Category Archives: Fintech and Networking Events

March 21, 2016   Equity Crowdfunding, Alternative Funding, Fintech and Networking Events, Fundraising, Investing, Trading, Online Funding / Investing Portals   No comments

Real Estate Crowdfunding – An Emerging New Asset Class

R2Crowd | Karen Dao | March 21, 2016

CCS2016 Hot Vertical Real Estate CrowdfundingThe Second Annual 2016 Canadian Crowdfunding Summit (CCS2016) was held on March 3 at the MaRs Discovery District in Toronto and placed focus on the future of crowdfunding in Canada. With the newly released equity crowdfunding regulations in January, there is huge momentum and growth potential for this industry. R2Crowd, a leading Real Estate Crowdfunding platform was honoured to join Canada’s leading innovators, leaders, investors and sponsors of crowdfunding, FinTech and financing alternatives.

The summit was officially opened by Ontario Finance Minister, Hon. Charles Sousa who delivered an impactful speech to a crowd of over 400+ highlighting the importance of innovation and the need to help small businesses access capital and resource networks to help them launch and scale into viable commercial entities.

“Those who innovate and stay ahead will become leaders and those who lag will fall off the wagon" expounded Minister of Finance, Charles Sousa on emerging fintech companies.

Amar Nijjar, debt capital markets expert and CEO/Co-founder of R2Crowd capital, participated on a speaking panel called ‘Hot Vertical: Real Estate Crowdfunding, an Emerging New Asset Class’ moderated by Brooks Barnett, Manager Government Relations and Policy at the Real Estate Property Association of Canada (RealPAC) explained, “We received an overwhelming response for our panel discussion and lunch & learn at CCS2016. We are on the forefront of connecting investors with quality commercial real estate opportunities in Canada.”

See:   Alternative Finance Crowdfunding expands world of corporate real estate investing

Real estate crowdfunding was a $3billion industry in the US last year and is continuing to grow. Canadians are just realizing the potential of this market. In addition to the Syndicated Mortgage exemption, other exemptions such as the Accredited Investor exemption, Offering Memorandum exemption and the Start Up Exemption are used to open the doors for the private capital market in Canada reaching $150B and spanning a scope of 20 million Canadians who are able to qualify for debt or equity investments.

Investors and Real Estate sponsors open access to quality commercial real estate deals

Investors are able to reap a number of benefits by investing through a crowdfunded portal. They are able to gain access to quality commercial real estate offerings that they could not have prior. Investors can strategically choose properties by geographic location, asset class, stabilized or value-add assets and build a personalized portfolio. All of this can be done safely through online avenues like computer, mobile or tablet. Investors get to do full due diligence on the property they want to invest in and hold a direct title to it.CF160302-94

Average returns on such investments are typically in the 10-14% per year range. In today’s volatile stock market it makes a lot of sense to invest in good quality well located commercial real estate which is backed by underlying leases that offer stability of cash flow. Traditionally such investments were only open for wealthy investors as sponsors would ask for large cheques for e.g. in the amounts of $100,000 and up, however, with crowdfunding small investors can also now co-invest alongside wealthy investors and participate on the same terms.

Sponsors are also able to benefit through using a real estate crowdfunded platform as they are able to raise a significant amount of capital a lot faster, and at a lower cost than if they were to use traditional routes of capital raise. They are able to access our growing database of 120,000 investors, while reducing their workload as many intermediary processes associated with the traditional avenue are not costs effective and timely.

If you are interested in learning more about new capital raising and investment opportunities for investors and real estate sponsors, please visit us at R2Crowd.com for more information.

 

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 1300+ 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 About Us or visit ncfacanada.org.

 

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March 17, 2016   Fintech and Networking Events, NCFA In The News, Stories, Voices   No comments

Disruption and Conversations Took Over at the NCFA Conference in Toronto

HuffPost Business | Ian Khan | March 16, 2016

CCS2016 podcastThe National Crowdfunding Association of Canada Conference a few weeks ago in Toronto was a hit. I met with Crowdfunding fanatics, experts and people who are a big part of the industry. Overall, a very well put together event, the biggest takeaway was the quality of sessions and conversations. From Venture funds to Angels to Crowdfunding platforms, the conference was definitely a highlight of the Canadian Crowdfunding Industry in 2016.

 

Lending ArchI met with a number of people at the event and has the pleasure of having in depth conversations with three disruptors in the industry. I first spoke with Arti Modi, CEO and Co-Founder of LendingArch, a Calgary based financing platform. Arti share some key insights about how the industry is being affected by Millennials as an example and what their company is doing differently that taps into an under served market. More details on LendingArch at www.lendingarch.com

 

Dubuc MotorsI also spoke with Founders of Canada’s Only Luxury Electric Sports Vehicle, a huge disruptor that is taking the route of Equity Crowdfunding to raise over $25 Million. Both Mike and Mario shared their insights into the automobile industry with a touch on technology and crowdfunding and why their choices of taking the equity crowdfunding route was the best decision they could make. More details on this revolutionary global phenomenon with its home right here in Canada at www.dubucmotors.com

Links:

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 1300+ 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 About Us or visit ncfacanada.org.

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March 14, 2016   Entrepreneurs, Start-ups, Small Businesses, Fintech and Networking Events, Fintech Opinions, Fundraising, Investing, Trading, Innovation and Resources, Voices   No comments

Ontario Finance Minister, Honourable Charles Sousa, Endorses Canadian Crowdfunding Industry at 2016 Summit

Ontario Ministry of Finance | Honourable Charles Sousa | March 14, 2016

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Official speech delivered on March 3, 2016 in Toronto at the 2nd Annual Canadian Crowdfunding Summit

INTRODUCTION

Good morning. Thank you, Tim, for that kind introduction.

Thank you for inviting us back to speak to your second annual 2016 Canadian Crowdfunding Summit. As you may know, our government is very supportive of crowdfunding and we listened to you on how government could show itself to be nimble in the face of fast-moving, merging industries of the future.  In mid-December, we approved several new prospectus exemptions proposed to us by the Ontario Securities Commission, which enable businesses – in particular, early stage one – to raise capital in newer and more innovative ways, while maintaining appropriate investor protection.

Why?

To help small- and medium-sized businesses grow, expand, and realize economies of scale, which will help shrink the productivity gap we have with US firms. And, given their rapid growth rates, we know how much potential they have for growing our economy. We also recognize the advantages that crowdfunding can provide to small businesses and entrepreneurs, through the internet, at a much lower cost.

Massolution’s 2015 Crowdfunding Industry Report estimates that global crowdfunding grew by 167 per cent in 2014, to $16.2 billion raised. They predicted it would more than double in 2015, to $34.4 billion. These are numbers too big to ignore. Helping businesses get off the ground and scale up is part of our strategy to grow the economy and create jobs. To support business, our government is choosing to embrace change and to lead our province to continued economic growth and job creation.

For example, Ontarians asked for change in how beer and wine are distributed and sold. They asked for laws and regulations to reflect current realities, instead of outdated ways of doing things. And we listened. Just like our wine and beer retailing changes, we feel that our crowdfunding exemption has struck the right balance between greater access and investor protections.

We are confident that the OSC’s new crowdfunding prospectus exemption will help entrepreneurs and SMEs gain greater access to capital. It will help them grow and reach the next level of their development. We want businesses to know that we will be there to help them at that next stage, too.

View:  CCS2016 Event Wrap-up including photos, speakers, and social network

The new offering memorandum exemption, which came into effect in Ontario in January, allows small businesses to raise larger amounts of capital than crowdfunding and in a more cost-effective manner than a public offering. It will allow businesses to distribute securities under an offering memorandum rather than under a more detailed and costly-to-prepare prospectus.

Further helping Ontario businesses create jobs and grow our economy. Through steps like these, we are fostering a more innovative and dynamic business environment which is part of our number one priority: to help grow the economy and create jobs. This means investing in our workforce, supporting world-class research and development and encouraging start-ups and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises.

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BUSINESS GROWTH INITIATIVE

Our government recently launched the Business Growth Initiative – a five-year, $400 million dollar investment to increase our global competitiveness.

It includes creating an innovation-driven economy. This means helping develop and commercialize disruptive technologies in key economic sectors. It means investing $35 million over the next five years to establish a $50 million partnership in the Advanced Manufacturing Consortium, which will include McMaster, Waterloo and Western Universities.  This collaboration between academia and industry will focus on long-term industrial innovation projects to make Ontario a leader in fields such as additive manufacturing and digital components and devices.

It includes helping Ontario firms scale up. We are creating a program to provide vouchers to leading high-growth firms to help them get their products to global markets. These vouchers can be used for activities such as market research, proof-of-concept testing and securing new export customers. We will also create a Strategic Investments Office to provide a one-stop shop for attracting investment, for the coordination of licensing and permits, and for workforce training.

And it includes modernizing the regulatory system and lowering the cost of doing business. In order to demonstrate and retain the nimbleness needed to keep pace with fast-moving industries, we are building a smarter regulatory environment. In fact, this spring we will launch the Red Tape Challenge, an online tool to allow you, the public, to identify duplication, compliance burdens and long response times.

Conclusion

These are exciting times for businesses and entrepreneurs in Ontario. Our strengths are driving growth across the province. They are providing opportunities for manufacturers, exporters, the services sector and entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and create jobs.

In fact, since 2009, Ontario’s GDP grew by about 20 per cent, and our businesses have created more than 600,000 new, high-paying, private sector jobs. And in the first two months of this year, Ontario created 50,000 new jobs.

Over the next 36 months, Ontario is on track to create more than 900,000 net new jobs since the depths of the recession. Many of these jobs will come from SMEs who take the next step in their development. Crowdfunding can be an important part of this growth. It can provide the push to help a new business get off the ground and take flight. To help Ontario continue to build our innovation economy.

To provide benefits for all Ontarians. On that note, thank you for your attention, and I hereby declare the 2016 Canadian Crowdfunding Summit open! (RING Cowbell)

END

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 1300+ 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 About Us or visit ncfacanada.org.

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March 11, 2016   Entrepreneurs, Start-ups, Small Businesses, Equity Crowdfunding, Alternative Funding, Fintech and Networking Events, NCFA Blog, NCFA Supported Events, P2P, Lending, Digital Bonds, BNPL, Private Credit, Stories   No comments

Event Wrap-up: 2nd Annual 2016 Canadian Crowdfunding Summit on March 3 (Toronto)

NCFA Blog | March 11, 2016

The 2nd annual Canadian Crowdfunding Summit (#CCS2016) on March 3, 2016 brought together a diverse crowd of companies, investors, providers, industry experts and leaders in the crowdfunding, fintech and altfi sectors. Over 440 attendees were in attendance, including 75+ speakers, 30 sessions and 12 pitching companies.

View the #CCS2016 event website | photo album  | highlights video

2016 Canadian Crowdfunding Summit

Now in its second year, the Canadian Crowdfunding Summit (hosted by the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada) is Canada’s only national event on crowdfunding, alternative finance and fintech that brings together Canadian and international industry experts, leaders and innovators in the fast growing and lucrative crowdfunding alternative finance industry. With the newly released equity crowdfunding regulations across Canada and the emergence of marketplace lending and investment bank 2.0 platforms, 2016 is anticipated to be a year of exponential growth.

This year's Summit was officially opened by Ontario Finance Minister Hon. Charles Sousa, who endorsed the emerging industry, which helps build on the province's plan for economic growth and job creation.

Master of Ceremonies Michael Brancroft (Executive Producer of Bloomberg Canada TV and co-host of The Feed with Amber Mac on Sirius XM), Tim Jackson (EVP Corporate and Community Development, MaRS) and Craig Asano (founder and Executive Director of the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada) kicked off the summit at 8:30 am, with Hon. Charles Sousa ringing the opening bell.

 

View Official Opening Speech: 

Honourable Charles Sousa, Endorses Canadian Crowdfunding Industry at 2016 Summit

 

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Amar Njjar (CEO, R2CROWD), Tim Jackson (EVP Corporate and Community Development, MaRS), Hon. Charles Sousa (Ontario Finance Minister) and Craig Asano (Founder & Executive Director, NCFA Canada)

 

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Hon. Charles Sousa with the media.

Following the official opening came the Summit's keynote speaker Bill Morrow (founder and CEO, Angels Den), who discussed what it takes for a crowdfunding ecosystem to thrive in a country, and not just exist based on over 8 years of insight from having operated Angels Den in the UK and internationally. There is an implied assumption from most crowdfunding platforms that startups "just" need cash to get up and running... but cash is only #3 on most angel investor's list of important factors to consider, after passion / excitement about the company, and altruism.

Bill Morrow head of Europe and Asia's largest angel network, said "I was so impressed with the vibrant ecosystem that we have entered into negotiations with a partner firm and two professional service providers with a view to setting up Angels Den in Canada. Hopefully we will see Angels Den return next year as a full member of The Association and playing a fuller part in the running of this amazing event"

Following the keynote were a number of shorter TEDx-style talks and presentation on diverse topics covering Canadian and global market data and trends; the sharing economy; trust and transparency in the internet of money, diversity in crowdfunding; P2P lending and the future of banking; virtual reality; equity crowdfunding's impact on private and public markets, and marketing to millennials.

CF160302-219Teri Kirk (CEO, Funding Portal)

CF160302-248Ted Graham (Innovation Leader, PwC)
CF160302-271Bernd Petak (Founder and CEO, Finstripe) CF160302-286Amy Cortese (founder and editor, Locavesting)

CF160302-299Cato Pastoll (Co-founder and CEO, Lending Loop)

 CF160302-343Christopher Charlesworth (Co-founder and CEO, HiveWire)
CF160302-357Peter-Paul Van Hoeken (CEO, Frontfundr)

 

CF160302-366Sophie Nicolaou (Head of Marketing and PR, Lending Arch) and Ryan Laidlaw (FinTexpert, Lending Arch)

Next came the much-anticipated panel " Fireside Chat with Crowdfunding Rockstars" moderated by Mark Evans (Principal, ME Consulting) with panelists Daniel Blumer (CEO/Co-founder, Revol Technologies Inc, whose raised over $2.6 million USD for their Revols product - Bluetooth earphones that mold to the contours of a person’s ears, earning them the new record for Canada's top crowdfunding campaign; Behrouz Hariri (Co-founder, Smart Nora), raised more than $1 million USD in pre-orders for Nora, the non-invasive and smart snoring solution and Judeh Siwady (CEO/Founder, Spacefy), who recently raised capital through equity crowdfunding for Spacefy, which gives creators access to unique and under-utilized spaces while allowing space owners to further monetize their spaces.

 

Finally, the morning session wrapped up with an industry experts panel on Regulatory Perspectives: What to Expect in 2016 with securities lawyers, the Ontario Securities Commission, an founders of leading crowdfunding and crowdlending platforms moderated by Alixe Cormick (President, Venture Law Corporation) and panelists Daryl Hatton (CEO, Sponsifi & FundRazr), Monica Kowal (Vice Chair, Ontario Securities Commission), Jason Saltzman (Partner, Dentons Canada LLP) and Kevin Sandhu (CEO, Grow).

 

Then comes the mad dash to the buffet tables as lunch time rolls around! Several guests avoided the lines by going to R2CROWD's Lunch & Learn in the green room: How to Achieve 8-12% Annual ROI in Commercial Real Estate through Crowdfunding.

 

For Profit BusinessCast 'Live at the Summit' podcast --> Listen Now

Hosted by Robert Gold

 

After lunch, the crowd chose from 5 concurrent afternoon streams of workshops, panel sessions and live pitching. Here's a look at the highlights from the Main Stage (Auditorium B+C), where the following sessions took place:

  • 1:15 PM: The Emergence of Fintech in Lending: What it Means for Banks and Main St. [Moderator: Sarah Efron (Small Business Editor, The Globe and Mail), Panelists Kevin Clark (Co-founder and President, Lendified), Tabitha Creighton (CEO/Co-founder, InvestNextDoor) and Jeff Mitelman (CEO, Thinking Capital)]

 

 

  • 2:00 PM: Investment Strategies: Why Leading Angels/VCs are Joining the Crowd [Moderator: Sunil Sharma (Managing Partner, Extreme Venture Partners), Panelists Janet Bannister (General Partner, Real Ventures), Karen Grant (Executive Director, Angel One Investor Network) and Jim Orlando (Managing Director, OMERS Ventures)]

 

 

  • 3:00 PM: Market Makers: Equity Crowdfunding's Impact on the Innovation Economy [Moderator: Megan Cornell (Founder & CEO, Momentum Law), Panelists Sandi K. Gilbert (Founder & CEO, SeedUps Canada), Rubsun Ho (CEO, Crowdmatrix) and David Shore (Director, Investor Relations, OurCrowd)]

 

 

  • 3:45 PM: Hot Vertical: Real Estate Crowdfunding, an Emerging New Asset Class [Moderator: Brooks Barnett (Manager, Government Relations & Policy, Real Property Association of Canada), Panelists Ann Kaplan (CEO, Brix RCR), Amar Nijjar (President & CEO, R2Crowd) and Hitesh Rathod (CEO, NexusCrowd Inc.)]

 

 

 

 

Highlights from the Tactical Stream (Auditorium A), where the following sessions took place:

  • 1:15 PM: Big Data Investment Trends and Digital Finance Technologies [Moderator: Asier Ania (Co-Founder, HiveWire), Panelists Steven Dryall (Principal, Incipient Technologies), Craig O'Neill (CEO & Director, Versapay) and Angela Wang (Associate Director, Big Data, North America, UnionPay Smart)]

 

 

  • 2:00 PM: How Dubuc Motors, Canada's first EV car, is raising $25M in the US? [Moderator: Carlos Pinto Lobo (Chief Compliance Officer), Panelists Alixe Cormick (President, Venture Law Corporation), Mario Dubuc (Co-Founder & CEO, Dubuc Motors) and Mike Kakogiannakis (Co-Founder & COO, Dubuc Motors)]

 

 

  • 3:00 PM: The Marketplace Lending Opportunity for Banks and Institutional Investors [Moderator: Dr. Sean Geobey (Assistant Professor at the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, University of Waterloo), Panelists Jeff Brown (Vice President, Community Banking, Meridian), Tabitha Creighton (CEO/Co-founder, InvestNextDoor) and Colin Kilgour (Co-founder, First Marketplace Group)]

 

 

  • 3:45 PM: Making the Most of Every Dollar Raised: Financial Planning for SMEs [Presenters: Darryl Irwin (Tax Partner, PwC) and Alan Lio (Senior Tax Associate, PwC)]

 

 

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Big Data Investment Trends and Digital Finance Technologies panel.

 

 

 

Highlights from the Tactical Stream (CR2), where the following sessions took place:

  • 1:15 PM: Crowdfunding Best Practices: Pre, Launch, and Post Campaign [Moderator: Christopher Charlesworth (Co-Founder and CEO, HiveWire), Panelists Bret Conkin (Founder & CEO, Crowdfund Suite), Khierstyn Ross (Founder & Podcaster, Uncut Entrepreneur) and Jaimy Warner (Executive Director, Raindance Canada)]

 

 

  • 2:00 PM: The Longest 40 Days of Your Life: AMA (Ask Me Anything) [Moderator: Sunny Shao (Advisor, National Crowdfunding Association of Canada), Panelists Gareth Everard (Co-founder, Rockwell Razors), Viktor Grabovskyy (Co-founder, Forever Spin) and Corey Herscu (President, Herscu and Goldsilver)]

 

 

  • 3:00 PM: Protecting Yourself, Your Business and Your Crowdfunding Investment [Moderator: Jeff Musson (President, Dynamite Network), Panelists Chantal Cipriano (Lawyer / Manager, Compliance, BMO Private Banking), Marvin Huberman (Barrister, Mediator, Arbitrator, Marvin J. Huberman) and Monica Tigleanu (Financial Institutions Underwriter, AIG)

 

 

  • 3:45 PM: Community Capital and Locavesting [Moderator: Amy Cortese (Founder & Editor, Locavesting), Panelists Jennifer Bryan (Community Investment and Marketing Manager, SolarShare), Trish Nixon (Director of Investments, CoPower) and Adam Spence (Founder & Director, The SVX, MaRS Centre for Impact Investing)

 

 

 

Highlights from the Meet & Greet (Green Room), where the following sessions took place:

  • 1:15 PM: Meet & Greet with Dentons: Crowd Financing Options for Start-Ups [Kris Miks (Senior Associate, Denton and Jason Saltzman (Partner, Dentons Canada LLP)]
  • 2:00 PM: Presentation & Discussion by OSC: Ontario's Crowdfunding Regime (MI 45-108) [Maria Carelli (Senior Accountant, Compliance and Registrant Regulations, Ontario Securities Commission) and Rick Whiler (Senior Accountant, Corporate Finance Branch, Ontario Securities Commission)]
  • 3:00 PM: Hosted by NexusCrowd: Crowdfunding Real Estate Primer for Accredited Investors [Hitesh Rathod (CEO, NexusCrowd Inc.)]

 

Meet & Greet with Dentons: Crowd Financing Options for Startups

Meet & Greet with Dentons: Crowd Financing Options for Startups

Meet & Greet with the Ontario Securities Commission.

Meet & Greet with the Ontario Securities Commission.

 

And last but certainly not least, highlights from the Live Pitching stream (CR3) where 12 startups pitched in front of a panel of judges and the crowd for "Front of the Line" Golden Tickets to CBC Dragon's Den auditions.

  • 1:15 PM: Live Pitching Live Pitching 1 – Session Lead: DMZ (post-revenue)
    Pitchers: Pinnguaq (Ryan Oliver), SmartHalo (Xavier Peich), Riipen (Richard Tuck)
    Judges: Bill Morrow (Angels Den), Sherif El-­Tawil (DMZ), Kathryn Wortsman (MaRS)
  • 2:00 PM: Live Pitching Live Pitching 2 – Session Lead: Founder Institute (pre-revenue)
    Pitchers: Vizwik (Simon Gauvin), Flipd (Andres Moreno), Rna Diagnostics (John Connolly)
    Judges: Kamal Hussein (IncMind), Dr. Marat Ressin (YEDInstitute), Russell Samuels (Whitecap Venture Partners)
  • 3:00 PM: Live Pitching Live Pitching 3 – Session Lead: Startup Canada (post-revenue)
    Pitchers: Stashbelt (Jonah Brotman), Comfable (Neda Ghazi), The Sharing Depot (Ryan Dyment)
    Judges: Sean Burke (Frontfundr), Jim Orlando (OMERS Ventures), Sean Wise (Ryerson University)
  • 3:45 PM: Live Pitching Live Pitching 4 – Session Lead: MaRS (3:45 PM pre-revenue)
    Pitchers: Yirego (Megan Savage), NERv (Amr Abdelgawad), Eye-LIVE (Murray McKercher and David Baker)
    Judges: Ben Zlotnick (INcubes), Mark Skapinker (Brightspark Ventures), Anthony Lipschitz (Thinking Capital)

 

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Richard Tuck pitching Riipen.

 

Ryan Oliver pitching Pinnguaq.

Ryan Oliver pitching Pinnguaq.

 

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Xavier Peich wins the first live pitching session with SmartHalo.

 

 

 

Simon Gauvin pitching Vizwik.

Simon Gauvin pitching Vizwik.

 

Andres Moreno pitching Flipd.

Andres Moreno pitching Flipd.

 

John Connolly wins the 2nd live pitching session with Rna Diagnostics.

John Connolly wins the 2nd live pitching session with Rna Diagnostics.

 

 

 

Jonah Brotman pitching Stashbelt.

Jonah Brotman pitching Stashbelt.

 

Neda Ghazi pitching QTempSmart, Comfable's flagship product.

Neda Ghazi pitching QTempSmart, Comfable's flagship product.

 

Ryan Dyment wins the 3rd live pitching session with The Sharing Depot.

Ryan Dyment wins the 3rd live pitching session with The Sharing Depot.

 

 

 

Amr Abdelgawad pitches NERv Technology.

Amr Abdelgawad pitches NERv Technology.

 

Murray McKercher and David Baker pitch Eye-LIVE Media.

Murray McKercher and David Baker pitch Eye-LIVE Media.

 

Megan Savage wins the final live pitching session with the Drumi, Yirego's flagship product.

Megan Savage wins the final live pitching session with the Drumi, Yirego's flagship product.

 

 

The crowd gathers back in the main auditorium for the closing panel, closing keynote and closing remarks for the day, including a power panel of experts discussing the future of crowdfunding and the democratization of finance moderated by Erin Bury; a look at P2P decentralized networks by Anthony Di Iorio, who raised over $18 million for his Ethereum crowdfunding campaign (the 5th largest crowdfunding campaign in the world, also partially funded by bitcoin); and finally closing remarks by Adam Nanjee, Head of Fintech at MaRS.

 

 

 

Big thanks to everyone who attended this year's Summit and all the sponsors, speakers, community partners and volunteers who helped make this event possible! We hope to see you again in 2017!

 

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View the #CCS2016 event website

View the #CCS2016 photo album

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR #CCS2016 SPONSORS AND PARTNERS:

All Sponsors

All Partners

 

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 1300+ 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 About Us or visit ncfacanada.org.

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March 9, 2016   Entrepreneurs, Start-ups, Small Businesses, Fintech and Networking Events, NCFA Blog, Stories   No comments

Congratulations to the #CCS2016 live pitch winners!

#CCS2016 Blog | March 9, 2016

SmartHalo, Rna Diagnostics, The Sharing Depot and Yirego receive "Front of the Line" Golden Tickets to CBC Dragon's Den audition

On Thursday, March 3, 12 finalists pitched their startups in front of a panel of judges and the crowd at the 2016 Canadian Crowdfunding Summit (#CCS2016) at MaRS Discovery District. 4 out of the 12 finalists won a “Front of the Line” Golden Ticket to the Toronto audition of CBC Dragon’s Den, guaranteeing them a chance to pitch in front of the infamous dragons! Winners will also receive a copy of Mark Evans book Storytelling for Startups, as well as one hour of free consulting with Mark himself.

The winners of each session are as follows: SmartHalo (Xavier Peich), Rna Diagnostics (John Connolly), The Sharing Depot (Ryan Dyment) and Yirego (Megan Savage).

Xavier Peich of SmartHalo

Xavier Peich of SmartHalo

John Connolly of Rna Diagnostics

John Connolly of Rna Diagnostics

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Ryan Dyment of The Sharing Depot

Megan Savage of Yirego

Megan Savage of Yirego

Each pitch session was led by a #CCS2016 startup ecosystem partner, with the following schedule and judging panel:

  1. Live Pitching Live Pitching 1 – Session Lead: DMZ (1:15 PM post-revenue)
    • Pitchers: Pinnguaq (Ryan Oliver), SmartHalo (Xavier Peich), Riipen (Richard Tuck)
    • Judges: Bill Morrow (Angels Den), Sherif El­Tawil (DMZ), Kathryn Wortsman (MaRS)
  2. Live Pitching Live Pitching 2 – Session Lead: Founder Institute (2:00 PM pre-revenue)
    • Pitchers: Vizwik (Simon Gauvin), Flipd (Andres Moreno), Rna Diagnostics (John Connolly)
    • Judges: Kamal Hussein (IncMind), Dr. Marat Ressin (YEDInstitute), Russell Samuels (Whitecap Venture Partners)
  3. Live Pitching Live Pitching 3 – Session Lead: Startup Canada (3:00 PM post-revenue)
    • Pitchers: Stashbelt (Jonah Brotman), Comfable (Neda Ghazi), The Sharing Depot (Ryan Dyment)
    • Judges: Sean Burke (Frontfundr), Jim Orlando (OMERS Ventures), Sean Wise (Ryerson University)
  4. Live Pitching Live Pitching 4 – Session Lead: MaRS (3:45 PM pre-revenue)
    • Pitchers: Yirego (Megan Savage), NERv (Amr Abdelgawad), Eye-LIVE (Murray McKercher and David Baker)
    • Judges: Ben Zlotnick (INcubes), Mark Skapinker (Brightspark Ventures), Anthony Lipschitz (Thinking Capital)

Congratulations to the winners and all the companies who pitched! We look forward to #CCS2017! Click here to view the full #CCS2016 photo album.

 

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 1300+ 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 About Us or visit ncfacanada.org.

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March 8, 2016   Fintech and Networking Events, Innovation and Resources, NCFA Supported Events   No comments

Ottawa Event (April 5-6, 2016) The 15th Annual RE$EARCH Money Conference

RE$EARCH MONEY | March 8, 2016

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The 15th Annual RE$EARCH Money Conference

Reversing the Trend: Taking Canada’s Innovation Game to the Next Level

5-6 April 2016

Sheraton Ottawa Hotel

 

The Science, Technology and Innovation Council (STIC) lays out a bleak picture of Canada’s STI performance in its fourth biannual public report, State of the Nation Report 2014. One grave concern is Canada’s poor record of growing sustainable, large firms in knowledge-based industry sectors.

Learn more about the STIC report in a special feature by RE$EARCH MONEY.

The 15th annual RE$EARCH MONEY conference will focus on how to fix Canada’s innovation problem. Innovation is a business strategy for identifying needs and selling products and services to meet those needs better than anyone else. Will the first budget of the new federal government provide any new thinking or investment that might reverse Canada’s decline in knowledge-based commerce? What are the key areas that governments must focus on in order to help companies scale and compete in global markets?

Confirmed Speakers Include:

  • Lisa Crossley (CEO, Moseda Technologies Inc.)
  • Karna Gupta (President & CEO, ITAC)
  • Ted Hewitt (President, SSHRC)
  • Pat Horgan (VP, Manufacturing, Development & Operations, IBM Canada)
  • Kenneth Knox (Chair, Science, Technology, & Innovation Council)
  • Amer Matar (CTO, Moneris)
  • Mario Pinto (President, NSERC)
  • Carl Rodrigues (President & CEO, SOTI)
  • Matthew Saunders (President & Managing Director, Ryerson Futures)
  • Allison B. Sekuler (Associate VP & Dean, Graduate Studies, McMaster University)
  • Alison Sunstrum (CEO, GrowSafe Systems Ltd.)
  • David Watters (CEO, Global Advantage)

Following the close of the conference, business leaders, policy makers, and other stakeholders will engage with one another in order to create a constructive dialogue on how to improve Canada's ability to grow large, sustainable Canadian firms (invite-only session).

Don’t miss Canada’s premier innovation policy conference. Click here to learn more and to register, or email Rebecca Melville (rebecca@impactg.com) for more information. Use our partner code AP2016 for a 10% discount.

>>> Click here to register <<<

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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 1300+ 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 About Us or visit ncfacanada.org.

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February 28, 2016   Entrepreneurs, Start-ups, Small Businesses, Equity Crowdfunding, Alternative Funding, Fintech and Networking Events, Fundraising, Investing, Trading, Innovation and Resources, NCFA In The News, P2P, Lending, Digital Bonds, BNPL, Private Credit   No comments

Is Crowdfunding Turning Contagious?

Huffpost Business | Ian Khan |  Feb 26, 2016

With so much innovation going on around us, funding the cause is one of the top priorities of any entrepreneur. With popular crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo and many others, entrepreneurs, inventors, designers and fanatical believers of their products have created a new niche of raising funds to make their dreams a reality. As opposed to traditional financing and even newer financial models that include Venture capital, this is the world of crowdfunding.

On Kickstarter alone, over $2 Billion worth of pledges have been received for over 100,000 successfully funded projects. On Indiegogo, another popular crowdfunding platform, more than $800 million has been raised. One of their most popular campaigns includes Flow Hive that raised more than $12 Million from 37.000 backers in more than 15 countries.

Let's take a step back and think about the real success of the crowdfunding industry. It has its own challenges. While we can speak about the glory and the wins, keep in perspective that these successful campaigns form less than 10 percent of the total campaigns on some of these platforms. The "democratization of crowdfunding" is definitely a phenomenon that is happening right now, but whether it is a good or a bad thing needs to be decided. Maybe this will help!

Crowdfunding is really the model that has existed for years and has been utilized by the likes of charities and nonprofits for decades. Dependent on the collection of funds form a large number of people to fund an initiative or a goal, now the industry has reached a stage where full blown products have been launched using the concept. Crowdfunders are most of the times a recipient of some kind of a return such as a mention on the website, a thank you note or an acknowledgment. Many times the level of return increases to being able to receive a product or multiple products with incentives as the stakes get higher.

View:

My most favorite part about crowdfunding is the pure level of innovation it is fueling. By eliminating the need to go through a complicated financial cycle to make a product or an idea come to life, it has opened the doors to everyone that really believes in the value they can offer. Some of the most successful crowdfunding campaigns has raised amounts as high as $109 Million. Check out this list of some popular campaigns.

Despite the success and opportunity presented by crowdfunding, the industry still faces multiple challenges. These are at regulatory, process, and industry level. Crowdfunding is a massive disruptor and can dramatically change the banking industry as it hits the mainstream. How will that affect how Banks operate and manage their relationship switch businesses this can also have global impacts as banks work across borders and in multiple countries and regions. There are also risks associated with default and business failure. According to IOSCO Market Intelligence, start up businesses in some circumstances have 50% chance of failing within the first 5 years. The industry also needs governance and thought leadership and many venues for this are opening up.

In the next week, Canadian crowdfunding experts will converge at the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada conference, one of the few dedicated crowdfunding events in the region, to discuss how the industry functions, the challenges and opportunities. What will be interesting to see are the levels of discussions that will take place and how regulators, providers and experts discuss and tackle the challenge of the industry at large. Is crowdfunding becoming a phenomenon more than just a financing scheme ? It definitely is !

Continue to the full article --> here

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LAST CHANCE To Register for March 3

85% SOLD - Don't miss this 1 a year opportunity!

REGISTER NOW with Eventbrite 15% Promo code = get_funded

 

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 1300+ 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 About Us or visit ncfacanada.org.

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