In general, “eligible individuals” include those:
1. Who establish a new commercial enterprise by:
creating an original business; purchasing an existing business and simultaneously or subsequently restructuring or reorganizing the business such that a new commercial enterprise results; or expanding an existing business by 140 percent of the pre-investment number of jobs or net worth, or retaining all existing jobs in a troubled business that has lost 20 percent of its net worth over the past 12 to 24 months; and

2. Who have invested — or who are actively in the process of investing — in a new commercial enterprise:
at least $1,000,000, or
at least $500,000 where the investment is being made in a “targeted employment area,” which is an area that has experienced unemployment of at least 150 per cent of the national average rate or a rural area as designated by OMB (Office of Management & Budget); and

3. Whose engagement in a new commercial enterprise will benefit the United States economy and:
create full-time employment for not fewer than 10 qualified individuals; or
maintain the number of existing employees at no less than the pre-investment level for a period of at least two years, where the capital investment is being made in a “troubled business,” which is a business that has been in existence for at least two years and that has lost 20 percent of its net worth over the past 12 to 24 months.