CrowdCheck Helps Startups Navigate Crowdfunding Laws Companies are lining up to help 'treps navigate new crowdfunding laws. Here's one to watch.

image credit: Shutterstock

Thanks to the JOBS Act signed into law in April, startup founders soon will be able to tap average Joes and Janes for equity-based investments. To help the process along, a new crop of crowdfunding companies has already sprung up. In April, industry resource Crowdsourcing.org predicted the world would have 536 crowdfunding companies by December, up 60 percent from last year.

Joining the pack is CrowdCheck, which aims to verify the legitimacy of companies seeking crowdfunded cash. Founded in January by Sara Hanks, former general counsel on the U.S. Congressional Oversight Panel, along with attorneys Thaya and Brian Knight, CrowdCheck wants to help entrepreneurs attract investors by confirming that they're playing by state and federal rules. Provided the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission finalizes the crowdfunding regulations before the Jan. 1 deadline, the company will launch its service in early 2013.