SEC sends a message to startups about ‘fake it’ culture

Blood-testing startup Theranos was a high-profile collapse that was made into a TV series for Hulu, starring Amanda Seyfreid. (Image: Hulu)

The Wall Street Journal

Thu, 03 Oct 2024

By Marc VartabedianThe US Securities and Exchange Commission, in a series of recent enforcement actions, is driving home a message to the startup world: fake it 'til you make it can be fraud.Last month, the SEC charged a startup and some of the founders or executives of two others with misleading or defrauding investors. Each of the startups had received venture funding and the agency has regulatory oversight over startup funding rounds and initial public offerings. Startup culture has long encouraged setting lofty or even unreali...

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