By Ruth Simon and Angus Loten
Entrepreneur Adam Lee and his brother couldn’t get a bank loan. Then they learned that Georgia state officials had taken steps that might make it easier for their startup, Bohemian Guitars LLC, of Marietta, Ga., to raise the funds it needs.
The pair, who make and sell oilcan guitars priced at $250 and up, are among a small but growing number of entrepreneurs taking part in a sort of test run for new federal rules: Officials in nearly a dozen states, including Georgia, Alabama, Kansas and Wisconsin, have enacted or proposed new laws—or tweaked existing policies—to make it possible for resident entrepreneurs to secure financing from everyday local investors, also known as “equity crowdfunding,” according to the North American Securities Administrators Association.
