowed on the site like Kickstarter does. They do, however, explicitly disallow offering equity as a contribution reward because of the very issue the JOBS act is about. From their FAQ:
"What violates our terms?
- Offering any monetary return on investment or real property, including: real estate, annuities, lottery contracts, profit-sharing, cash, securities, equity or debt-repayment"
The site actually had some excited-sounding announcement about the JOBS act recently, but I can't seem to find it.
"Does Kickstarter take some percentage of ownership or intellectual property of things made through Kickstarter?
Absolutely not. Project creators keep 100% ownership of their work."
If I'm not mistaken in this context I'm pretty sure "percentage of ownership" is synonymous with equity. At least the way equity as a word is being used in the context of this conversation.
