New Data Released by CfPA Shows Suprising Results
How much do you know about Crowdfunding? This was the context of a survey conducted by Crowdfunding Professional Association in conjunction with Crowdfund Capital Advisors. They asked 442 entrepreneurs, investors and intermediaries about their interest in crowdfunding, and also about themselves. What they discovered was encouraging as to the level of interest and how much capital they wish to invest, but there still is confusion about all the “CF” buzz words and how specifically equity-based crowdfunding platforms will differ from things like the popular platform Kickstarter.
Since the survey was hosted by Crowdfunding Professional Association, many of the responders (68 percent) were already very familiar with crowdfunding. However, when asked to rank their understanding on a scale of 1 to 10 as to the difference between what is allowed under current crowdfunding, and how it differs from what we will have in 2013 under the JOBS Act, 36.64 percent ranked themselves as a 5 or less, showing there is a real opportunity to educate the public. Fortunately, a majority of those sampled self-reported a high level of understanding of the implications of this new law, with a full 20.14 percent ranking themselves as having an understanding of 10.
“The general awareness of investment crowdfunding has increased substantially since April but there is still a meaningful opportunity to help entrepreneurs and investors better understand both the nuances of the JOBS Act and early-stage investing in general,” said Ryan Feit, CEO of SeedInvest, an equity-based platform and a leader within the Crowdfunding Professional Association. “Both of these objectives are critical in order to ensure that the investment crowdfunding industry takes off with the massive potential it possesses.”
Distinguishing between token crowdfunding and equity or debt-based crowdfund investing could pose a challenge for new investors, and it is important that people understand these differences if they are to meet their investment objectives. Token crowdfunding, the current model, only allows crowdfunding campaigns to reward donors with gifts, free
samples of their product , or other perks. In contrast, under the JOBS Act, the crowd will be able to be full-fledged investors with an equity stake in the company and a right to a share of the profits. A third popular kind of crowdfunding is debt-based, which allows investors to provide small loans to entrepreneurs similar to the kind of micro lending we have seen used for international development from people like Dr. Muhammad Yunus’ Grameen Bank.
One issue with debt-based crowdfunding is the loans are often unsecured by collateral, meaning investors take on the same level of risk as they would with equity-based crowdfunding, but the upside potential of a company taking off is removed as investors would only receive their loan repayment plus interest. However, statistics are showing low or no default rates, particularly on debt-based crowdfunding platforms like SoMoLend.
As for concerns within the crowdfunding space, respondents were generally enthusiastic and did not, on average, place one concern over another (on a scale of one to five). The respondents were more concerned about lack of business prowess (3.07), lack of entrepreneurial education (3.07) and fraudsters (3.05), than they were about the investor’s level of sophistication (2.98) or whether they will be overloaded with information (2.84). Interesting enough, ‘investors only’ ranked their concern over fraud a bit lower (3.02) than ‘entrepreneurs only’ (3.11) — surprising many who assumed investors would be markedly more concerned.
However, seeing fraud not at the top of the list is good news for the industry considering that crowdfunding in the UK has over the last two years produced a sterling record when it comes to fraud. Similarly, crowdfunding has been legal in Australia for seven years with no incidence of fraud. One widely reported incident of fraud involving a Massachusetts company was falsely associated with crowdfunding in the U.S. by the North American Securities Administrators Association, a major regulator of the traditional securities market — however they failed to point out that this particular incidence of fraud did not actually involve crowdfunding; it took place in 2010 long before the crowdfunding law was under consideration by Congress, and furthermore, all under the watchful eye of the old (and current) securities regime. The current securities laws, for several reasons, allow more secrecy in small investments (e.g.: they don’t require background checks) and make them harder to do (because of legal/compliance fees) and hence less common.
While we don’t like to harbor on fraud because the markets do operate at 99.9 percent efficiency, the truth is that there has been much more fraud in the traditional regulated market than there has been in crowdfunding. “We believe this is due to the community-based system,” says Sherwood Neiss, co-founder and principal at Crowdfund Capital Advisors. “Committing fraud within the crowdfund investing (CFI) framework is going to be hard to perpetrate. In CFI, all deals will have to flow through SEC-registered portals. These portals will be regulated and the offerings policed by the crowd. If there’s one thing we’ve seen come from social media, is it is nearly impossible to pull the wool over thousands of watchful eyes on the Internet.”
Since the data revealed 41 percent of responders had a desire to help companies get capital where they couldn’t before, 44 percent wanted to be part of something bigger than themselves, and 35 percent wanted to make a difference in the life of an entrepreneur, it seems investors are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and really look into what a company is doing to judge the viability of the investment themselves. The community aspect comes into play within the portals where current and prospective investors will be able to rate and comment on the activities of the various investments and hold management’s feet to the fire if things are being mismanaged. Such open dialog on a medium like the Internet, where thoughts and comments are recorded for history, leads to transparency and accountability.
In the seven years crowdfund investing has been legal in Australia and in the two years it has been legal in the UK, no cases of successful fraud have been discovered. In donation-based crowdfunding in the US, fraud has been caught rapidly, and always before funds are distributed, as social networks uncover the truth. Experience has already shown that potential sponsors are able to collectively crowdsource a startlingly effective due diligence machine far better than the eyes of a single Wall Street analyst. They are able to shed light on every aspect of the business. This is very different from the market of the early 2000′s when people bought and sold derivatives products blindly without looking at the underlying assets or what the original investment actually was. This type of community driven investing means people will have intimate knowledge of the activities of the few crowdfunded ventures in which they are able to participate before they reach a legal cap based on their income and net worth. This is a system by which friends, and friends-of-friends, get together to grow an idea they understand and personally support.
One major industry that will be big in crowdfunding is technology. A full 30 percent of the entrepreneur responders were in the technology sector with 10.3 percent in media and entertainment, 9.87 percent in finance, and 9.44 percent in consumer goods. 19.47 percent were in the catchall “Other” category, which included ideas such as Space and Robotics , Energy, Health, Beauty, Medical Devices and others. Crowdfunding seems to have natural allies among the tech sector innovators of Silicon Valley, as they are constantly starting new ventures and they understand the power of social media. “What they don’t have access to is the capital that only resides within 60 miles of Silicon Valley — which is where CFI steps in. It allows tech companies in Anytown, USA to raise capital for their ideas locally,” says Jason Best, co-founder and principal of Crowdfund Capital Advisors.
Where will the entrepreneurs gravitate to fund their ideas? The largest portion, 34.67 percent of respondents, said they would go to the most visible portal or platform to help raise the most capital, while another 34.34 percent were interested in industry-specific platforms. We surmise the interest in industry-specific platforms is based on a belief those platforms might better target more savvy investors interested in funding innovative technical niche ideas. The thinking driving that statistic might be that industry-specific ideas may not get traction from the average investor looking at returns alone on some other platform with more ‘generic’ offerings, despite the platform’s visibility. “
Since a large portion of the respondents were in technology and a sizable portion were interested in industry specific portals and platforms, it is likely that there will be room for several tech industry crowdfunding platforms to become successful in the new market.
Are these all zero revenue companies? Surprisingly, they are not. The respondents were generally small companies. Of the 122 that responded to the question about 2011 revenues, 81 percent reported under $100K. 15.7 percent reported having 2011 revenues between $500K and $1 Million. 1.65 percent had 2011 revenues between $1 million and $5 million, with another 1.65 percent reporting 2011 revenues of over $5 million. Don’t let their small sizes fool you, these entrepreneurs have big dreams! Although 36 percent of respondents were looking to raise capital for the first time, 35 percent have been part of a startup before, showing they have experience with startups.
While 15.88 percent of respondents had only an idea for a startup, 33.48 percent had a formal business plan, 27.04 percent had a product or prototype, and a full 23.61 percent were already operating and bringing in revenue. Those figures show the error in the notion that anyone and everyone with an idea will be throwing it up on CFI platforms, as the majority of respondents had much more than simply an idea.
36.64 percent of entrepreneurs were looking to raise under $100K in capital from portals to fund their venture. 35.34 percent wanted to raise between $100K to $500K. 16.81 percent wanted to raise between $500K and $1 million, while the remaining 11.21 percent were hoping to raise more than $1 million. With 88.79 percent of the respondents looking to raise amounts under the $1 million dollar threshold set out by the JOBS Act, it is clear that this new asset class will find an under-served market. It wouldn’t make sense for these companies to go though the red tape and regulatory burden of an IPO or formal Reg D to raise such a relatively small sum of capital. An exorbitant percentage of that raised capital would be taken up in attorney and investment bank fees under the traditional IPO process.
These companies aren’t looking for huge amounts of capital, but they do want to grow. 79.39 percent have three or fewer employees, and of that group 44.05 percent are companies made up of only one individual. They want money to expand, 41.24 percent of the companies want to take their employee count to five or more. “Jobs might be the biggest thing to come out of Crowdfund Investing,” says Neiss. “Capital to fund an idea is just one part of the equation. Having the capital you need to build a successful team to help you grow your business to the next level is another. Getting these entrepreneurs the capital they need will allow them to hire the Americans they want to launch great businesses.”
Small businesses find it difficult to get the eyes and ears of professional investors. With the current economy banks are failing to lend and refusing to take a chance on small businesses, to the point where many people have stopped trying. Out of 124 respondents 18.22 percent tried to get a loan from a traditional bank. Compare that figure with the 20.44 percent that approached Angel Investors, 13.78 percent that went to VC’s and 12 percent that went to private equity. To add further credibility as to why the community will be where these entrepreneurs find their funds, 35.56 percent went to friends and family. Clearly, people are eschewing the institutionalized paths to capital and opting for less formal sources of money that may be more interested in the upside potential of their business or idea rather than concerned about collateral.
From the survey we also learned quite a bit about potential Crowdfund Investors. Most respondents were not accredited investors. 71.43 percent self identified as non-accredited investors while 28.57 percent stated they were accredited. After the passage of Dodd-Frank in the US, the definition of an accredited investor changed to a person with a net worth over $1 million dollars, not including home equity, or a person making $200,000 per year for at least the past two years .This change in definition bumped many investors who were formerly accredited investors out of that class because many had a large portion of their assets tied up in home equity. 8.51 percent of responders had an annual income or net worth less then $40,000, 25.53. percent between $40,000 – $100,000, 42.55 percent between $100,000 and $500,000, 9.55 percent between $500,000 and $1M, and 13.83 percent had a net worth or annual income over $1 million.
According to the legislation, there are restrictions placed on how much each person can invest through crowdfunding, based on income or net worth.. If you make less than $40,000 per year you can only invest $2,000 in to all crowdfund projects. You can put up to 5 percent of your income (or net worth) if you make between $40,000 and $100,000. If you make or have over $100,000 in net worth you will be able to invest 10 percent of your income in crowdfund equities. It was important to look at these numbers from both an accredited and unaccredited point-of-view. Based on the chart below certain things became clear. 1) Accredited investors will be investing larger amounts in terms of dollars (34 percent said they would invest over $25,000), 2) the bulk of the contributions will come from unaccredited investors (71 percent), and 3) the median investments look to be in the $2,000 to $5,000 range.
If we drill down to the data some more and make some (overly) general assumptions that the middle of each of the ranges in the columns above is where the average investment will fall (and no investment will be greater than $100,000) then, on average, it would appear that unaccredited investors will deploy $4,347 per year and accredited investors will deploy $29,987per year. (If we toss out the top 10 percent and bottom 10 percent, the figures change to $26,188 for accredited and $3,635 for unaccredited).
You can see how quickly an entrepreneur who is one of the 72 percent hoping to raise under $500K in capital could meet his benchmark if only he can get the attention of enough of those investors looking to invest $29,987. It also is readily apparent that there is a sizeable group of people who fall outside the accredited parameters but are willing to invest in crowdfunding. The change in the legislation will allow this for the first time.
Since the folks who can invest more than $20,000 in crowdfunded ventures are likely to be accredited investors (if they have earned that $200K for two years or more) then we can see by the fact that we have some respondents wanting to invest $25K, $50K, and even more than $100K in crowdfunded equities, that this industry has tremendous potential.
At the end of the day, the fight to legalize crowdfunding was about democratizing access to capital so startups and small businesses could get back to innovating and creating jobs. Who was more excited? Entrepreneurs ranked it a 3.48 while investors put it at 3.37. Entrepreneurship was second and tied with investors at 3.25, and innovation was third with 2.98 for entrepreneurs vs. 2.87 for investors. What about the excitement over investment opportunities? Well, that’s where the investors came in above entrepreneurs, at 2.78 vs. 2.59. Seems like the investors really are interested!
One part of the survey results stood out from the rest with surprising results. When asked what the biggest driver is to investors in making their investment decisions, while 33 percent said the obvious answer was investment returns, 20 percent said their biggest driver was helping companies get capital where they couldn’t before. Another 20 percent said their main driver was being part of something greater than themselves. 17 percent said the ability to make a difference in the life of an entrepreneur was their biggest driver. Try getting that from the traditional economy.
“I think this survey shows how inspired people are by the unlimited possibilities that can happen with the crowdfunding bill. For once our entire society can play an active role in job creation and help level the playing field for access to capital for entrepreneurs everywhere.The Crowdfund Professional Association will continue to take a leading role in educating one and all, and help to create a strong and solid foundation for this new industry to thrive, ” stated Ruth Hedges, CEO of Funding RoadMap and Founding Governance board member of the CfPA.
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.