* Open until: June 30, 2017
Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Equity Crowdfunding, Alternative Funding
Naval Ravikant hints at future plans for Product Hunt and adding secondary trading to AngelList
Tech Crunch | Connie Loizos | May 19, 2017
Earlier this week, at TechCrunch’s Disrupt event in New York, we sat down with AngelList cofounder and CEO Naval Ravikant to talk primarily about the platform’s new Angel Funds product, wherein a select number of proven “angel-operators” is being provided capital from AngelList and outside VCs to invest in a basket of startups. (We wrote about that new program here.)
Of course, while we had him in our clutches, we wanted to talk with him about other directions in which AngelList might move over time. What we gleaned: the platform, which is famous for continuously iterating on its approach and offerings, may eventually use its late December acquisition of the popular product platform Product Hunt to create a paid offering for companies looking to buy specific technologies or products. It sounds like AngelList may also eventually dive into the brisk secondaries business, wherein investors buy up earlier investors stakes in certain companies.
Here are some outtakes of that chat, edited for length and clarity:
TC: Recently, a crowdfunding marketplace, Seedrs, announced that it’s going to launch a secondary marketplace. It could be interesting to see AngelList get into this business.
NR: We are obviously always looking at secondary marketplaces. The problem is how much liquidity can you have for these things. Generally, if you have a really well-known company, like a Facebook or a Snapchat, before their IPO, there’s demand from later-stage investors for a secondary marketplace. But it’s usually concentrated in a very few names.
See: A British firm plans a secondary market for crowd-funded shares
We work at the very early stage where, frankly, people don’t know the companies. If someone wants to sell, it’s such a negative signal; it’s not clear that there’s a buyer on the other side. But 1,500 companies on the platform have already raised half a billion dollars and they’ve gone on to raise over $5 billion [in subsequent fundraising rounds], so they’re getting larger and larger and larger, and there will be a point where some of those names become so hot that there will be secondary demand. And then if those companies are open to it, we’ll work with them to fill that secondary demand.
TC: We’re also wondering what you’re doing with Product Hunt, which you acquired in December.
NR: There’s so much innovation going on, and there’s lots of people funding that innovation, but there’s very little innovation on that infrastructure for innovation itself, so we like to do that ourselves to help companies create more tech companies. So what do tech companies need? They need money, they need talent, and they need customers. So AngelList started out with helping them raise money, now we’re the largest startup recruiting marketplace in the world, with 25,000 startups recruiting and about one million candidates. But the missing piece is helping companies find their early customers. And Product Hunt did an amazing job of that. They’ve now launched 90,000 products; they do millions of product discoveries every single month; and it’s kind of the place where teams from Uber and Facebook and Google and lots of startups go to launch their latest apps. So we were always in awe of Product Hunt and we brought them in to kind of complete the third leg of that triad.
TC: It sounds like that could be a revenue-generating product, showing companies [needing products] who they should be talking to, what the various tech stacks are of different startups . . .
NR: Yeah, I think long term it can generate revenue. In the short term, we’ve left the team completely independent. They’re still executing on the same plans as before we merged up. And all the team and the management is still there.
TC: You also spun off a crowdfunding platform for non-accredited investors called Republic last year. Can you tell us a bit more about that and how involved you are?
NR: Crowdfunding is going to happen — it’s happening in the U.S. — it’s just happening a little bit slower than in the U.K. as [the U.S. government] works out the final [regulations]. And Republic is a spin-out that we did with some of our best people to go and start doing that. It’s still very early; Republic has done a couple of deals, but I think we’re still in the first inning of crowdfunding.
Continue to the full article --> here
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with both social and investment crowdfunding stakeholders across the country. NCFA Canada provides education, research, leadership, support, and networking opportunities to over 1500+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry in Canada. Learn more at ncfacanada.org.
Equity crowdfunding is 1 year old today, Wefunder is top platform
VentureBeat | | May 16, 2017
Since Regulation Crowdfunding began on May 16 last year, 335 companies have filed offering documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to fundraise on securities-based crowdfunding platforms. Of those companies, 43 percent were funded, 30 percent failed, and the remainder are still open and trying to get funding.
The total capital committed to date on these platforms is in excess of $40 million, with the average successful crowdfunding campaign raising around $282,000 from about 312 investors. The most recent quarter saw the greatest number of companies file with the SEC. This signals that issuers might finally be catching on to the opportunity that Regulation Crowdfunding holds.
And what about the portals that have emerged to host these fundraises? Of the 26 portals registered with FINRA to help companies sell Regulation Crowdfunding securities, nine have already closed, gone out of business, or been shut down. Of those remaining, Wefunder (based in San Francisco and Massachusetts) is leading the pack both in the number of deals and total dollars raised. They have been in business since Regulation Crowdfunding went into effect and have helped 63 companies pull in almost $18 million. Start Engine (in Los Angeles) ranks second with 27 campaigns funded, and Microventures (Austin), NextSeed (Houston), SeedInvest (New York), and Republic (New York) rank third through sixth. Interestingly, the location of these platforms also matches the states that have raised the most capital.
Several platforms (both old and new) have only funded a handful of campaigns. This may signal that brand awareness and marketing by the larger incumbents is driving both companies seeking capital and investors looking for deal flow.
See: Are Overseas Portals the Next Big Thing in US Equity Crowdfunding?
However, If you dig a little deeper and look at the capital raised during the last three quarters, you will see in that while Wefunder crowdfunding is leading in overall dollars, both Microventures and Start Engine are not far behind in terms of quarterly commitments (see Orange bar to compare Q1, 17 results).
"I expect to see Indiegogo put more time and energy into converting its most successful rewards campaigns into equity campaigns on Microventures."
Microventures, the offshoot of rewards-based crowdfunding platform Indiegogo only launched at the end of last year and is already showing strong results, with 100 percent campaign success. While the platform hasn’t run many campaigns, the campaigns it has run have raised slightly more success than those on Wefunder.
Continue to the full article --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
Robin Ford, Former BC Securities Commission Executive Commissioner, Joins National Crowdfunding Association of Canada’s Advisory Group
NCFA Canada | Craig Asano | May 16, 2017
VANCOUVER, MAY 16, 2017 – The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA) today announced that Robin Ford, Former British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) Executive Commissioner, has joined the Association as Advisor, Governance and Regulation.
After 25 years as a public-sector lawyer and regulator, Robin is now consulting in the areas of financial services regulation, governance, and compliance. She has extensive experience working with and advising regulators and the regulated, leading projects and teams, and facilitating organizational change.
Robin has served as Executive Commissioner at the BCSC, Chief Counsel, Insurance at the UK Financial Services Authority, and legal adviser to the UK and British Columbia Governments. She played an important role in an ambitious program of regulatory reform and in integrating 9 regulators into the newly formed UK FSA, as it became a more analytically disciplined, risk-based, and outcomes-focused regulator.
“Having such a highly experienced and capable senior ex-financial services regulator join the NCFA Advisory Group speaks volumes about how much the regulated crowdfunding sector in Canada has developed and its potential to raise, lend, or share capital and facilitate investment. We’re very pleased to have Robin join the community to help bridge the gap between regulators and the alternative markets and to support regulations that are both suitable for online financial marketplaces and globally competitive.” Craig Asano, Executive Director, NCFA Canada
“I was delighted to be asked to join the Advisory Group of the NCFA, which has already achieved so much to facilitate developments in the crowdfunding sector. I look forward to contributing on regulatory and governance issues." Robin Ford, Former BCSC Executive Commissioner
# # #
About National Crowdfunding Association of Canada
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with both social and investment crowdfunding stakeholders across the country. NCFA Canada provides education, research, leadership, support and networking opportunities to over 1500+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry in Canada. For more information please visit: ncfacanada.org.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Craig Asano
casano@ncfacanada.org
416 618 0254
Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, CEO and Founder of FrontFundr, Joins National Crowdfunding Association of Canada’s Advisory Group
NCFA Canada | C. Asano | May 9, 2017
Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, Advisor, Investment Crowdfunding
TORONTO, MAY 8, 2017 – The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA) today announced that Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, CEO and Founder of FrontFundr, has joined the Association as Advisor, Investment Crowdfunding.
Peter-Paul is Founder and CEO of FrontFundr, a FinTech company focused on supporting start-ups and young ventures in Canada with access to capital through innovative online investment-based funding solutions.
Peter-Paul has over 15 years of experience in finance, investment management and business consultancy. He worked in Vancouver as director business development with a finance & investment company in the renewable energy space and as finance director of a real estate investment fund. Prior to that he held a number of positions with several global banks in the areas of corporate strategy, corporate & investment banking and he worked as a senior management consultant in The Netherlands. Peter-Paul is a director of the National Board of the Private Capital Markets Association, PCMA (Canada) and holds a masters’ degree in Business Economics & Finance from the Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Funding platform? Investor? Company? Take the 2017 Alternative Finance Survey in Canada (learn more)
“We’ve had the pleasure of working together with Peter-Paul to advance the growth and development of the equity crowdfunding ecosystem in Canada since the beginning. He’s shown utmost commitment to make this industry work and thrive, and on behalf of the Association we’d like to thank Peter-Paul for his professionalism and early leadership. We look forward to continuing to work together to achieve transactional efficiencies to the benefit of all stakeholders including platforms, companies and all types of investors.” Craig Asano, Founding CEO, NCFA Canada
“Investment crowdfunding unlocks a tremendous dispersed pool of capital and democratizes investing in young companies. It redefines the way that young companies look at their investors and customers. Eventually, they will become the same. I am honoured joining the NCFA Advisory Group contributing to a healthy and prosperous investment crowdfunding industry in Canada." Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, CEO & Founder, FrontFundr
# # #
About National Crowdfunding Association of Canada
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with both social and investment crowdfunding stakeholders across the country. NCFA Canada provides education, research, leadership, support and networking opportunities to over 1500+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry in Canada. For more information please visit: ncfacanada.org.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Craig Asano
casano@ncfacanada.org
416 618 0254
Now OPEN: 2017 Annual Alternative Finance Crowdfunding in Canada Survey
NCFA Canada About Us | Craig Asano | May 8, 2017
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada has announced the launch of its 3rd alternative finance crowdfunding survey in Canada for platforms, investors and companies as part of its annual exercise in providing Canadian benchmarks on market size, volume, market activity, platform characteristics, jobs, and key stakeholder sentiments.
Crowdfunding leverages technology, the internet and digital marketing to streamline the process of raising capital from a full stack of investors while filling an under-serviced funding gap in venture markets. As technologies, markets and models continue to evolve in alternative finance and fintech crowdfunding markets globally, everyone from policy makers to portal operators and industry participants to economic development agencies have a need to better understand the emerging landscape that is on its way to being an integral part of raising up to $5M of capital online to launch, grow, and commercialize ventures.
- Last year, NCFA published the first comprehensive set of industry-led research in a
Download last year's 2016 Industry Report
groundbreaking study titled, 2016 Alternative Finance Crowdfunding in Canada report, that benchmarked industry growth at 48% from 2013-2015 and predicted the 2016 market volume to be $190 million (Download the report now).
- This year in 2017 in addition to our annual Canadian platform survey, we are expanding the scope of the survey to capture both investor and company sentiment which will provide a richer view of perspectives and help identify key insights and challenges relevant to market development and participation. Help us measure industry growth and Take the survey now (5-20mins)
TAKE THE 2017 ALTERNATIVE FINANCE CROWDFUNDING SURVEY NOW:
1. FOR ALTERNATIVE FINANCE ONLINE FUNDING PLATFORMS (Canadian equity, debt, P2P marketplace lending, reward / perk, donation, revenue sharing (royalties), crowdsales and new fintech models)
2. FOR COMPANIES (Startups and Scale-ups interested in raising up to $5M of capital to launch of grow their venture)
3. FOR INVESTORS (Retail, accredited, VCs, PE, family offices, funding groups)
* Please help encourage participation by sharing this link: http://bit.ly/2perd2N
Learn more... about confidentiality, deadline and gift cards!
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with both social and investment crowdfunding stakeholders across the country. NCFA Canada provides education, research, leadership, support and networking opportunities to over 1500+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry in Canada. Learn more at ncfacanada.org.
NACO hopes its Common Docs will standardize angel investment term sheets in Canada
Betakit | | Apr 13, 2017
On Tuesday, the National Angel Capital Organization gathered 100 angel investors and partners in Toronto to mark the launch of NACO’s Common Docs.
The organization has spent the past three months working with Canadian angel investors and founders on standard document templates, meant to act as a guideline, for early-stage startup investments. Open Angels’ Boris Mann and E-Fund’s Peter Dorsman acted as project leads working with Canada’s startup ecosystem.
“There’s all kinds of stories — and I’m sure each of you have your own stories — about the amount of friction and confusion that exists sometimes in deals and the way that they’re done,” NACO CEO Yuri Navarro said during the launch event. “And the sad side effects of that…just the way you structure a deal can actually have a significant, negative impact on a company in the future.”
Navarro said that the goal of Common Docs is to reduce the friction in negotiating deals by having the docs as a starting point, and give both founders and funders a better way to understand how deals are structured.
“This is really a matter of raising the literacy around this stuff from a Canadian perspective. There actually is no central Canadian repository of really anything,” said Mann. “The other thing that we sought to do was answer the question is, what is common? That was definitely something that was starting to come from the NACO membership, even some stories of saying
‘we lost a deal because we were told our terms weren’t market.’ What is common? What’s market?”
In a panel with founders and investors during the event, the speakers touched on some of the pain points that having a central resource could solve.
See: Angel investing was always male-dominated. That’s finally changing
When it comes to getting more people interested in angel investing, Zoom.ai founder Roy Pereira said it’s important to get more young founders involved. “I think we have to get some of the younger people who had a few exits, or one exit at least, to get more involved in angel groups and crowdfunding,” said Pereira. “I find they’re not interested or they don’t see themselves in these groups. So I think there may be a disconnect, And they’re not investing as much as they could because they don’t see themselves in the community.”
Continue to the full article --> here
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with both social and investment crowdfunding stakeholders across the country. NCFA Canada provides education, research, leadership, support and networking opportunities to over 1500+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry in Canada. Learn more at ncfacanada.org.
SEC Updates JOBS Act Amendments Including Reg CF Funding Cap
Crowdfund Insider | | Apr 5, 2017
The SEC has announced it has adopted amendments to increase the amount of money companies may raise under Reg CF or retail crowdfunding. Initially, Reg CF capped the amount allowable for issuers to $1 million. The SEC has adjusted the amount for inflation and increased the funding limit to $1.07 million. The threshold for investor limits was correspondingly increased in a similar fashion.
While the limit on Reg CF was slightly increased there is a movement in Congress seeking to raise the cap to perhaps $10 million, thus making the exemption more palatable for a wider range of issuers.
The funding cap, along with other limitations, have hobbled the utilization of the Reg CF as many issuers continue to utilize Reg D as it is less costly for companies raising money.
The SEC also approved amendments that adjust for inflation a threshold used to determine eligibility for benefits offered to “emerging growth companies” (EGCs) under the JOBS Act.
“Regular updates to the JOBS Act, as prescribed by Congress, ensure that the entrepreneurs and investors who benefit from crowdfunding will continue to do so,” commented SEC Acting Chairman Michael S. Piwowar. “Under these amendments, the JOBS Act can continue to create jobs and investment opportunities for the general public.”
The SEC is required to make inflation adjustments to certain JOBS Act rules at least once every five years after it was enacted on April 5, 2012. In addition to the inflation adjustments, the SEC adopted technical amendments to conform several rules and forms to amendments made to the Securities Act of 1933and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by Title I of the JOBS Act.
The Commission approved the new thresholds March 31. They will become effective when they are published in the Federal Register.
Section 101 of the JOBS Act added new Securities Act Section 2(a)(19) and Exchange Act Section 3(a)(80) to define the term “emerging growth company” or EGC. Pursuant to those sections, every five years the SEC is directed to index the annual gross revenue amount used to determine EGC status to inflation to reflect the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (“CPI-U”) published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
To carry out this statutory directive, the SEC has adopted amendments to Securities Act Rule 405 and Exchange Act Rule 12b-2 to include a definition for EGC that reflects an inflation-adjusted annual gross revenue threshold.
See: Katipult Secures Capital Partner for 2017 Growth
The JOBS Act also added new Securities Act Section 4(a)(6), which provides an exemption from the registration requirements of Section 5 under the Securities Act for certain crowdfunding transactions. In October 2015, the SEC promulgated Reg CF to implement that exemption. Sections 4(a)(6) and 4A of the Securities Act set forth dollar amounts used in connection with the crowdfunding exemption, and Section 4A(h)(1) states that such dollar amounts shall be adjusted by the SEC not less frequently than once every five years to reflect the change in the CPI-U published by the BLS. The SEC has adopted amendments to Rules 100 and 201(t) of Regulation Crowdfunding and Securities Act Form C to reflect the required inflation adjustments.
Additionally, Sections 102 and 103 of the JOBS Act provided several exemptions from a number of disclosure, shareholder voting, and other regulatory requirements for any issuer that qualifies as an EGC. The exemptions reduce the financial disclosures an EGC is required to provide in public offering registration statements and relieve an EGC from conducting advisory votes on executive compensation, as well as from a number of accounting and disclosure requirements.
The SEC said the regulatory relief provided under Sections 102 and 103 of the JOBS Act was self-executing and became effective once the JOBS Act was signed into law. The technical amendments that the SEC is adopting conform several rules and forms to reflect these JOBS Act statutory changes.
See the full article --> here
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with both social and investment crowdfunding stakeholders across the country. NCFA Canada provides education, research, leadership, support and networking opportunities to over 1500+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry in Canada. Learn more at ncfacanada.org.
