Pléiade Capital   By Emil Vanjaka

Last Monday night, the 26th of November 2012, a Crowdfund Night was organized at Notman House by Seeding Factory. The night was graciously led byHeri Rakotomalala and Bruno Rakotozafy.

  Crowdfunding has relatively recently become a rapidly growing phenomenon amongst the startup community with regard to financing projects, be it entrepreneurial initiatives, artistic endeavours, athletic goals or simply a well deserved vacation. This financing medium has opened a new world of opportunities and served to fill a gap that may have existed (and still might) within the industry in order to circumvent certain more rigid financing structures that can sometimes be out of reach or scope for many projects and startups.

  The Crowdfund Night thus rallied a number of established, as well as emerging players within the Montreal and Quebec crowdfunding community. Namely Plebs, Make a Champ and Fundo, to name a few. Mingling in the crowd, we also had the chance to talk to some amazing people from organizations such as Anges Québec and Fundica.

  The night began with an introduction and a brief yet enthusiastically optimistic keynote speech from the two organizers, Heri and Bruno, about the current state of crowdfunding around the world, as well as some of its most notable success stories. I believe that quite a few people were amazed and delighted at the opportunities that this financing platform has created and helped fund.

  Thereafter, three projects were presented to the crowd in order for everyone to vote on which they found most interesting. An amusing way of getting everyone in attendance more actively involved throughout the night, as the $5 entrance fee per person was thus redistributed to the projects on a per vote basis.

  The first to present their initiative was Make a Champ, which is essentially a crowdfunding platform aimed at athletes or sporting organizations. Put simply, it creates a space where anyone related to the world of sports can come tell their story and find financing for their projects, be it to fund a team trip, organize a tournament, etc. The two very charismatic founders, Michael Shpigelman and David Anchor, whom I had a chance to speak to prior to their presentation, briefly explained their project and then gave the floor to two members of the McGill figure skating team, which is currently running a fundraising campaign on the site in order to compete in an inter-university competition in January 2013 in Hamilton, Ontario.

  Second to present was Elza Kephard, an award winning film director, who spoke of her 2nd and latest feature film titled: Go in the Wilderness. She was looking at raising $30,000 to finish post-production and managed to find half that amount through her Indiegogo campaign which ended on November 14th. She is therefore looking at raising the other half of the required funds, to which she passionately attests to covering with her own credit cards if need be, though she somewhat jokingly admits may not be in the greatest shape. She is looking at presenting her film at the upcoming Ontario film festival.

  Last, but certainly not least, was Gabriel Menard, founder of Division Furtive, a company manufacturing and selling a dual linear movement watch. He himself designed the watch and assembles the pieces by hand. He is currently running a funding campaign on Kickstarter in order to raise the funds required for production. By contributing, you can reserve your limited edition Type 46 watch, as well as purchase his Type 40 model.

  Once the project presentations ended, the floor was given to Diana Yazidjian who presented the Invest Crowdfund Quebec initiative, as well as talked more generally about Invest (or Equity) Crowdfunding around the world. Her enthusiasm for the topic was more than evident. The energy in the crowd was palpable throughout her short yet lively presentation, as nods of agreement could be seen for almost every statement she made. One which I most agreed with was the opportunity that such a platform would create for startups by filling a noticeable financing gap. There are of course many regulatory and legislative concerns and barriers when it comes to setting the foundations for this initiative, yet its coming of is seen by many to be inevitable. Whether these financing options will emerge in Quebec and Canada at a relevant and opportunistic time is a question that the Invest Crowdfund Quebec initiative is pushing hard to provide an answer to.

  In this respect, we have, on our end, spoken to a number of angel investors and VCs regarding any perceived threat with the possible impending emergence of Investment Crowdfunding in Quebec. In general, and there have been some reservations, it seems to be seen as more of an opportunity for the entrepreneurial community as a whole rather than a threat to any individual businesses. The view that we have been given from the arguably limited community we have spoken to is that this form of crowdfunding can serve a sector of the industry which may not necessarily be targeted by, or which may not be targeting, the now available financing options and infrastructures. Even more, and as Diana seemed to mention, Investment Crowdfunding can be seen as an opportunity for VCs and angel investors to test certain waters, so to speak.

Leaving Notman House, I couldn’t help but feel optimistic not only about the future of crowdfunding in Quebec, but also, and more importantly, about the future of startups and the entrepreneurial community as a whole. The next few years, if not even months or weeks, will without a doubt hold many interesting and dynamic changes!

Continue to full article:  here

Monday, November 26, 2012 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM (EST)

“Crowdfunding is nothing new. What most people don't know is that the Statue of Liberty was crowdfunded. What's different now is that you have access to so many more people than you otherwise would”- Erica Labovisz, director of marketing indiegogo.com, 2011.

Interested in crowdfunding? Crowdfund Night brings together the new generation of creative artists, Montréal entrepreneurs and makers who want to bypass traditional ways of funding and use new platforms such as indiegogo, kickstarter (or Etsy and other platforms) to make their dreams come true.

Crowdfund Night schedule is in three parts:

* 6.00pm Market : dedicated space to showcase upcoming campaigns, sharing and telling your work. Take a "Entrepreneur, Artist, Maker" ticket and send an email to showcase your campaign!

* 6.45pm Presentation & demos: we will invite a key speaker to bring insights on making your crowdfunding campaign successful. Next, discover 3 inspiring campaigns currently featured on indiegogo, kickstarter or local platforms such as laplebe or fundo.ca, and how they are doing it.

* 7.30pm Community announcements: If you're looking for help, have jobs or upcoming campaigns, you are welcomed to announce it to the crowd

* 7.30pm to 9.00pm Talk to other crowdfunders, get valuable connections

Event tickets proceeds

In the spirit of crowdfunding, we will give all proceeds of the event to projects selected by the crowd.

Tweeting is sexy

Hashtag for the event: #CrowdfundNight . Pitch your project on Twitter in 140 chars with this hashtag to get feedback from other attendees during the event!

People to follow: @heri @brurakoto @seedingfactory

Venue

The event will take place in Notman House, a space dedicated to innovation, collaboration and entrepreneurs, and embodies the creative spirit of "Crowdfund Night".

Organizers

Heri Rakotomalala brings together Montreal's tech startup scene, with MTL NewTech, MontrealTechWatch, and many other initiatives. He is also a member of the Howl! arts collective.

Bruno Rakotozafy is a marketer and strategist, involved in different innovative projects, plus a crowdfunding evangelist. He is also a young investor who participated in the first successful worldwide equity crowdfunding deal for a biotech startup.
Sponsors

SeedingFactory is focused on innovative sources of funding.

Thanks to Notman House for hosting this event!

We are volunteering to organize this event, and at great costs in doing so. We are looking for additional sponsors to make this event possible, from organizations whowant to support the new generation of creative Montrealers. Contact the event organizer heri@madmedia.ca for more info

Go to Registration Page:  here

Innovating Investment with Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding investing is the innovative use of technology and social media to raise equity or debt from online portals to support early stage companies."

Our objective is to make Toronto the best place to retain & attract new companies through embracing innovation.

Register today to be part of this transformative discussion in exploring how can Crowdfunding benefit our city and our community ecosystems?

Are you up to the challenge?
Join us to discuss – How should Equity Crowdfunding be legalized in Ontario?

• Discover how over $113M of capital has been raised in over 21 crowdfunding portals, with a growth outlook of 300% projected in 2012
• Hear why the JOBS Act in the USA will accelerate the creation of new jobs?
• Learn how UK's CrowdCube is succeeding
• Participate in determining how crowdfunding should be legalized in Ontario
• Together – explore the benefits and risks of crowdfunding to stimulating economic growth in the City of Toronto, which includes the GTA

Technicity 2012
The Bram & Bluma Appel Salon, Toronto Reference Library
789 Yonge Street, 2nd Floor, Toronto, ON

Registration: 7:30 AM – 8:30 AM
Program: 8:30 AM – 12 Noon

For more information and to register:  here