Getting paid transaction-based compensation for bringing investors into a securities offering is broker activity, and an LP interest in a syndication is a security. Doing that without being registered or working under a registered broker-dealer is generally a problem under federal and state securities law, and how it applies to a specific arrangement depends on the facts, so this is a conversation for a securities attorney before you agree to anything. That 2 percent of committed capital is the exact feature regulators look at, because compensation tied to the amount raised is what makes someone a broker rather than a friend making an introduction.
The "plenty of people do it" part is true and doesn't help you. It's widely done and widely unenforced right up until a deal loses money and an unhappy investor's lawyer starts reading the offering file. The exposure isn't only yours, either. Paying unregistered people to raise money can put the sponsor's exemption at risk, which can hand every investor in the deal a rescission claim, so a sponsor who's casual about this is telling you how he handles compliance generally.
There are narrow finder exemptions in some states, and their terms vary state by state, so none of what someone tells you worked in Texas tells you what applies where you and your contacts live. The structure people use instead is co-general-partner participation, where you take on real responsibilities and an actual equity interest rather than a cut of the raise. That has its own securities analysis and isn't a workaround you can paper over a referral fee with. If you want to be paid for capital relationships as a career, the licensed route exists and is the clean one.
