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 and Networking Events
OSC Chair Opening Remarks and “Regulatory Vision for the Exempt Market” at the 2013 EMDA Exempt Market Conference
OSC | May 6, 2013
On May 2, 2013, the annual EMDA Exempt Market Conference was held at the National Club in Toronto’s financial district. It was a full day affair with a stellar line-up of exempt market industry leaders, providers and sponsors covering the key discussions and topics pertinent to the $28 billion that was raised in the exempt market in Ontario by non-investment funds in 2011 (out of a reported total distribution of approx. $87 billion). The Honourable Howard Wetston, Chair of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), kicked off the EMDA conference with a speech entitled “Regulatory Vision for the Exempt Market”. Highlights include:
Background
- Small and medium-sized companies play a significant role in driving economic growth. They represent more than half of Canada’s GDP yet struggle to raise capital when they need to grow.
- Regulators around the world are facing 3 challenges:
- Structural changes in markets
- Financial innovation and complexity
- Globalization
- Effective securities regulation must be balanced and address 3 fundamental objectives:
- Improve efficient access to capital for issuers
- Increase access to investment opportunities for investors
- Provide appropriate protection for investors
OSC’s approach to the Exempt Market
- Agree that something needs to be done
- Received more than 100 comment letters to their OSC’s Exempt Market Review consultation paper issued last December 2012
- Held 4 town hall sessions with approx 165 stakeholders to solicit feedback
- Consulted over 40 interested stakeholders including NCFA Canada and the EMDA
- Conducted an online survey to over 1,500 Canadian investors
On Crowdfunding
- OSC is considering and examining the issue of crowdfunding by asking 3 key questions:
- Would crowdfunding be an effective capital raising tool for companies?
- Are investors interested in these types of investment opportunities?
- Can we find ways to address investor protection concerns regarding the potentially high risk and illiquid nature of these types of investments?
- OSC’s objective is to attempt to harmonize Ontario’s exempt market regulatory regime, as appropriate, with other Canadian jurisdictions. The CSA has agreed to explore ways to achieve harmonization of these exemptions to the extent possible
- OSC is considering feedback from investors, issuers, dealers and other stakeholders and plans to publish a progress update of a possible new exemption in late summer.
Source: OSC speech "Regulatory Vision for the Exempt Market"
Montreal Workshop (May 15, 2013): Crowdfunding Basics
NCFA Canada Ambassadors | Posted by Seeding Factory | April 30, 2013
Event Details:
Montreal Workshop on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EDT)
A 2-hour workshop filled with how-tos & action plan for your next crowdfunding campaign
Looking to raise funds for your project, but find it a daunting task? Crowdfunding is really just classic community fundraising meeting new technology tools and is a great way to boost your project budget and profile. Yet, too many doers & makers don’t reach their funding goals due to lack of planning and attention to making the campaign successful. Because this new world of crowdfunding has a new set of rules, and requires new techniques and approaches.
This interactive workshop organized by Seeding Factory, in partnership with Spiegel Sohmer, will help you understand the crowdfunding space and identify key elements for crafting a comprehensive campaign.
Who should attend?
This workshop is for entrepreneurs, creatives, artists (filmmakers, musicians), hackers & makers, activists, inventors, designers, small business owners, and anyone who wants to make their idea a reality.
This workshop is a perfect preliminary to the "Advanced Workshop" organized by Seeding Factory & Spiegel Sohmer.
Finger food and beverages will be served.
>> Limited Capacity: 20 people <<
Register for the Workshop now
NCFA Canada Member Discount
(Limited # of discounted tickets. Email casano@ncfacanada for details)
Workshop Outline
This workshop will be fully bilingual, in French & English
You will walk away with a clear vision to start crafting your own campaign and the confidence to know how & why crowdfunding works.
Seeding Factory
Bruno Rakotozafy & Heri Rakotomalala are crowdfunding experts, founders of Montreal-based Seeding Factory. They've helped raised more than $100,000 last year for various projects (Build Notman House, J'accorde,...). They are also active evangelists with the critically acclaimed Crowdfund Night event series hosted every 4 months in Montreal.
Spiegel Sohmer
Founded in 1967, Spiegel Sohmer is a firm of attorneys offering state-of-the-art expertise to a diversified business clientele seeking solutions that are innovative, concrete, and pragmatic.
About NCFA Canada Ambassadors Program
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada Ambassadors Program is a nation-wide initiative aimed at recognizing, supporting and unifying crowdfunding leaders across the country through collaborative events, education and resource sharing.
Expand the range, reach and depth of your voice by interacting with a vibrant and growing network of crowdfunding experts across the country. Contact us at casano@ncfacanada.org to learn more...
Picatic Crowdfunding portal helps with Canada Day in New York
The StarPhoenix | Scott Larson April 25, 2013
Canadians are set to take over Central Park in New York with the help of some local Saskatchewan entrepreneurs.
The first ever Canada Day in New York - a free cultural, sport and music festival that will be held June 29 in Central Park - is being produced by Canada Day International, the organizers behind the hugely popular Canada Day in London.
Chad Molleken, originally from Regina, is the executive director of Canada Day International.
As well, the ticketing and crowdfunding site Picatic (founded in Saskatoon) will handle the crowdfunding part of the event.
"We want to try and encourage as many Canadians to come out and take over Central Park," said Picatic CEO and co-founder Jayesh Parmar.
Parmar and Molleken ended up getting in touch with each other about the project while both were in New York.
"(We) were sitting there in Midtown Manhattan having coffee and both of us are Saskie boys," Parmar said.
Canada Day International was looking to expand to another city, but wanted to make sure there were enough people willing to come to the event.
That's where Picatic comes in. If 5,000 people sign up for the event (which is free) it will proceed, along with a lot of corporate dollars, Parmar said.
He doesn't think they will have a problem reaching that number since there are more than 300,000 Canadians residing in New York, which could make this event one of largest celebrations of Canada Day outside of Canada.
The festivities, taking place at the Naumberg Bandshell in Central Park, include photo opportunities with members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a food festival featuring top Canadian chefs, yoga and a charitable street hockey tournament with NHL players and alumni.
Resources and Links:
Event Date:
Jun 29th, 2013
Naumberg Bandshell & SummerStage
Center Drive
New York City , New York
Schedule:
10:30 - Canada Day Opens
Ceremonial Drop of the puck
Hockey Games 1 - 4
Pancake Breakfast - Picnic in the Park
11:00 - Meet the Mounties - Canadian Community Tent & Cooking Demonstration 1
12:00 - First Nations Performance on Bandshell Stage & Cooking Demonstration 2
13:00 - Cooking Demonstration 3
13:00 - Meet the Mounties - TD Tent
13:30 - First Nations Performance on Bandshell Stage
14:00 - Cooking Demonstration 4 & Hockey Matches 5-8
15:00 - Cooking Demonstration 5 & Photo Opportunities with the Mounties on Bandshell Stage
16:45 - Hockey: Bronze Final
17:15 - Hockey: Gold and Silver Final
17:45 - Central Park Cup Presentation
18:00 - Closing of Bandshell and start of Canada Day Concert with Plenary Greetings
18:10 - First Nations Performance
18:30 - Brasstronaut
19:15 - Spirit of the West
20:00 - Joel Plaskett
* Please check the Canada Day International event website for updates
Continue to the full article --> here
CNBC Gets Into Crowd-Funding Business With ‘Crowd Rules’
The Hollywood Reporter | by Philiana Ng 4/22/2013
The cable news network's latest unscripted series relies on the studio audience to crown a winner.
Crowd-funding takes center stage on CNBC's new reality competition series Crowd Rules.
The New York-based series is the latest unscripted effort, debuting at 9 p.m. May 14, for the financial news network under the "CNBC Prime" umbrella. In each episode, three small businesses compete in front of an audience of 100 who vote to decide who wins the $50,000 grand prize. Jewelry designer Kendra Scott and NY1 anchor Pat Kiernan, along with an expert, provide advice and help the studio audience -- made up of MBA students, consumers and business owners -- vote on which company takes home the money.
"This idea is an intersection of two things that were going on in the last year. ... I was trying to figure a way how I could bring crowd-funding to a business reality show on television," executive producer Michael Davies told reporters Monday at NBCUniversal summer press day. "And secondly in researching another project, I stumbled across facts to do with small businesses in America: 54 percent of all GDP is generated by small family-owned businesses. Since the 1970s, they've been responsible for 66 percent of all employment."
Marrying those two factors seemed like potential for a new show that didn't exist. "There were TV shows with big businesses, there were TV shows that focused on commercial or people with new ideas for products or businesses," he said. "There were no TV shows for [the existing individually-owned businesses]."
While episodes won't specifically feature companies with similar areas, like three ice-cream businesses for instance, Davies noted that there are themes for each hour. For example, one installment features "legacy" companies, which are in the middle of transitioning into new hands.
Crowd Rules panelists emphasized the differences of their CNBC offering from that of ABC's Shark Tank, which focuses on the entrepreneur and whose bickering "sharks" are often the entertainment. Depending on who you believe, panelists Kiernan and Scott "agree 80 percent of the time" or "75 percent."
Continue to full article --> here
Event Toronto (May 7, 2013): MaRS Best Practices – The Crowdfunding Success Pattern
MaRS | April 17, 2013
MaRS Best Practices - The Crowdfunding Success Pattern
Tuesday, May 7, 2013 from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM (EDT)
Toronto, Ontario
Want to learn more about crowdfunding?
Designed for startup project leaders who leverage crowdfunding, this session examines how to maximize this funding model.
Modern social networking makes reaching out simple and virtually free. More people are taking up projects independently. A revolution is emerging in independent creativity and entrepreneurism. Crowdfunding is the foundation of this new economy.
RocketHub has narrowed down the formula for successful crowdfunding. Come hear about the factors that determine which projects achieve their goals (and which ones don't).
We’ll discuss how project leaders currently crowdfund their endeavours, and the "core patterns" that affect funding probability.
REGISTER NOW
MaRS Discovery District
MaRS (www.marsdd.com) is a large scale, mission driven innovation centre located in Toronto and networked across Ontario, focused on building Canada’s next generation of technology companies.
MaRS works closely with entrepreneurs to grow and scale their ventures into global market leaders in life sciences and health care, information, communications and entertainment technologies, cleantech, advanced materials and engineering, as well as innovative social purpose businesses.
Source: here
Event Halifax (June 19-20, 2013): Atlantic Venture Forum Conference
Atlantic Venture Forum | Posted April 15, 2013
JUNE 19 & 20, 2013 | THE WESTIN NOVA SCOTIAN | HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA
The Atlantic Venture Forum is the new annual event that brings together the best, boldest, most innovative emerging and established IT, Cleantech, and Life Sciences companies in Atlantic Canada. Atlantic Canada has the opportunity to celebrate and further establish its regional leadership in building a vibrant technology commercialization ecosystem of start-ups, high growth companies, venture capital funds, Angel investors, venture capital and other private equity firms, and incubation & tech transfer organizations.
Core Participants
The primary objective of the Atlantic Venture Forum is to build a world class annual financing and partnering forum for the highest potential emerging IT, Cleantech and Life Sciences companies to present their innovations and business models to the most active:
- Angel Investors
- Venture Capital Firms
- Other Private Equity & Venture Debt Firms
- University Technology Transfer Offices
- Technology Incubation & Commercialization Organizations
The Atlantic Venture Forum provides a highly focused networking opportunity for emerging tech companies to showcase their innovations to corporate strategics that can provide the following business development opportunities:
- Financing
- Partnering
- Market Access
- Demonstration Projects/Field Trials
- Technology Licensing
- Distribution Channels
- Lead/Reference Clients
- M&A Discussions
- Joint Venture Agreements
Register Now...
Conference Information
The Atlantic Venture Forum identifies, screens, and presents the highest potential IT, Cleantech and Life Sciences companies in the greater Atlantic Canada area to the region’s rapidly evolving investment and commercialization ecosystem.
The annual Atlantic Venture Forum is recognized across the eastern seaboard as a key hub of start-up IT, Cleantech and Life Sciences companies, attracting the attention of leading US and Canadian venture capital and other private equity firms. The Atlantic Venture Forum is a fixture on the calendars of the tech start-up, Angel investor, and VC communities and is a core driver of a vibrant entrepreneur, Angel and institutional investor ecosystem.
Additionally, the Atlantic Venture Forum will facilitate the following economic development outcomes:
- Provide emerging tech companies with a platform for moving onto the radar screens of Fortune 500 firms, which constitute the most vibrant M&A market for high growth technology companies.
- Provide an opportunity for emerging company founders to have direct personal contact with influencers and decision makers.
- Provide venture capital funds and other private equity investors with a comprehensive conduit into the Atlantic Canada opportunity landscape.
- Celebrate that Angel investors, VC`s and tech entrepreneurs are part of the same culture – not separate and distinct.
- Assist in addressing existing gaps in the funding continuum for high growth potential technology companies.
- Encourage high quality and increased volume of Angel and institutional financing deal flow that is consistent and competitive - competitive for both the entrepreneurs and their investors.
Register NOW
The Westin Nova Scotian
1181 Hollis Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 2P6
Canada
1181 Hollis Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 2P6
Canada
Take Advantage of Our Early Bird Pricing Effective Until May 1, 2013
For questions about online registration, please contact:
Chan Mean
Atlantic Venture Forum 2013
chan@criticalpathgroup.com
(587) 350-0804
Email Us
Chan Mean
Atlantic Venture Forum 2013
chan@criticalpathgroup.com
(587) 350-0804
Email Us
Resources and Links:
Atlantic Venture Forum (AVF) website
AVF Program Schedule
AVF Keynote Speakers
Vancouver Meetup (April 16, 2013): Crowdfunding – an introduction for nonprofits
NetSquared Fraser Valley | Posted by Bret Conkin | April 10, 2013
Tuesday, April 16, 2013 (7:00 PM to
Unit 1, 33820 S. Fraser Way, Abbotsford, BC (map)
TWO special guests:
Bret Conkin is the Marketing VP for FundRazr - Canada's largest crowdfunding platform. FundRazr.com has raised $20 million globally for personal campaigns and many non-profit FundRazrs including a $1 Million campaign for Save the Children. He has founded and collaborated on multiple tech start-ups and has been involved in Crowd-funding software since 2007. A past Board member of the Stanley Park Ecological Society, Bret is also the licensee for TEDxUBC. An often injured recreational athlete, Bret plays younger than his years. Bret can be followed socially on Twitter @bretconkin, on Linked In and Facebook /bretconkin.
David Vandas is a video/film director who has a passion for telling captivating stories. As a champion for the creative life he recently produced a side project that was nothing short of a full-on epic venture! WeMakeStuff - Volume 01 is a crowd-sourced, crowd-funded book publishing project that in just 4 weeks raised $41,090 CAD (using IndieGoGo). Over 1000 copies of this stunning book where distributed throughout Vancouver, showcasing one hundred creative people from the local area. To learn more about David visit his website: http://www.davidvandas.com
Resources:
FundRazar wins 2013 Vancouver Social Media Award
Source: here
