Seems like this wouldn't be needed for most software startups. Even with the 499 limit, you could raise, say, $100 each from 400 investors, and have $40,000 of

Seems like this wouldn't be needed for most software startups. Even with the 499 limit, you could raise, say, $100 each from 400 investors, and have $40,000 of runway to get you to the point of looking for angel or VC funding. More complex problem domains would probably need more, of course, and it wouldn't work at all for a hardware company that needs $100,000 in equipment to get off the ground.