CRACK the CROWD

Marc Adesso and John Hughes know quite a bit about the challenges associated with launching a “mini” public offering through Reg A+ crowdfunding campaign. Dan Baird talks with them about the Reg A+ evolution over the last year, and what may be in store. You don’t want to miss this one. Marc is a Senior Associate with Baker Donelson, specializing in capital markets, and John is a Director with Marcum LLP, and a member of the Firm's Assurance and SEC practice groups. 

In this episode of the podcast, Daplie's Co-Founder and CEO, Bryson Hill, and Vice President Brian Bourgerie, spoke with Crack the Crowd’s Dan Baird about launching two crowdfunding campaigns—simultaneously; one rewards and the other equity. After this podcast was recorded, the Daplie team hit their raise targets for both campaigns, a crowdfunding first.

In this episode Crack the Crowd's Dan Baird speaks with Brent Brague, Vice President of Sales at CrowdEngine, about his experience working with potential crowdfunders—both equity and rewards sides. Brent discusses key elements crowdfunders need to have (and build) to maximize their crowdfunding efforts.  

In this episode, I had the good fortune to speak with Dan Zinn and Jason Paltrowitz of OTC Markets, which handles the majority of OTC trading. We talked about Reg A+ as an opportunity for companies to get their feet wet as a public company, because it can feels a lot like a traditional IPO. Zinn and Paltrowitz help newly-minted Reg A companies navigate their new reality, and the aftermath of public reporting. Take a listen to learn more about the OTC and how companies are managing the new Reg A reality.  

In this episode of the podcast, I spoke with Darren Marble, CEO of CrowdfundX, a pioneering crowdfunding agency serving clients across a wide mix of industries, on their strategic rewards-based and equity crowdfunding campaigns. Darren and I talked about the types of companies that make good candidates for Regulation A+ raises, how crowdfunders and issuers should think about marketing (and their marketing budgets), and why crowdfunding is already disrupting venture capitalism. You don't want to this one.

Andrew Dix, CEO and co-founder of Crowdfund Insider, and I discuss how the industry is dealing with Regulation Crowdfunding advertising limitations, what you need to do to get your product posted on Crowdfund Insider, attempts at fraud, and what really matters when you're considering a crowdfunding campaign.

"I think we're seeing today where the smaller investor has not yet really come alive the way that the institutions have come alive. So there's a huge amount of potential." - Lew Feldman, on the potential of real estate crowdfunding for retail investors.   In this podcast, Lew and I discuss real estate crowdfunding, including real estate firms' prospect of going public, and how Title II and Reg A+ are changing financing for larger firms.

In our latest podcast, I talk with Marty Tate, Corporate Finance Attorney, of the firm Carman Lehnhof Israelsen. When Title III of the JOBs Act became law, I started asking my clients how they were preparing for the potential of retail investors. To my surprise, most of them wanted to talk about Regulation A+ (also referred to as “the mini-IPO”), which will make it easier for companies valued at less than $100 million to go public. Unbeknownst to me, Marty was having the same experience. So we decided it was time for a chat. We discuss our hypotheses, as well as the the pros and cons to the Reg A+, and who will benefit from it the most.

In this episode we sit down for part two of our interview with Dr. Richard Swart to discuss the United States regulatory environment and its impact on crowd funding and innovation. Swart highlights Galvin’s Case vs. the SEC,  relatively flat growth of Title II, accredited investor’s friction to invest, and the surprising activity in real estate. He lays out a case for what should and could be done to stimulate more economic and crowd funding growth, in the JOBS Act 2.0 by congress person McHenry, and the need for action by legislators in the very near future to attain those goals.

  #CRACKtheCROWD: Richard Swart Interview: Global Impact, Culture, and Corruption in Crowdfunding   Welcome to Crack The Crowd!   In this episode we talk to Richard Swart, PHD Crowdfunding researcher, Author, Speaker, Investor, Advisor and one of the most prominent minds in crowdfunding. He’s at the center of the global talking to governments and all things crowdfunding.   More:  Richard Swart is Crowdfunding and Alternative Finance Researcher and Scholar-in-Residence in the Institute for Business and Social Impact at the University of California, Berkeley, researching crowdfunding, crowdsourcing and alternative finance. Swart organizes the Annual Academic Symposium in Crowdfunding Research, which is globally recognized as the leading event in crowdfunding research and policy, which has brought eminent faculty, government officials and policy makers from over 30 nations to UC Berkeley.   Recognized as one of the top thought leaders in crowdfunding and alternative finance, with particular interest in its impact on social innovation and global challenges. He has been the subject in leading business publications including Forbes, Inc, Entrepreneur, VentureBeat, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, BBC, PBS, MSNBC, NPR, Financial Times, Washington Post and dozens of others. Coauthor of the forthcoming book Crowdfunding: the Corporate Era, discussing how corporations leverage crowdfunding as an essential tool for driving innovative ways to strengthen their brand experience, deepen their impact in the community and improve sales. Current projects include:   National, Regional and International Studies of Alternative Finance Markets Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing and Open Innovation Developing a Development Finance Model for Alternative Finance Studying how NGOs and Organizations can empower projects with crowdfunding University Crowdfunding Consulting Advising professional investors, funds, and other consulting firms on market developments and investment strategy   Swart has a strong interest in the international expansion of crowdfunding. As such, he was the lead author of a major research paper for the World Bank on the potential impact of crowdfunding around the globe. Board member or strategic advisor to several firms, mostly in crowdfunding, fintech, and social entrepreneurship.   In this interview, we discuss the state of the last two years of crowdfunding, how to the difference between US, South American, Chinese, and European crowdfunding markets, & corruption. This is Only Part 1, so stick around for the next episode to learn more abou Galvin vs the SEC, the growth of Title II and Title iV, and the needs in the Jobs Act 2.0, how to attract and approach accredited investors and what really matters. Enjoy! For the longer, main audio discussion, you can: Listen to the episode on iTunes (link)   Selected Links People and Organizations Mentioned in this Episode From This Episode Scaling Innovation World Bank Report: Crowdfunding’s Potential for the Developing World Richard Swart Dan Baird Kickstarter Indiegogo Rockethub Ethan Mollik   Show Notes [2:37] Scaling Innovation & The World Bank Report for Crowdfunding Potand the [3:35] Global use and growth is several hundred percent [4:00] The category Breakdown & Donations backstory of indiegogo [5:00] The Kickstarter and Indiegogo Dominate Rewards / perks [5:25] Kickstarter and Indiegogo Growth Rates Plateau in U.S.   [6:30] Indiegogo’s differentiation internationally with broader categories and payment gateways [7:00] The Costs in Crowdfunding are even higher internationally [7:15] Due to costs, without massive scale most crowdfunding portals are not yet profitable. Rockethub and others with different business models beyond Rev Share [8:20] Dealing with manufacturing, fulfillment, and scale is one of the biggest challenges [9:30] Large tech giants are entering the space [7:30] [10:30] The South American crowdfunding landscape is largely creative: artists, musicians,   [10:50] Asia crowdfunding landscape is debt, Chinese Peer Lending Platforms officially estimated an $12B may actually be $50B [12:00] What’s driving debt in China? Fewer banking options + mistrust in state sponsored options The cultural phenomena of Social funding of innovation in India and China [12:50] Chinese consumers are looking for returns without State run watching, 9000 unlicensed platforms in China [14:45] Middle East and Africa haven’t grown due the deep pockets of kicking off a new category [14:20] Countries are adapting to crowdfunding and the local resources East Africa doesn't have PCs, and uses mobile to mobile payment methods instead Egypt has a huge cultural issue with most online fundraising being fraud. Cultural barriers have slowed growth [17:18] Large scale equity finance in Europe is growing but legislation in the US is stifled [18:00] UK is 5% of US economy and doing 10 times more crowdfunding than the US. [17:40] The EU legislative landscape   [19:00] Southern EU & Italy is creating a liberal crowdfunding environment to stimulate economic growth and are pushing the digital economy [20:00] The UK crowdfunding environment has been generally more hands off and grown well organically [20:30] Appearance and reality of fraud in EU countries is low. Those getting to prosecutions is four cases. [21:00] Ethan Mollic’s reasearch estimates .1% apparent intention to commit fraud.   #CRACKtheCROWD is a long-form conversation about the dynamics and people in crowdfunding hosted by Entrepreneur, Strategic Advisor, and Innovation Strategist Dan Baird.