On April 5, 2012, President Barack Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, better known as the JOBS Act. The act is designed to ?reopen American capital markets to small companies,? defined in the act as Emerging Growth Companies. This is one of the most significant legislative initiatives in finance since the Securities and Exchange Acts of 1933 and 1934, and it opens up funding to a slew of companies previously shut out of the capital markets. Here"s the good news: Small businesses and startups will be able to raise up to $1 million in equity (or debt) funding online via what are called Crowdfunding Platforms?online communities and websites. Imagine an eBay-like site that allows you to post your idea for a commercial venture online and then allows investors to purchase equity shares or stakes in it. As one journalist put it, it"s ?social media meets venture capital.? How can you get in on the new funding opportunities? That"s what The JOBS Act: Crowdfunding for...