The Crowdfunding Bootcamp and CFPA Convention in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada (PRWEB) October 17, 2012 – The Crowdfunding Bootcamp and CFPA Convention in Las Vegas Nevada, October 9-11, was a pivotal event in the establishment of the Equity Crowdfunding industry. Hundreds of crowdfunding thought leaders, service providers, nascent funding portals, social media experts, accounting, legal and policy professionals, and individual entrepreneurs gathered to understand the challenges, the promise, and the nuts and bolts of the coming equity crowdfunding era, how it will be executed, and how it can be made to work for everyone.
Combined with the event was the first annual Crowdfunding Professionals Association CfPA Conference, a group of first movers in the industry. The Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Advocates was a co-sponsor of the event.
“Reflecting crowdfunding itself, the CFPA conference had an authentic DIY spirit and excitement that more ‘corporate’ conferences lack.” said Paul Spinrad, “I connected with people doing a diverse range of great things there, and gathered some information that will really help me. I look forward to an even bigger crowd at the 2013 event.”
CfPA board member Kim Wales said, “We all have a role to play! Whether you led from the front or led from the back; showed up to learn, teach, encourage or laugh – sell products or just to be seen – the conference hall was 250+ persons strong. All of our hands and minds came together in unity; forming the industry’s first Annual Crowdfunding Bootcamp and Crowdfunding Professional Association Conference in October 2012.”
Ruth Hedges, Crowdfundingroadmap.com bootcamp creator and organizer and board member of CfPA, hosted and moderated the event. “We are on the threshold of a new era in the financing and creation of new businesses. The JOBS Act crowdfunding provisions will allow for vastly expanded participation by all Americans who will be able to make small investments to participate in job creation and capital formation,” says Hedges, “the challenge now is two-fold: for the SEC to meet their responsibilities in finalizing the rules of the road by the end of the year, as stipulated in the bill, and the education and creation of a pipeline of entrepreneurs and as well as the education for a country of newly enfranchised small investors -that means you!- to be able to take advantage of this opportunity.”
Keynoter Peter Shankman, founder of Help A Reporter Out (HARO) and now small business evangelist for Vocus, was on hand to help frame conference business in terms of “understanding the rapidly changing technological, social and economic ecosystems that enable crowdfunding, along with examples of viral success stories and why they worked.” said Meghan Cole, VP of Operations for Laughlin Associates one of the event’s coordinators and sponsors.
Alix Shaer, fundraiser and well known for raising millions of dollars for the American Cancer Society, helped entrepreneurial attendees to think about how to leverage and recruit who they know and the importance of communicating one’s passion directly.
Wednesday’s panel featured a heady line-up including; Maurice Lopes of Early Shares, Candace Klein of Bad Girl Ventures and SoMoLend, Scott Purcell of the crowdfunding platform Arctic Island, Joy Schoffler of Leverage PR, D.J. Paul of Crowdfunder, Rodney Sampson of Legacy Opportunity Fund and Dara Albright of NowStreetMedia. “If one could choose one element of the event that people would have wanted a lot more of, it was this incisively intelligent and practical-minded panel,” said conference staffer Joe Phelan.
Other amazing speakers included Douglas Ellenoff, of Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP, who has consulted with the SEC on crowdfunding rules and whose firm, along with Sara Hanks founder of Crowdcheck, has played leadership roles in communication with the SEC to help establish those rules; bringing further credibility, Gary Milkwick of 1800Accountant- a firm specialized in small business; Michael Fultz of Fund All Be All, a full spectrum crowdfunding service provider; Bruce Johnston and Zachary Hedges of CaptureTrackConvert, a customer acquisition optimizing platform, and; Karl Burl of Navicate, a service to streamline the valuation process and Arron Young CEO of Laughlin Associates a first mover in providing Incorpoation and corporate veil protection to the crowdfunding industry.
The event featured the first Funding Portal Pavillion TM, with booths featuring 30+ companies who provide services and support to entrepreneurs. Many new portal companies were able to interact with their future customers and each other. “The CFPA conference was an incredible event, probably the largest CrowdFunding event to date in number of attendees. The vibe and deals were so positive that even direct competitors became great new friends.” said Maurice Lopes CEO of EarlyShares.com “When the right people get together to support a new industry great things can really happen!”
Toward the end of the last day, Sherwood Neiss, a founding member of the Crowdfund Professional Association, who also helped push the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act in Congress, stood up and talked about the issues of potential fraud, transparency and accountability, and noted that with equity crowdfunding, as with the current gift-based crowdfunding, the safety is in that one has to build support from your friends and family who expand out to their friends and family; without the trust of the people who know you, there is little chance of your campaign going viral and getting funded. Support doesn’t come from an impulse. The internet has a memory. Neiss explained. “Con-artists will for the most part be identified and the disclosure and transparency as stipulated in the bill and registration process will keep fraudsters from even starting.”
Ms. Hedges emphasized the need for getting entrepreneurs educated and prepared in the crowdfunding process: “To feed the demand next year from these new funding portals and the millions of new investors who will be looking for quality deal flow, we need to start now and build a pipeline of one million crowdfund compliant small businesses who will be ready to launch an equity crowdfunding campaign once its legal to do so. We need to ramp this up now in order to provide a continuous flow to create the new businesses and jobs that will power our economy forward.”
On the last day, Jed Cohen, CEO of Rocket Hu b gave the closing keynote, brilliantly explaining the logical dynamics of crowdfunding with diagrams that in one case resembled the clusters of star systems he studied as an astrophysics student. Rocket Hub is one of the existing crowdfunding sites that sees equity crowdfunding in its own future.
Brian is the Founder of Crowdwise, LLC, and is an angel investor in 80+ private startups through equity crowdfunding.
Jenny Kassan has almost three decades of experience as an attorney and advisor for mission-driven enterprises. She has helped her clients raise millions of dollars from values-aligned investors and raised over $3 million for her own businesses.
Over 35 years of experience in Information Technology with the majority of time being spent in the Financial Services industry. Possesses detailed knowledge of all aspects of the online capital formation/crowdfunding, international brokerage, hedge fund and asset management businesses. Able to recruit and motivate strong teams capable of solving mission critical business problems.
Devin is a journalist, author and educator. He calls himself a champion of social good. As a new-media journalist and founder of the Your Mark on the World Center, Devin has established himself as a champion of social good. As a Forbes contributor, with over 400 bylines and over
Vincent Molinari is the CEO of Templum Markets, (FINRA Registered Broker Dealer and ATS) and Co-Founder of it’s parent company, Templum, Inc. He is also a Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Blockchain Commission for Sustainable Development and is a Co-Founder and Co-Chair of Blockchain for Impact.
Blaine McLaughlin is the Chief Product Officer of VIA Folio, an innovative IPO, private and alternative investment platform that makes it easy for online platforms, issuers, investors, brokers and advisors to engage with IPOs, private and alternative debt and equity offerings. Part of Folio Investments, Inc., VIA Folio supports issuance, custody, servicing and secondary transactions in public and private equity and debt investments, and other listed and unlisted securities. McLaughlin joined the company in 2007, and has led retail customer acquisition and management, partnerships, portfolio acquisition, introducing broker services, and other business development activities.
Sara Hanks, Founder and CEO of CrowdCheck, is an attorney with over 30 years of experience in the corporate and securities field. CrowdCheck provides due diligence, disclosure and compliance services for online capital formation. Its services help entrepreneurs and project sponsors through the disclosure and due diligence process, give investors the information they need to make an informed investment decision and avoid fraud and help intermediaries avoid liability.
David N. Feldman concentrates his practice on corporate and securities law and mergers and acquisitions, as well as general representation of public and private companies, entrepreneurs, investors, and private equity and venture capital firms. Mr. Feldman also advises emerging growth companies with regard to alternatives to traditional financing through initial public offerings. He is also considered an authority on public offerings through the recently implemented SEC Regulation A+. Mr. Feldman also represents investors, social media sites, public and private issuers and applicants for grow and dispensary licenses in the emerging cannabis industry.
Jason Paltrowitz is Executive Vice President and Global Head of Business Development at OTC Markets Group, where he is responsible for all international and domestic corporate services new business and relationship management. Prior to joining OTC Markets in October 2013, Mr. Paltrowitz was Managing Director and Segment Head at JP Morgan Chase and was responsible for the custody, clearing and collateral management business in the Corporate and Investment Bank division. Mr. Paltrowitz started his career at BNY Mellon serving in multiple senior management positions, most notably as Head of M&A for the Financial Markets and Treasury Services Sector and 11 years in the Depositary Receipt Division as the Head of the Global Capital Markets Group. Mr. Paltrowitz also served as a member of the Board of Directors at OTC Markets Group from 2008 – 2011.
Patrick Tracey is Director of Business Development for Morrow Sodali. In this role, Pat brings expertise in a number of areas including Proxy Solicitation – Activism – Corporate Governance Advisory – IPO Prep – Demutualization (Insurance Companies, Community Banks and Credit Union) – Stock Surveillance for Public, Private and Mutual companies.
Xiaocheh Zhang currently serves on the CfPA Board of Directors. He is also a co-founder of the Crowdfunding China Society (CFCS). As a crowdfunding thought leader, he has advised many organizations in applying alternative finance and result-based approach in transforming their business models. He has provided services to World Bank, United Nations, TUEV SUED, Virginia Tech, Peking University and some other organizations in the past 15 years. Xiaochen has rich experience in both public and private sector in America, Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe to incubate and scale up innovative programs and projects at all levels. He is also a recognized speaker in climate finance, green innovation and crowdfunding. Here are a few examples:
Rodney Sampson is an innovator, serial entrepreneur, angel investor, published author, and consecrated bishop. As an innovator and serial entrepreneur, Sampson co-founded Multicast Media Networks (Streamingfaith.com) in 2000 (acquired in 2010), a live and on-demand streaming platform that laid the foundation for companies like YouTube and Ustream. Not stopping there, Sampson co-founded Intellectual Currency (an integrated marketing, intellectual property, diversity & inclusion and business development advisory firm) in 2002, Intellect Inspire (a digital publishing imprint of Audible) in 2006, and Legacy Opportunity Fund in 2007 with investments in technology, consumer products, energy, cyber-security, publishing and the entrepreneurial ecosystem. He also serves on the advisory boards of Digit, a disruptive financial technology company, Mark Burnett Productions, Springboard Fund and multiple startup and early stage companies throughout the world.
Thell Woods, a former interim president of the CfPA, founded and currently serves as chairman of Crowdfunding Services LLC. The company helps establish “Community Centric Crowdfunding” programs offering both non-profit and securities offerings. Thell serves specifically defined communities throughout Michigan developing the www.C3funding.com website as the base for these programs.
Brian Korn was elected to the Board of Directors (Legal P.O.V.) of the Crowdfunding Professional Association in January 2014. Brian is a corporate and securities attorney at the law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, and has had multiple appearances on Fox Business Television, Bloomberg, CCTV America and National Public Radio as an expert on the JOBS Act, including its impact on crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending, IPOs and market trading dynamics. He has been published or quoted in Forbes, CNBC, MSNBC, New York Law Journal, Law360, Philadelphia Inquirer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Financier Worldwide and The Review of Securities & Commodities Regulation.
Thomas Lawson is vice president of private issuer services for VIA Folio, Folio’s private capital network. In his role at VIA Folio, he provides legal and regulatory guidance to business development and operations. As part of this work, he supports VIA Folio’s online transactions in unlisted securities. He joined Folio in 2015.
AdaPia D’Errico is the Chief Marketing Officer at Patch of Land, where she heads up marketing, which includes strategy, brand, communications, partnerships and client services. Prior to joining Patch of Land, AdaPia ran a consulting company that developed growth strategies for major brands at Disney and Mattel, as well as technology and new media startups. AdaPia began her career at CIBC and subsequently spent 8 years in banking and investment management with a focus on customer relationship management, investor relations, and corporate communications. AdaPia is a published writer, blogger for The Huffington Post, and is a public presenter on topics including growth strategies, entrepreneurship, crowdfunding and brand development. AdaPia holds a B.B.A from the University of British Columbia and a B.A in International Business Economics from Hogeschool Zeeland, The Netherlands.
Dara Albright is a recognized authority, thought provoker and frequent speaker on topics relating to market structure, private secondary transactions, next-gen IPOs, P2P, FinTech and crowdfinance. Albright has held a distinguished 23 year career in IPO execution, investment banking, corporate communications, financial marketing as well as institutional and retail sales.
Jordan Fishfeld is the former CEO and co-founder of PeerRealty (sold), and current Chairman of the Board and co-founder of CFX Markets and OpenFinance Network, secondary market platforms for traditionally crowdfunded and digital assets, respectively. In this role, he focuses his time on strategic planning and general oversight in the new and growing digital marketplace. With over 8 years of compliance, legal, investing, and sales experience in regulated markets, Jordan understands the need for a single coherent voice in the crowdfunding and blockchain industries.
Dr. Richard Swart is recognized as the global thought leader in the crowdfunding industry. Richard is a founding board member of the Crowdfunding Professional Association (CfPA), the Crowdfunding Intermediary Regulatory Advocates (CIFRA), and an early leader in the field. Richard co-organized the first major national conference on crowdfunding and coordinated several educational events on the JOBS Act throughout the United States for the White House.
Scott McIntyre. 2024 marked Scott’s 9th term as Chairman of the CfPA’s Board of Directors, having served in leadership since formation in 2012, including four terms as President & Chair.
Alon is the Managing Partner of Stacked Capital, an early-stage industry agnostic venture capital fund. Previously Alon was the co-founder, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Technical Officer of crowdfunding platform RocketHub, acquired in 2015. Alon is a founding member of the Forbes Technology Council, and a Strategic Advisor to Zombie Soup (Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and games); he has twice testified in front of U.S. Congress on equity crowdfunding, co-authored three acclaimed whitepapers on the JOBS Act, and was selected to lead FINRA’s Capital Markets Series on crowdfunding. Alon oversaw RocketHub’s partnerships with the White House, U.S. Department of State, Fulbright Foundation, Cisco, Microsoft, Chrysler, and others. Alon has led large speaking engagements for organizations including American Express, TEDx, Campaign Summit, Re.Comm, and Make Innovation. Alon earned his M.Sc from Columbia University and was a fellow at the Earth Institute’s Advanced Consortium of Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity; he specialized in genocide prevention and social network theory.