Crowdfunding Now!

  Top 50 Crowdfunding Campaigns: Fifty Most Successful Crowdfunding Campaigns Kindle Edition https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RKK4NL0/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

The JOBS Act: Crowdfunding Guide to Small Businesses and Startups  https://www.amazon.com/dp/1484224086/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_2RZS2VT5VH3ED1MMQFJR via @amazon 

As the article notes, "For a people who revere startup culture and the idea that one can bootstrap one’s way to business success, we seem to prefer the TV version to the real thing — especially as of late. It turns out that new business creation recently approached its 40-year low. Banks are retaining their Great Recession-era tight-fistedness and the costs of education, housing and healthcare continue daily to expand beyond the ability of most Americans to keep pace... Due to these factors — along with the legalization of equity crowdfunding accomplished via the passage of the JOBS Act in 2012 — crowdfunding has arisen as a means of raising startup funds. You may only be familiar with crowdfunding in the context of all the medical- and disaster-based campaigns that have been making the news lately, but crowdfunding is a viable way to raise money for businesses as well." See the full article at:  https://www.merchantmaverick.com/crowdfunding-for-startups-8-tips-you-s...

Crowdfunding campaigns that reach 30% of their goal in the first 48 hours dramatically increase their chance of success. Early contributions are more valuable, since they help drive interest and attention. Create multiple touchpoints. Comparing crowdfunding campaigns: Campaign A:  Email: 6.23 conversion rate. Facebook Group: 28.69% conversion rate. SMS 6.96% conversion rate. Campaign B:  Email: 2.06 conversion rate. Facebook Group: None. SMS 6.74% conversion rate.

Google searches for  crowdfunding  up 17% in past week Worldwide - Tuesday, December 20, 2016 - Tuesday, December 27, 2016

I recently gave a talk at the 2015 National Black MBA Association, INC. Washington DC Chapter (NBMBAA-DC) Entrepreneurship Expo. My talk, titled “Black People and Venture Capital: Why You May Never Get Funded,” available at  https://youtu.be/gXGBEUoxHHs I started with a discussion of the key financial institution in the country, the Federal Reserve Board, which controls the allocation of capital via monetary policy, the tools used to control the supply of money.  The Fed is located at 20th Street and Constitution Avenue N.W. and I encouraged DC entrepreneurs to visit the institution, since the Fed directly impacts the ability of small businesses to get capital. I also encouraged Black businesses in DC to use the recently established Offices of Minority and Women Inclusion as a powerful potential source of capital and contracts. Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act contains a provision creating an Office of Minority and Women In...

As one author noted, "Here are some of the main points of the Illinois Intrastate Crowdfunding Bill (HB 3429). Adds new definition of 'accredited investor' which is now tied to the federal definition (see new 815 ILCS 5/2.34). Amends the transaction exemption provided by 815 ILCS 5/4(H) to allow for offers, sales and/or issuances of securities to any 'accredited investor' and for the general promotion of the same (to the extent specified in the Bill). Provides new definition of  'qualified escrowee,' which includes title insurance companies and banks authorized to do business in Illinois who maintain at least one (1) physical location in the state (see new 815 ILCS 5/2.35). Provides new Intrastate Crowdfunding Exemption (see 815 ILCS 5/4(T)). Highlights include: $1,000,000 funding cap unless the Issuer has made available to prospective purchasers audited financial statements, in which case the funding cap will be $4,000,000. – See subsection (2) ...

We posted an article with the title "How to Crowdfund" in 2012. Given all that has happened in the interim I thought we would update it. This data is from  our Online Class on How to Crowdfund -  https://www.udemy.com/how-to-crowdfund/ (Video preview :  https://youtu.be/nL5svW7pN7w ) As I noted in 2012, crowdfunding , getting investments and donations from individuals via the internet,  has taken off, giving individuals who have, until now,  been shut  out of funding markets access to much needed cash. It will especially help socially responsible individuals and those seeking to fund socially responsible projects. These are exactly the types of projects that have had an extraordinarily difficult time raising capital in the current economic downturn.  In my book on  crowdfunding  ( The JOBS Act: Crowdfunding for Small Businesses and Startups , published by Apress) I discuss how to raise ...

The 2014 Midterm elections were a sweep for the Republicans. What is the impact on crowdfunding? The breakout of the US Congress post-election is: House of Representatives -186 Democrats, 244 Republicans Senate - 46 Democrats, 53 Republicans (shown below): The Republican majority in the House is significant. In political reality, this means that the Republicans control the government. Legislative priorities identified so far include:   ·         Significant tax reform ·         Health care ·         401K reform ·         Obama care repeal ·         Increase in number of visas granted to the high tech industry ·         Copyright protection Note that crowdfunding is not on this list. Nor is small business.  Conventional wisdom states that Republ...

We have created a small, summary application providing information on NCS and the Top 50 Crowdfunding campaigns. Download at:  http://ncsdca.appsme.com or click on the picture below.

The chart above shows an analysis of the Top 50 crowdfunding campaigns (2008 to 2013). 'Top' measured by total dollars raised. The X axis shows the dollar amount of the reward or perk ($1 to $10, $11 to $20, etc.) The Y axis shows the cumulative number of rewards/perks collected across all 50 campaigns, so the chart shows that, for the top 50 crowdfunding campaigns on Indiegogo, 100,000 rewards/perks with a value ranging from $1 dollar to $10 dollars were selected by supporters. To see the exact number of rewards taken at each range, click on the red bars in the chart. For the full report ($129.00) and a description of the crowdfunding tactics that follow from this analysis, see: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=77A2P3AZJ3TA2

Given different financial environments, legal systems and cultural practices, Chinese crowdfunding is a totally different phenomenon. For example, in the United States, after passage of the JOBS ACT, crowdfunding has legal validation and subsequent protection. In this environment, a crowdfunding platform is free to move toward perfection. With equity crowdfunding on the horizon, investment and return is soon to be a factor in crowdfunding. But, in China, the crowdfunding environment is still not sound. Compared to the United States, the development of crowdfunding in China is differentiated by three factors. First, innovative projects are harder to find in China than in the United States. Secondly, people in China seem to lack confidence in crowdfunding. Third, the legal basis for crowdfunding is uncertain. The following article discusses each of the issues in detail. 1. Supply Side: Lack of innovative projects “Innovative ideas (in China), especially in the technology category,...

"To raise funds for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream project — Statue of Unity, world’s tallest statue at 182 metres — the state government has roped in the multinational IT consultant Accenture to build an IT platform for crowdfunding to raise funds for a project through the Internet. Accenture has been granted a tender of Rs 3 crore which was floated by the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL), the state government agency executing the project. Official sources said that Accenture was the only bidder for the tender which submitted a bid of Rs 2.5 crore. Accenture has also paid the security deposit of 10 per cent of its bid to the SSNNL. The state government has already granted the tender for the construction and maintenance of the statue to engineering giant Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T). The government had floated a tender of Rs 2,063 crore for the project against which L&T emerged as the lowest bidder which offered its services at the cost of Rs 2...

As one article notes, "The Texas  State Securities Board, led by Commissioner John Morgan, is scheduled to meet August 27, 2014 to pass the new (crowdfunding) rules slated to go into effect the first of September." Another article states that "Texas as is now the 13th state to create its own equity crowdfunding rules and by-pass the JOBS Act. The U. S. SEC has not released or finalized the federal rules and some states see the billion dollar opportunity equity crowdfunding presents and they have decided to take the bull by the horn and jumpstart small business and economic development in their state. Section 3(a)(11) of the 33 Act exempts from registration any security that is part of an offering sold only to persons residing within a single state if the company is also doing business in that state. So, as long as a company complies with the federal intrastate exemption, it only needs to be concerned with the state’s crowdfunding rules when conducting a crowdfundin...

National Black MBA Association, Inc. - Washington DC Chapter Saturday, August 23, 2014 from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM (EDT) Silver Spring, MD To register:  http://www.eventbrite.com/e/nbmbaa-dc-2014-entrepreneur-expo-tickets-11747798983?aff=eorg

T he D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the District of Columbia-Only Securities Offerings Exemption  on  August 8, 2014. Comments are due Sept. 6, 2014. "The proposed rulemaking would establish a localized exemption from the District’s full securities registration requirements in order to simplify and encourage investing in D.C.-based small businesses. To qualify for the exemption, the business must be organized under D.C. law, have its principal place of business in the District and the securities in the offering must be offered only to D.C. residents. The proposed method of funding (up to $2 million) will be available only to D.C.-based businesses..." All persons desiring to file comments on the proposed rulemaking should submit written comments via e-mail to  disb.dconlyregs@dc.gov . or by mail to the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking, 810 First Street, NE, Suite 701, Washington...

In this short video, I discuss crowdfunding alongside Advisory Board Member Tony Cord. http://levick.com/blog/2014/07/24/william-cunningham-and-tony-cord-equity-crowdfunding

Equity Crowdfunding in the District of Columbia According to recent news reports, "D.C. regulators are drawing up a proposed framework that would allow District startups to take advantage of equity crowdfunding from District investors, following a growing number of states which have passed similar measures in recent months. D.C.'s Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) is preparing to publish a proposed rule that would give companies within the city “an alternative to existing methods of raising capital,” the agency said in a statement to the Washington Business Journal. That proposal, according to DISB, “is similar to those that are being developed in other states and the SEC’s proposed crowdfunding regulations.” We will describe state-level equity based crowdfunding, discuss specific crowdfunding campaigns and announce a new initiative. https://equitycrowdfundingdc.eventbrite.com