Post on 26-Aug-2014
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CROWDFUNDING AND STARTUPS
By Reality Crowd TV Media Corporation
Presenter: Manolis Sfinarolakis, Founder, Reality Crowd TV Media Corporation
INTRODUCTION TO THE SPEAKER
Manolis Sfinarolakis, Founder, Reality Crowd TV Media Corp.
Member of Crowdfunding Professional Association (CfPA), Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Advocates (CFIRA), and National Crowdfunding Association (NLCFA)
Multiple speeches given on the topic of Crowdfunding in states across the U.S., including Connecticut, New York, Georgia, Denver, Seattle, Texas, Washington D.C., and Florida
Insurance Industry experience with The Hartford Insurance Group within the Internal Audit Department. Received SEC Press release on October 23rd on Title III Equity Crowdfunding.
Big 4 Accounting Firm experience with Deloitte & Touche. Auditing S-1 documentation for broker/dealer that raised 1.2 billion during IPO.
BS in Business Administration, Concentration in Accounting from University of Connecticut
WHAT IS CROWDFUNDING?
“Crowdfunding is converting social capital into actual capital through the internet.”
WHY USE CROWDFUNDING?
Banks/VC’s are not investing / lending as they use to
Customer Validation / Proof of Concept – easier to raise capital from banks / VC’s in the future
Great tool to learn marketing, communications, and business development
Forces early adoption of Social Media & PR
Instantly go global (The World is your Patron)
Depending on Type – Don’t Give Up Equity / Take On Loan
Shift balance of power: Startups who appropriately prepare have leverage / options
CROWDFUNDING BENEFITS TO VC / ANGEL
Eliminates Risk – successful crowdfunding campaigns tend to attract VC / Angel investment to handle the customer demand.
Maintain Relations (Just In Case)– instead of completely dismissing startups because they are not yet ready for Angel / VC backing, encourage them to prove it through crowdfunding, then invest once successful
Seed + Crowdfund – invest in early stage startups to provide them the seed capital needed to market / execute their crowdfunding campaign to increase the likelihood of success.
Economic Growth – the crowdfunding ecosystem is generating massive amounts of economic activities, from entrepreneurs, to consultants, to service providers, to funding portals. There is huge opportunity to invest in infrastructure plays (HINT HINT).
THE 9 STAGES OF CROWDFUNDING
Successful campaigns take at least 3 months of pre-launch activities before they launch their project (to go into detail later in the presentation):
Business Planning
Intellectual Property
Social Media
Public Relations
Campaign Strategy
Networking & Team Building
Website Development
Profile & Video
Fulfillment
REWARDS CROWDFUNDING OVERVIEW
Contribution in exchange for a reward. Used by many different non-profits, businesses, artists, film makers, and entrepreneurs. The crowdfunding of choice for Startup companies. Capital raised without giving up equity / taking on debt!
Top websites used for rewards based crowdfunding: Kickstarter.com
IndieGoGo.com
Highly dependent on social capital and relationships.
PR is most important, followed by social media.
Video must be top notch to tell a compelling reason why they should invest in the person’s project, especially if it is a for profit enterprise.
Must reach 30% of funding within the first week of the campaign (90% success).
EQUITY CROWDFUNDING OVERVIEW
Investment in exchange for equity. Title II, Title III, and Title IV of the 2012 JOBS act.
Title II allows for the general solicitation of Accredited Investors for investment in small businesses via the internet / crowdfunding websites.
Title III will allow for the general solicitation of Un-Accredited investors for investment in small businesses via the internet / crowdfunding websites.
Title IV allows for general solicitation of both Accredited and Un-Accredited investors, however, it is state by state crowdfunding and takes months to close.
Top websites used for equity based crowdfunding: Angellist.com
Realtymogul.com
DEBT CROWDFUNDING OVERVIEW
Investment in exchange for bond. Title II, Title III, and Title IV of the 2012 JOBS act.
Title II allows for the general solicitation of Accredited Investors for investment in small businesses via the internet / crowdfunding websites.
Title III will allow for the general solicitation of Un-Accredited investors for investment in small businesses via the internet / crowdfunding websites.
Title IV allows for general solicitation of both Accredited and Un-Accredited investors, however, it is state by state crowdfunding and takes months to close.
Top websites used for debt based crowdfunding: Patchofland.com
LendingClub.com
CircleUp.com
ROYALTY CROWDFUNDING OVERVIEW
Investment in exchange for future revenue (royalties) of the company / individual.
Both secured (collateral) and unsecured (based on trust).
Top websites used for royalty based crowdfunding: UpStart.com
Empowrr.com
Bolstr.com
Royalty based crowdfunding is not only focused on the business, but rather, the confidence in the management team running the business. They are investing in the future prospects of YOU.
SUCCESSFUL CROWDFUNDING EXAMPLES
The Pebble Watch: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-e-paper-watch-for-iphone-and-android
Chups LLC: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2029729541/a-ketchup-revolution
Bohemian Guitars: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/366997931/bohemian-guitars-oil-can-guitars
TreeSleeve: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/283056097/treesleeve-designed-to-reforest-the-world