How do you give back when you’re building a business? There are countless ways, but one strategy is crowdfunding. More specifically, equity crowdfunding. By inviting people to invest in your business, you’re also giving them the opportunity to earn money from your success. It’s a win-win strategy. That’s what Martha Hernandez realized when she decided to use equity crowdfunding to raise capital for her company, madeBOS. In today’s episode, Martha and I chat about her background in human resources, her experience building a company, and why equity crowdfunding allowed her to go further than other forms of financing. As you listen, you’ll learn about the nitty-gritty financial and legal details behind running an equity crowdfunding campaign, plus Martha’s philosophy on running a people-first business. About my guest: Martha Hernandez is the founder and CEO of madeBOS, a tech company that uses a people-first approach to help small businesses simplify their human resources infrastructure. After working in human resources for over 20 years—mostly in recruiting and talent management—Martha realized the average employer needed more tools and resources to better support and manage their employees. To help, she developed madeBOS. Now, she works with small and medium business owners in every industry to improve their workplace culture and reach their goals.  In this episode we talk about:➤ How Martha started her company (4:36)➤ How madeBOS helps small and medium-sized businesses (11:55)➤ What business owners should think about when preparing to scale (15:47)➤ Why equity crowdfunding was Martha’s first financing choice (21:19)➤ Abiding by the rules in equity crowdfunding (26:37)➤ The reason Martha had such success with equity crowdfunding (29:39)➤ The legal and financial responsibilities of equity crowdfunding (32:09)➤ Martha’s biggest cost in running a crowdfunding campaign (35:10)➤ The lessons Martha learned about business (38:15)Keep ListeningCurious to learn more about financing your growing business? Check out my conversation about Invoice Factoring from both the lender and borrowers perspective: Rachel Hersh, Sales Director of Prestige Capital, Lauren Picasso, Founder, and CEO of Cure Hydration and Ceata and Garrett Lash, Owners of PuffCuff LLC. Contact MeReady to transform your purpose to an impactful business financial story, profit, and joy? Schedule a chat with me at any time.Connect with Martha:➤ Website ➤ LinkedIn