Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Fintech Interviews and Podcasts
NCFA Advisor, Murray McKercher on Profit Business Cast – Crowdfunding: Viable Resource or Novelty?
ProfitGuide.com | Andrew Brown & Robert Gold | October 31, 2013
Produced in partnership with Bennett Gold LLP Chartered Accountants and Write On The Money
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA) is only a year old—but it's been quite a year for crowdfunding in Canada. Murray McKercher, a board advisor for the young association, says the fundraising model has blossomed in Canada over the last 12 months, with major sites Indiegogo and Kickstarter targeting Canadian entrepreneurs.
While many have pointed to the spinoff benefits of a crowdfunding campaign—free R&D, for one thing— McKercher says the model really isn't about crowdsourcing. Put simply: it's about getting some initial capital into an entrepreneurial startup. "I do a lot of advising for startups through [various] accelerators, and getting that first $50,000 is really difficult," says McKercher. "Crowdfunding is a vehicle to allow those young entrepreneurs to get some capital into their company."
Related: Join NCFA Canada Today!
Right now, the model is limited to perks and rewards for investors—it's not possible for Canadian investors to buy common stock or shares or make an actual equity investment in a crowdfunded initiative. But McKercher says the model has had great success in the UK and elsewhere, and believes it's gaining momentum in Canada. The NCAC is working with bodies like the Ontario Securities Commission to create a an equity crowdfunding model that protects both the entrepreneur and the investor. If equity crowdfunding becomes a reality, it would bring the model to the next level, putting it on par with other viable options such as the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Listen to PodCast Now
NCFA Board Advisor, Murray McKercher, brings over 30 years of experience and expertise in the field of information and communications technologies with a focus on the mobile internet. He is an Advisor at the Mobile Institute, which educates, enables and empowers organizations to capture their share of the global marketplace. He is an active supporter of innovative start-ups and connects entrepreneurs with the resources and networks required to progress their ventures. View profile
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada crowdfunding hub providing education, advocacy and networking opportunities in the rapidly evolving crowdfunding industry. NCFA Canada is a community-based, membership-driven entity that was formed at the grass roots level to fill a national need in the market place. Join our growing network of industry stakeholders, fundraisers and investors. Increase your organization’s profile and gain access to a dynamic group of industry front runners. Learn more eBrochure | Prezi or contact us at casano@ncfacanada.org.
Crowdfundfusion portal aggregator launches out of Canada
Crowdfundfusion | Jonathon M. | October 23, 2013
NCFA Canada recently connected with Jonathon Mushey, co-founder of Crowdfundfusion, a new portal aggregator solution based out of Winnipeg, Manitoba currently in beta launch. While there are many definitions that theoretically can describe the concept of aggregation, crowdfundfusion allows you to search for crowdfunding projects, groups and categories seamlessly on multiple sites, such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Rockethub. They are also allowing the crowd to vote on future portals to be added. Interview questions and answer content follows below.
Can you please share with us your company's story?
Jon: Crowdfundfusion was born out of the necessity to solve a problem we encountered. The problem was that we spent too much time searching through different crowdfunding sites to see their projects. Each site had different navigation, grouping and sorting of projects which made for a confusing experience. We searched and found no decent aggregators and then decided to simply build a good one ourselves.
Who are the founder and key members of the company and what are the goals?
Jon: Myself and Lenny Leblanc, we both developed the site from scratch doing all research, analysis, design and coding ourselves. There is a lot that we are going to to do in the future in terms of upgrades as well as many phases that we are going to go through. To find out what these are you're just going to have to keep checking up on us. This industry moves fast and we intend to be at the crest of the wave!
Who is your target market? What about your geographic reach?
Jon: Anyone and everyone who is either a possible funder of projects, those who are just curious and of course the project creators themselves, they are all our target market.
Can you tell us about the unique way crowdfundfusion can help project creators to gain exposure for their campaigns?
Jon: Creators can submit their projects to be featured on the home page above the fold on our site, all that we ask is that they mention crowdfundfusion in some way (even a one liner on their project page that says their project is also on our site will suffice). Projects are selected based on the quality of the project and how many mentions are made by them about crowdfundfusion.
Who are your primary competitors and what advantages do you have over them?
Jon: There are no competitors to us right now, other sites that pool projects are either all user submitted and have a very low count of projects that are not updated or are sites that due to design are basically unusable. Our main advantage is that we have can adapt and develop very fast and that we also pay attention to what people want and need. We have a created a custom framework to use that has no equal in the industry today.
What do you think the greatest challenges are in advancing crowdfunding markets and consumer adoption in Canada?
Jon: Canada is still a bit behind in some regards since crowdfunding has not been recognized at a national level both from political and financial circles as a future major force. Europe is forging ahead as is the U.S with the passing of the JOBS act. Any bureaucracy and red tape with regard to tax and income issues from crowdfunded sources should be streamlined to encourage more people to essentially start their own businesses with the help of crowdfunding. Crowdfundfusion is and will be a leader in getting more recognition for the crowdfundung industry in Canada and the world as a whole.
Where do you see crowdfunding evolving to in the years to come?
Jon: There has never been anything like crowdfunding in the history of business to date. The major hurdle has always been finding start-up capital for new ideas. This has meant that until now only those will access to large sums of money or those who are willing to risk their savings could fund a start-up. With crowdfunding the market research for an idea is done at the same time as raising start-up capital with the market deciding if an idea will have a chance in the market. As more and more people become aware of the power of crowdfunding, it is going to continue to grow and probably at a faster pace than it already has. It is an exciting time full of promise. It is going to become a major business and financial force in the near future.
Source: NCFA interview with Crowdfundfusion
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada crowdfunding hub providing education, advocacy and networking opportunities in the rapidly evolving crowdfunding industry. NCFA Canada is a community-based, membership-driven entity that was formed at the grass roots level to fill a national need in the market place. Join our growing network of industry stakeholders, fundraisers and investors. Increase your organization’s profile and gain access to a dynamic group of industry front runners. Learn more eBrochure | Prezi or contact us at casano@ncfacanada.org.
The Crowdfunding Controversy
Huff Post - Small Business | Lee Schneider | Sept 26, 2013
First, a definition: Equity crowdfunding (see Crowdfunding models) means that you can become a partner in a company, venture or product and get "a piece of the action" if that's what the creators or founders are offering. It opens the field to both experienced and inexperienced players. It lowers the bar to entry for startup companies that once were vetted (or tortured, depending on your point of view) by venture capitalists.
Once upon a time, if you wanted to start up your start up, you needed to bootstrap it with your own cash, ask your rich uncle for funds, or trade away a chunk of your creation to venture capitalists with high expectations. Angel investors -- even their name sounds kind -- nevertheless also make demands on the startups they back. Demands are a good thing. Startups need to ship. They need to budget. They may burn cash at the start, but they need to turn it around within a timeframe specified by their investors. This is all part of being a grownup in a world currently dominated by extremely talented and extremely young people, some with little experience in running a company.
Venture capitalist board members, hired-gun CEOs, and CFOs for rent all help buffer the chaos. Some argue, that equity crowdfunding will cause the crazy making floodgates to open, the inmates to run the asylum, and startups will crash and burn.
I don't think so. For one thing, this is not a freestyle event. There are rules. There is a community. Everybody talks to everybody else. You have to apply to list your startup on CircleUp, and they say they only accept 2 percent of companies that apply. Upstart, founded by former Googlers, applies an algorithm (what else? they're from Google, after all) to determine your funding rate and, by extension, your potential for success. You need credibility to play the startup game at all -- a former position at a well-known company, a graduate of Y Combinator, a trust factor. Think of eBay, to take the example often given by Kevin Lawton, a proponent of equity crowdfunding, and co-author of The Crowdfunding Revolution: How to Use Social Media to Raise Venture Capital. Sure, there are scammers on eBay, but they don't last long because the community ostracizes them. It's a self-correcting system. (I recently did a Q&A with Kevin that we posted to SoundCloud. Have a listen at this link.)
It's a brave new world out there for startups.
Continue to the full article --> here
Crowdfunding Strategies: Wimoto’s “Motes” On Indiegogo
Crowdfund Insider | Charles Luzar
You may remember our May article about Motes, tiny sensors made for monitoring the world around you. From that article…
Motes are small, portable sensors that can detect temperature, humidity and light levels anywhere. They can be placed almost anywhere. They last about a year on a single battery and don’t require an internet connection to work.
There are three flavors corresponding with the three functions described above: Climotes, Growmotes, and Thermotes. Core to the function of these sensors is the companion smartphone app, currently completed for iOS devices with an Android version on the way.
Mote Indiegogo main promo from Marc Nicholas on Vimeo.
The project has been fully funded since then, and it has enabled Wimoto to introduce a fourth version. Called Securimotes, they employ a motion sensor and accelerometer to enable the purchaser to monitor things like doors opening or people coming and going.
Last week I had a chance to talk to Marc Nicholas, CTO of Wimoto Technologies and creator of Motes. He had some interesting insight into what it takes to make a crowdfunding campaign successful, and specifically some of the methods Indiegogo employs to push a campaign over the top.
Live TechCONNEX Crowdfunding Seminar with Marc Nicholas:
Register to hear Marc Nicholas speak about his Crowdfunding success stories on Sept 19, 2013
CFI: Let’s start with the project. Motes! Where did you come up with the idea?
Marc Nicholas: There were two stages to the ideas that lead to Motes. A few years ago, I started growing heirloom tomatoes organically, and wished I had a way to monitor for dry conditions, know how much sunlight they were getting, and when frost was a danger. I live on the edge of a small valley and therefore the microclimate is often +/-2c versus the local weather forecast.
More recently, my son was born and we were concerned about the temperature in his bedroom at night. The temperature readout in his baby monitor wasn’t terribly accurate, and I wish there was a way we could just have our iPhone or iPad alert us if temperature was an issue. Room temperature has been linked to Sudden Infant Death syndrome, which is obviously every parent’s biggest nightmare.
How long did you spend planning your crowdfunding campaign? What was that process like from your point of view?
I left my full-time job in January to concentrate on the Wimoto project.
I put far too much emphasis on getting the product right rather than “getting out there” and launching a campaign at first. Then my wife commented that I should just get on with it [the crowdfunding] and that people don’t need to see a fully finished product.
I feel ecstatic. The biggest thrill of crowd funding has been the people — the words of support, the ideas, the validation of our idea. And being able to refactor both the campaign (we completely redesigned it on-the-fly) and finesse the product as we go is amazing.
What resources helped you strategize ahead of your campaign? Were you flying blind or did you lean on any materials? (Perhaps Indiegogo’s field guide?)
We looked at other campaigns — both on and off Indiegogo. We didn’t actually get the Field Guide until after we’d raised about $7k.
Was Indiegogo your first choice of platform? How did you settle on that platform?
We chose Indiegogo because, even though I have a US bank account, Employer Identification Number and address, we couldn’t get approved on Kickstarter. Getting started with Indiegogo was easy and straightforward.
Have you had to seek any one-on-one support from Indiegogo staffers? If so, how have they been to work with?
They reached out to us to offer Strategy Support. I think for less sophisticated campaigner’s, their support would be helpful. But we were already doing most of what they recommend.
They seem pleasant and helpful. We were around 20% funded when they reached out and they wanted to talk again at 30% — but we went from 20% to 130% in one day.
Obviously, Indiegogo places a lot of faith in their Gogofactor and will tell you that it’s the key to everything. Having a high Gogofactor has certainly opened doors for us — we’ve made it to their homepage and are being featured as their Campaign of the Day today.
Continue to the full interview --> here
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada crowdfunding hub providing education, advocacy and networking opportunities in the rapidly evolving crowdfunding industry. NCFA Canada is a community-based, membership-driven entity that was formed at the grass roots level to fill a national need in the market place. Join our growing network of industry stakeholders, fundraisers and investors. Increase your organization’s profile and gain access to a dynamic group of industry front runners. Learn more eBrochure | Prezi or contact us at casano@ncfacanada.org.
Google Hangout with Documentary Filmmakers on Startups and Crowdfunding
NCFA Canada by Sunny Shao | September 9, 2013
Hear the background story to upcoming documentaries Startup Community (directed by Taylor Jackson) and Day Job Doc (directed by David Chan), including key factors that played a role in their crowdfunding campaigns on Indiegogo.
Earlier this summer, we heard about an Indiegogo campaign that exploded past its goal of $10,000 in less than three full days since the funding campaign was launched. The campaign was for Taylor Jackon's documentary project Startup Community, a film about what makes the Waterloo Region different from others in the tech community. Starting out as more of a personal interest project, the film became an overnight success once it went live on Indiegogo on June 8, 2013.
Backtrack to summer of 2012, where David Chan and his team at Fidelity Format embarked on their first feature film - Day Job Doc - a documentary that follows the grueling process of three start-up companies in Toronto’s Extreme Startups Accelerator. The film explores the real life stories of entrepreneurs Jayesh Parmar (CEO of Picatic), Nima Gardideh (CTO of Venio) and Jeremy Potvin (CEO of Shifthub) as they build their idea into a startup company over the intense 12-week program. While Day Job Doc's crowdfunding campaign didn't enjoy the same success that Startup Community did, the team learned valuable lessons throughout the process and shares their insight about what they would do differently next time.
"What makes some film and video crowdfunding campaigns stand out from all the other campaigns?"
That's the million-dollar questions that many crowdfunders and project owners always wonder, but there is no straightforward answer and no "secret sauce" revealed in this video (sorry to disappoint - anyone claiming to reveal the "secret sauce" will probably also proclaim they can promise you the winning numbers to the lottery). There are, however, many best practices that were followed, as well as hard work and due diligence exemplified by the project owners.
After 'hanging out' with Taylor and David, we learned quite a bit about their journeys and came to some of our own conclusions about what factors contribute to a successful crowdfunding campaign: authenticity, passion and excitement for your project triumphs any marketing pitch; if you support your community and share its values, the community will support you back; there's no such thing as too much marketing for your crowdfunding campaign, but if you're going to embark on the journey, be committed from pre-launch to post-launch and seek out resources or talent that will complement your own.
Watch the interview:
Video Gallery: https://ncfacanada.org/all-video-gallery-custom-page-url/?sort=latest&slg=ncfa-hangout-crowdfunding-documentary-films
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEBDt_j8gQA[/youtube]
About Startup Community
Startup Community is a film about what makes Waterloo Region different. We’re talking to local entrepreneurs and finding out how our region made them succeed in a way that no other place could have. We’re talking to people that have helped local non-profits make their first $10,000, built multi-million dollar businesses from their parents’ basements, as well as the people behind 60 million hit YouTube videos. Welcome to life here.
About Day Job Doc
Day Job Doc is a film that follows the gruelling process of three start-up companies in Toronto’s Extreme Startups Accelerator. The film explores the real life stories of these entrepreneurs as they build their idea into a startup company – each facing their own set of unique challenges over the intense 12-week program. In the heart of Toronto where many start-ups are born, Jeremy Potvin, (CEO of Shifthub), Jayesh Parmar (CEO of Picatic), and Nima Garidideh (CTO of Venio) reveal their stories of hardships, sacrifice, and perseverance as they realize that chasing their dream requires a 24/7 commitment.
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada crowdfunding hub providing education, advocacy and networking opportunities in the rapidly evolving crowdfunding industry. NCFA Canada is a community-based, membership-driven entity that was formed at the grass roots level to fill a national need in the market place. Join our growing network of industry stakeholders, fundraisers and investors. Increase your organization's profile and gain access to a dynamic group of industry front runners. Learn more eBrochure | Prezi or contact us at casano@ncfacanada.org.
Interview: Canadian crowdfunding meets accelerator experience for hardware product success
NCFA Canada Ambassadors | by Bruno Rakotozafy of SeedingFactory | Posted on Sept 8, 2013
Amanda Williams, one of the brains behind such a success along with team Fabule, is going to tell us about their story.Founded and based in Montreal, Fabule is a design studio that cleverly leveraged their accelerator experience for launching a successful Kickstarter campaign to release their first product “Clyde: An Expressive Lamp for Creative Homes“, which went on to amass an impressive 149,530$ in financing, 3 times their original goal.
Seeding Factory (SF): Could you quickly brief your studio Fabule and especially Clyde ?
Amanda Williams (AW): Fabule is composed of myself, my founding partner Bruno Nadeau, and our ninja software/web developer Angela Gabereau. We all have some background and experience in design and art, combined with technical skills in software, hardware and product development.
Clyde is our first attempt to fulfill our goal of making “expressive devices for creative homes”. It interacts with its environment in some interesting ways, and can be made to respond to touch, ambient light levels, or remote control.
SF: Tell us your story joining HAXLR8R in China? What kind of support did you get there ?
AW: We heard about HAXLR8R while we were in China participating in a “Maker Carnival”. They are aimed specifically at hardware startups and really shine when it comes to helping with those specific needs. Being cooped up with other hardware geeks is really beneficial – I learned a lot from the other founders in HAXLR8R, and I hope I was helpful to them in return. (Note: HAXLR8R is an influential hardware accelerator based both in China and in San Francisco)
We received all the support that you’d typically expect from an accelerator: lots of practice pitching, help with PR and marketing, opportunities to meet press and investor and importantly, time to focus on our project to the exclusion of all other things.
They introduced us to the massive electronics markets, gave us some tips on how to shop there, also helped us develop skills in judging whether or not a manufacturer will be a good partner. Lots of North Americans have experience using sites like Alibaba to source things, but if you’re right there in China, it’s a totally different experience – the vendors perceived you as a more serious prospect, and it became much easier to get samples.
SF: It seems it was very impactful for you! Why did you decide to go crowdfunding?
AW: We did get some financing from the accelerator and we received an additional research grant from the Intel Science and Technology Center for Social Computing. In total, this added up to about 36,000 USD. So research and prototyping, travel, and living expenses were covered for several months. However, we still decided to go crowdfunding for many advantages:
- Figuring that there’s a real demand for our product before we throw money at getting it made
- Attracting the sort of early adopters that make great first customers
- Great marketing! Getting onto a crowdfunding site like Kickstarter that has a big mailing list and a healthy marketing machine can kick your exposure to the public up a big notch.
- Getting backers’ feedback during the phase of product prototyping
SF: In retrospect what was your 3 best assets for running this successful campaign? What was the 3 things you will do differently?
AW: Our #1 best asset was support from family and friends, and I include HAXLR8R as our friends. Making Clyde be awesome is not just our business now, it also reflects our debt of gratitude to the people who are helping us turn a crazy idea into a reality.
#2: Work work work work work work work. We sent individually tailored emails to everyone. It’s so much more time-consuming than mass-spamming everyone you know… and so much more effective. We were tied to our computers during our campaign in order to answer backers’ questions within minutes or hours.
#3: Decent speaking skills! It’s so important to be able to gauge what aspect of our story or product they were most interested in, and articulate it in a way they can relate to, so they’d help us spread it.
SF: What would we have done differently?
AW: Not much, but here are some things we may do differently in the future.
#1: More prep-time, never too much! This gives you more chances to work with media and generate some buzz for your project before the launch.
#2: I might try Indiegogo one of those days. Kickstarter was fantastic and I have no complaints about them whatsoever. But, I met some Indiegogo employees during the first week of our campaign, and even after I told them we were on Kickstarter they still shared great advice and were incredibly supportive.
Continue to the full interview --> here
Google Hangout with Chimp: Charitable Donations and Crowdfunding
NCFA Canada by Sunny Shao | August 27, 2013
NCFA Advisor Sunny Shao talks to Crystal Henrickson, Community Manager of Chimp, which stands for the Charitable Impact Foundation. Chimp is a website that connects you to all of Canada's registered charities. It's like a charitable bank account, allowing you to manage and amplify your charitable giving while still receiving tax receipts for your donations.
Chimp was founded by John Bromley, whose early exposure to the charitable sector comes from his dad, Blake Bromley, who is one of the world's leading charity lawyers. This appreciation, combined with his background in corporate finance, led John to bring strategic, thoughtful charity to the masses by using the internet and new technologies. John found that many of the current methods that charities were using were causing "donor fatigue", thus he saw a need to create a fund platform that is fun and cause-neutral by design. Through Chimp and John's other startup Peer Giving Solutions, the team's goal is to help donors participate in charity in easier and more meaningful ways.
Chimp is associated with all Canadian registered charities and tries to promote thoughtful generosity, allowing users to browse and search by location and cause, and also shows all relevant information about a charity including revenue, expenses and current programs (based on what the charity has reported to the CRA).
"We really want people to have fun on Chimp and we encourage them to learn about the charitable space," says Crystal. "It can be daunting when it comes to giving, since many people know that they want to give, but they don't know what's going to happen with the money, or they are worried about receiving too many promotional materials afterwards. You can give anonymously on Chimp, which alleviates some of the donor fatigue. The best place to start is to think about what has meaning to you first, and then narrow it down by location or cause."
With the crowdfunding industry heating up, Crystal is seeing that the way people are going about collectively pooling money together is shifting - the technology is there to help people fund better, such as with giving groups on Chimp. Groups of people are pooling their money together towards a charity by organizing events and fun initiatives around giving. One example of this is a "vice jar" at Chimp headquarters, where employees contribute money to the online pooled fund every time someone succumbs to their vice. This money is collected in one fund first so that it is secure and transparent for the group to see, and released to the charity after the group has decided on one or more charities to give to. Chimp supports individual or group giving as well as corporate giving.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2PRxhKGKG4[/youtube]
Chimp is called a donor-advised fund described as a "giving platform" created to manage charitable donations on behalf of an individual, group or organization.
The Charitable Impact (Chimp) Foundation manages the money held in everyone’s Chimp Funds. It’s a registered Canadian charity; that’s why all the tax receipts issued through the website come from this foundation and not the charities that donors give to.
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada crowdfunding hub providing education, advocacy and networking opportunities in the rapidly evolving crowdfunding industry. NCFA Canada is a community-based, membership-driven entity that was formed at the grass roots level to fill a national need in the market place. Join our growing network of industry stakeholders, fundraisers and investors. Increase your organization’s profile and gain access to a dynamic group of industry front runners. Learn more eBrochure | Prezi or contact us at casano@ncfacanada.org.
