New Studies Show 81% Jump in Crowdfunding

(c) Crestock.com under license.

(c) Crestock.com under license.

April 8, 2013 – New studies show that funds raised through crowdfunding jumped 81% from 2011 to 2012, and that the equity and debt based crowdfunding could be a $3.98 Billion market per year.

Today, massolution, a research firm specializing in the crowdsourcing and crowdfunding industires, released its annual Crowdfunding Industry Report, finding that crowdfunding platforms raised $2.7 Billion worldwide for more than one million campaigns. These numbers show an 81% jump in funds raised through crowdfunding from 2011 to 2012.

The report discloses that North America and Europe accounted for over 95% of the total crowdfunding market. “Consistent with our 2012 forecast, total crowdfunding volume nearly doubled last year, and with regulatory bodies continuing to pave the way, we expect global crowdfunding volumes to exceed $5 billion in 2013,” said CEO of massolution, Carl Esposti. The study estimates that total global corwdfunding may reach $5.1 Billion in 2013.

Although crowdfunding offers a growing number of countries opportunities to access funds, North America and Europe raised much more capital than platforms in other regions.

  • North America: crowdfunding volumes grew 105% to $1.6 billion

  • Europe: crowdfunding volumes grew 65% to $945 million

  • In total, all other markets grew close to 125%

On April 2, 2013, the University of California, Berkeley’s Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership released a study estimating the size of the equity and debt based crowdfunding market to hit $3.98 Billion per year. The Program for Innovation in Entrepreneurial and Social Finance, part of the Fung Institute, co-authored the study.

“While estimating the size of the future and currently non-existent market is a hazardous endeavor at best, we have presented a set of data, assumptions, and estimations that may prove useful,” said Lee Fleming, Faculty Director of the Fung Institute and a contributing author of the study. “From the lenses of Angels, VCs and Small business lending we believe a market as large as $3.98B per year could rapidly evolve.”

President Obama signed into law on April 5, 2012 the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, which will enable small businesses to raise up to $ 1 Million per year from small investors through crowdfunding. The Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to release for public review regulations to govern crowdfund investing by the end of 2013.

The JOBS Act One Year Later: Where Equity Crowdfunding Stands

April 5 marks the one year anniversary of the JOBS Act being signed into law by President Obama. The JOBS Act legalized equity-based crowdfunding in the U.S., which would allow ordinary Americans to invest in newly forming and established small businesses they believe in, while realizing a return on their contribution. The law gave the SEC a firm deadline for releasing its rules governing this new asset class — yet one year later, the agency has yet to release them. When the president signed the legislation into law, he said, “The last few years have been pretty tough on entrepreneurs… for business owners who want to take their companies to the next level, this bill will make it easier for you to go public, and that’s a big deal.” Yet for the entrepreneurs and business owners who desperately need capital — and a break — equity crowdfunding is not yet a reality.

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Crowdfunding Professional Association Hosts Key Industry Event

Expert insights unlock new markets through finance, technology and social media

NEW YORK (March 20, 2013) – The Crowdfunding Professional Association (CfPA) will host its 2nd Annual Crowdfund Investing Innovation Forum on August 8-9, 2013 in Orlando, FL.  The forum has established itself as the must-attend conference for leaders, entrepreneurs, investors and policy makers who are committed to fostering capital formation and job creation. Presented by top crowdfunding pioneers, expert financial services professionals, and innovative services providers, current issues will be addressed through intimate discussions and breakout sessions.

The CfPA is the industry’s pioneering, nonprofit trade organization established by the thought leaders who founded the crowdfund investing movement in the United States, those who wrote the framework for President Obama’s Jumpstart Our Business Startup Act (JOBS Act) and the dedicated individuals who lobbied for its passage, which was signed into law on April 5th, 2012.

The Forum, sponsored by CrowdClear and Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP, will address key topics through a unique and interactive format, including crowd investing and Wall Street, the legal and regulatory environment and the crowdfunding ecosystem and innovative technologies. Luan Cox, CfPA Governing Board Member and Founder of Crowdnetic, states, “Our vision is simple, yet ambitious—we want to educate the crowd on how to raise capital, spurring job growth for startup and emerging companies. We are committed to redefining success for businesses and the economy through a dynamic crowdfunding community that flourishes globally.”

CfPA’s 2nd Annual Crowdfund Investing Innovation Forum will spark change, challenge and debate conventional thinking and unleash new perspectives in the pursuit of real solutions. A full list of presenters can be seen at http://events.cfpa.org/.

Location:            

Caribe Royale Orlando

Orlando, Florida

Date:                          

August 8 – 9, 2013

Price:               

$395 – Early Bird Special for the first 200 attendees

$489 – Post Early Bird

About the Crowdfunding Professional Association

The Crowdfunding Professional Association (CfPA) is dedicated to facilitating a vibrant, credible and growing Crowdfunding community while advocating for an industry view versus a single company perspective. Uniting a broad-based coalition of industry participants, the association is committed to ensuring the credible development of the industry, including a commitment to the highest ethical standards. To learn more visit www.cfpa.org.

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Attention Media:

To Schedule on-site or phone interviews with forum presenters, contact:

Doreen Clark

(763) 458-9923 or DoreenClarkPR@hotmail.com

Introduction to Crowdfunding for Entrepreneurs

SBA’s Office of Entrepreneurship Education provides this self-paced training exercise as an overview of crowdfunding (also commonly referred to as ‘crowd financing’ or ‘crowd sourced capital’). The highlighted next steps at the conclusion of the program will help you apply what you have learned and engage you in the process of crowdfunding.

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While Waiting for SEC Regulations, Crowdfunding Leaders Focus on Investor Education

Some crowdfunding industry leaders are using the lull before the fundraising practice is publicly viable to develop educational material for people who may soon be making their first investments.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is currently drafting rules to allow start-ups to sell stakes in their companies to the general public, potentially raising large sums from crowds of small investors.

Until now, selling equity stakes has been limited to so-called accredited investors, people who presumably have the wherewithal and sophistication to know what they are getting into.

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Higher Ed: Crowdfunding Group Launches Global Education Network

In an industry that seems to be growing and changing by the hour—thanks, in part, to the 2012 JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act—a new associations is moving quickly to help crowdfunding professionals, industry partners, investors, and the general public make sense of it all.

The Crowdfunding Professional Association announced that it is rolling out a Global Crowdfunding Education Network that will provide online resources including breaking news alerts, legislative updates, and crowdfunding classes to professionals in the industry and others interested in learning more about it.

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Crowdfunding is About Creating Jobs for the Right People

Jason BestCrowdfunding is not just about creating jobs, it is about creating jobs for the right people. In April of 2012, President Obama signed the JOBS Act into law, authorizing crowdfunding of equity and debt for the sake of creating jobs. The more time I spend studying crowdfunding and working with the leaders in the crowdfund community, the clearer it becomes that not only will crowdfunding create jobs, it will create jobs in the right places.

Recently, I sat down in a hidden valley near Park City, Utah with Candace Klein, CEO of Somolend and founder of the nonprofit Bad Girl Ventures, who explained that overwhelmingly, the people were polled about crowdfunding indicating a desire to raise capital are women, African Americans and Hispanic Americans. In other words, crowdfunded capital will flow to entrepreneurs in the communities that have been most disadvantaged in America.

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Crowdfunding Stakeholders Leave DC Optimistic, Wanting Action

Doug Ellenoff

The message from the industry was clear; We’ve examined the problem domain and we’re ready to go, but we need this important piece of legislation to go into effect.

A group of about a dozen industry representatives met with representatives from Capitol Hill, the White House, the Treasury, small business advocacy groups and others to convey their readiness for crowdfunding’s implementation.

CfPA PR committee chair Joy Schoffler was also pleased by the meetings. “The SEC was very positive at the meetings yesterday. They are very aware that they need to make (crowdfunding) work for entrepreneurs without being cost prohibitive.”

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Crowdfunders Step Up Lobbying for SEC Rules

Crowdfunding advocates raised the volume today on their call to push the Securities and Exchange Commission to finalize rules needed for business owners to raise equity through crowdfunding.

“This is a story about capital,” said Sherwood Neiss, principal of consulting and advisory firm Crowdfund Capital Advisors and a chair of the not-for-profit crowdfunding organization Crowdfunding Professional Association. He was one of about a dozen crowdfunding supporters making their pitch at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., today.

The SEC has already missed several deadlines to write rules to structure the implementation of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, known as the JOBS Act.

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Will the SEC Kill Crowdfunding?

Mary Jo White

Crowdfunding has the potential to provide new funding options for small businesses and stimulate job growth, and yet the S.E.C. has stalled on crowdfunding Rulings.

Other countries are off and running with equity crowdfunding, such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Sweden, Norway and Finland. Why is the U.S. still stuck in first gear and lagging behind the pack? Aren’t we innovators and leaders in entrepreneurship?

What’s going on with the S.E.C. crowdfunding Rulings, as spelled out in the JOBS Act? Why are they stalled? Will the S.E.C. abort crowdfunding before it gets a fighting chance?

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