Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: NCFA In The News
‘Body builder’ seeks research bucks
The Star Phoenix by Morgan Modjeski | October 16, 2015
A University of Saskatchewan medical school grad has turned to crowdfunding for a research-filled year he hopes will further his dream of building - and rebuilding - the human body.
Adam McInnes, who graduated in June, is interested in a career in regenerative medicine, but because the field is so new, he's stuck in limbo when it comes to cash for research.
"I'm kind of falling into this weird crack where I want to do observerships, but there's no funding," he said.
Not a student or a grad student, McInnes said he's exhausted "every avenue" to secure funding in Canada, the U.S. and Great Britain that is available to him and is now asking people over the Internet to give him more than $45,000 for his cause through an Indiegogo campaign.
Related: 3 Ways to Use Crowdfunding for Market Research
"I think the general public has a huge interest in this," he said, noting he'll be bringing the knowledge back to Saskatchewan.
"They've heard about it in all kinds of media and they see these really cool stories coming out, and they're wondering: 'Where it is? When is it going to happen and when is this stuff going to be available to us?' " McInnes said. "With that alone, I think there's a lot of potential for people to get really interested in something like this and be willing to put some funding towards me."
McInnes has received offers to study at both the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh and the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, noting money raised would be used to cover minimum funding requirements outlined by the programs, travel costs, living expenses and trips to relevant conferences such as the World Conference on Regenerative Medicine in Leipzig, Germany.
Related: Crowdfunding university research and tech commercialization: 6 sites that are doing it
Dr. Stephen Badylak, a professor in the U of P department of surgery and a deputy director at the McGowan Institute, in an emailed statement called his McInnes' project "a cool idea" that "shows initiative," and wished him luck. Suzanne Paschall, the Saskatchewan ambassador for the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada, said although the method has been used to further projects such as independent movies or startup companies in the past, using crowdfunding for research is becoming more common.
"Crowdfunding exists in the not-for-profit world, in the for-profit world (and) in the education world," said Paschall.
"There's all kinds of people out there crowdfunding for all different kinds of things," she said in a phone interview.
"It's a market for people to do whatever it is they want to do to, and essentially, if you can raise money for it, you can do it."
After examining McInnes' crowdfunding campaign, she said he will need a "pretty-big crowd," noting for him - like a lot of professionals - coming off as sincere and passionate in their promotional material can be difficult.
"People who know you and love you are going to support you regardless," she said. "But for total strangers out there in the world, it does matter because they're going to chose what campaigns they support based on what they learn about you in the video and how they feel about you."
Related: 7 Ways to Craft a Kickass Crowdfunding Video
Paschall said McInnes' campaign will want to focus on the local Saskatoon and Saskatchewan community as the campaign may be seen as a "nice to do, as opposed to a have to do."
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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 1100+ 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.
Startup Canada Ecosystem Expert Panel Meets with Government to Prioritize High-Growth Business
Startup Canada | September 18, 2015
OTTAWA, ON, September 18, 2015 | This week, the leading national non-governmental organizations that service the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem in Canada met with representatives from 14 Government of Canada departments to discuss gaps and inefficiencies in support, and opportunities to elevate success for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses in Canada.
“As Canada is slipping in global innovation and entrepreneurship rankings, there is an urgent need to focus on businesses scalability,” said Laura O’Blenis, Chair of the Startup Canada Ecosystem Expert Panel. “This means multi-year commitments from a federal government that works collaboratively with those that facilitate and represent key parts of the ecosystem on the ground. Together, by accelerating entrepreneur access to support, capital, tax incentives, procurement, global opportunities, and customers we can build an innovation-based economy.”
“There will be a learning curve for new Members of Parliament entering the House of Commons after the October 19 election on matters of entrepreneurship,” said Hélène Joncas, a board director at Startup Canada. “We need to ensure a healthy transition to prevent stagnation in innovation and business growth. Meeting with these government representatives is an important step in this process.”
The Startup Canada Ecosystem Expert Panel identified a number of priorities in areas of entrepreneurship, capital, infrastructure and education. These included filling skills gaps that enable entrepreneurs to reach new stages of growth, adding capacity to the market to take on more risk, and raising awareness of current government programs for entrepreneurs. The need for a national entrepreneur strategy was also discussed.
“The government needs to play a larger role in cultivating gazelles and unicorns – companies with valuations of $10-20 million and $1 billion or higher – in Canada,” said Joncas. “The organizations represented by the Startup Canada Ecosystem Expert Panel are working together, not in competition, to create the optimal environment for small business growth. With the government as a willing partner, we can accelerate entrepreneur connectivity to initiatives that will boost business growth.”
The Startup Canada Ecosystem Expert Panel’s collective constituency represents the majority of Canada’s GDP; with Startup Canada, the Canadian Association of University Research Parks, U-15, Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada, Mitacs, National Crowdfunding Association of Canada, CANARIE and Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters as its most active members.
Press Contact:
Kathryn Forrest
Communications and Marketing Manager, Startup Canada
613-627-0787 x106
About Startup Canada
Startup Canada is a grassroots network of entrepreneurs working together to build an environment for entrepreneurship in Canada. Through online platforms, grassroots Startup Communities and cross-sector initiatives, Startup Canada is advancing entrepreneurial momentum and a culture of entrepreneurship, as the voice of Canadian entrepreneurs. Learn more at startupcan.ca.
About the Startup Canada Ecosystem Expert Panel
The Startup Canada Ecosystem Expert Panel is composed of the leading national organizations advancing entrepreneurship, innovation and investment in Canada. This Expert Panel aims to advance Canada’s prosperity and competitiveness and further improve Canada’s position on the global entrepreneurship playing field by bringing together the key national, non-governmental organizations servicing the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem, initiating undertakings, and carrying out government relations and policy activities.
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 1100+ 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.
Is Culture Killing Equity Crowdfunding in Canada?
Crowdfund Insider by NCFA Ambassador Bret Conkin | August 17, 2015
American culture is known for celebrating “winners.” Canadians are known for being modest and risk averse. Could this cultural difference explain why Canadian equity crowdfunding appears to be relatively underdeveloped so far? We checked out the funds actually raised in 2015 and talked to some of Canada’s leading platforms and experts to find out.
Part I in the series takes a snapshot of market metrics and traction so far in Canada. Part II drills down on some of the causes and lessons to be learned from other more developed markets. Part III takes a specific look at the Real Estate sector.
A market snapshot – Canada vs. US
The equity crowdfunding market was pegged at $1.1B in 2014, growing by 182% from 2013, according to industry researchers Massolution. CNBC reported that Equity crowdfunding in the US in Q1 2015 rose to $662 M, driven by fast growing real estate platforms like Realty Mogul and FundRise.
So, given this explosive growth, one could reasonably expect that Canadian have tapped into this new funding phenomenon too. Have they?
If we straight-line project total 2015 capital raise in the US based on the CNBC estimate, we could project a number of $2.65B USD. With current growth, it could be much higher. With a Canuck population that roughly approximates 10% of the US, we could peg a relative estimate for Canadian capital raise at $265M USD in 2015, or $347M Cdn.
Related: Crowdfunding Market Grows 167% in 2014, Crowdfunding Platforms Raise $16.2 Billion
Narrowed to two calendar quarters, that total projects to $174M Cdn. While not scientific, these estimates are intended to shed some light. Of course there are other important traction indicators such as platform activity, deal flow and user growth, media coverage and the regulatory environment.
So how are we doing?
The Canadian market so far
As of August 14, there are currently 7 equity platforms operating in Canada that have or have had live offerings. (Note: not including debt platforms). The US market boasts dozens and dozens of equity platforms including those set up for intra-state use. Let’s segment the market into:
- Startup/SME,
- Later stage,
- Impact investing and
- Real Estate.
A) Startups/SMEs
A couple platforms are targeting early stage/SME ventures and both accredited investors and retail investors. SeedUps Canada (Calgary) launched early 2014 and Frontfundr (Vancouver) in Spring 2015.
SeedUps has 4 offerings live in early August with jumpOn!! Flyaways 25% funded to date ($31,250 of $125k target). A prior raise for JumpOn netted another $60k. On an encouraging note, more than 1500 users have registered including many investors.
Related: Certain Canadian securities regulators to adopt start-up crowdfunding exemptions
SeedUps also recently announced a raise for their platform, a walk the talk strategy completed very successfully in other markets. As Sandi Gilbert noted in a recent blog post flagging VCs, Angels and Investment Funds, “Why isn’t Canada embracing [crowdfunding].”
SeedUps CEO Sandi Gilbert comments indicate that culture is not the key barrier, “The space is very new in Canada – with SeedUps being the lone voice for early stage investment until recently. The Canadian public in general, isn’t even aware that they can invest in deals online. So – getting the word out is important.”
Frontfundr has 3 offerings live and claims $740k total invested to date. Only Guusto Gifts, via the Startup Exemption requirements requires a minimum threshold ($20k in this case), so the funds noted will likely reach the ventures. Of the $740k, most has been raised offline. Another 10 ventures are queued up in The Sector Lounge.
As Frontfundr CEO, Peter-Paul Van Hoeken echoed in a recent Globe & Mail piece, “Canada is conservative… It’s a process to create a crowdfunding market.” He added, “We don’t think the cultural difference is a primary factor.”
Related: Landscape changing in equity crowdfunding across Canada
Other platforms that have announced intent to launch in this space include CrowdMatrix, CrowdFuel, iCrowdX and CanaDragon.
Let’s sum that segment as roughly $1.5M raised. Not very much money has changed hands but considerable platform activity and user growth and interest is indicative of much more to come. Media coverage and industry events have accelerated too.
Join us at Western Canada's leading crowdfunding conference for innovative ventures & businesses (Equity, Debt, Rewards & Fintech)
B) Later stage ventures
The OCMX (Toronto) offers “institutional” crowdfunding for later stage ventures and has operated since 2009. InvestX/WaverlyIX launched a Private Equity platform late 2014 focused on Canadian and US investors. ECNCapital (Calgary) has been live for several years with their private capital network.
The OCMX claims to have raised nearly $30M in the first quarter on BNN. They did about $20M last year.
Some might say that what The OCMX is doing is more corporate finance or investment banking than “crowdfunding” often defined as small amounts raised from a large number of people online.
InvestX does not publish their metrics but of their 2 current deals – lyft has raised $402k of $604k and Spotify has raised $360k of $370k. However, based on communications InvestX appears to be allocated only a portion of these raises by their PE partners. There were a couple of earlier deals this year, as well.
C) Impact Investing
SVX, Social Venture Exchange, launched early 2014 and targets accredited impact investors. SVX claims to have “mobilized” $3.5M in impact investments from over 100 investors for 26 impact ventures and funds in Ontario. SVX recently announced expansion into Quebec.
Backed by an impressive list of partners including MaRS, TMX, RBC and The Rockefeller Foundation, expect further regional expansion. With the ability to tap the philanthropic and profit levers of Canadian culture, the future for SVX appears bright.
D) Real Estate
Open Avenue (Toronto) has been live since 2014 with capital raised to date not disclosed. This sector will be covered in Part III of the series.
In Summary
Defining what is “equity crowdfunding” and what should be counted is one of the challenges in assessing market size. As Craig Asano, Executive Director, National Crowdfunding Association of Canada, states, “The challenge is the definition of what’s included (and what’s not) in the aggregate count. I think platforms/transactions that are openly raising funding under the equity crowdfunding banner should be counted.”
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About the Author
Bret Conkin is the Founder of CrowdfundSuite, a CrowdInvesting and Crowdfunding Consultancy. CrowdfundSuite provides platform development and other expert services to help organizations profit from the new Crowd Economy. Bret is an Ambassador to the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada and a former executive with FundRazr. He has founded and collaborated on multiple tech start-upsincluding Canada’s first Crowdfunding platform Fundfindr launched in 2008.
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 1100+ 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.
New crowdfunding rules open doors for companies and investors
The Globe and Mail | Brenda Bouw | Jul 17, 2015
Canadian startups are beginning to tap a wider pool of investors thanks to a complex, changing set of regulations around equity crowdfunding, the fast-growing form of financing that allows companies to raise money online.
A handful of provinces across the country have either rolled out or are working on new rules that make it easier for everyday investors to grab a piece of a promising project or venture.
Until recently, only accredited investors such as institutions and high-net worth individuals could get in on these private deals. Today, the opportunities are being opened up to all investors, with restrictions on how much they can put down, as well as limits on what the company can raise.
As a result of the rule changes (some of which are still in the works in provinces such as Ontario), more equity crowdfunding portals are popping up to serve what they hope will be a steady stream of demand for Canadians looking to make money through these alternative investments.
“It’s a new asset class,” said Craig Asano, executive director of the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA). “These markets are growing exponentially globally.”
Equity crowdfunding alone grew by 182 per cent to $1.1-billion (U.S.) worldwide in 2014, compared to a year earlier, according to industry research and consulting firm Massolution.
Unlike regular crowdfunding, where people donate cash to help get a project off the ground, equity crowdfunding allows investors to buy a stake in the venture and hopefully see some profit. The concept may sound simple, but the changes in Canada involve a complicated set of new and proposed regulations that can vary by province, each with its own securities regulator.
There are two types of rules in the works in Canada right now: The startup exemption, which was approved in May by six provinces; and the crowdfunding exemption, the latter of which is being driven by Ontario, and is still in the proposal stage.
The startup exemption has been adopted by B.C., Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. It allows companies with head offices in these provinces to raise up to $500,000 per year – but no more than $250,000 in one offering. Individual investments are capped at $1,500 per deal.
The crowdfunding exemption Ontario has on the table is more broad, allowing for a maximum of $1.5-million to be raised each year, with a $2,500 ceiling for individual investors per deal, to a maximum of $10,000 a year. Ontario also wants crowdfunding portals to be registered with securities regulators as dealers, which is not required under the other provinces’ crowdfunding model.
View:
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FrontFundr kick-starts equity crowdfunding in B.C.
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Securities Crowdfunding Breakthrough
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OSC releases 2014-2015 Corporate Finance Branch Annual Report
“We think those limits are appropriate for our market,” said Monica Kowal, vice chair at the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). The OSC plans to deliver its proposal to the Ontario finance minister for approval this fall.
Ontario is working with regulators in some of the other provinces behind the startup exemption to see if their regulations can co-exist.
FrontFundr is among the first platforms to take advantage of the startup exemption from its home province of B.C. It launched in May and started off raising money for Guusto, a mobile gifting app that lets users send a gift, like a restaurant coupon or bottle of wine, to others. The offering allows investors to put in between $500 and $1,500 into the venture.
“It’s a great opportunity to unlock value in Canadian companies and attract investors from around the world,” FrontFundr chief executive Peter-Paul Van Hoeken said of the new startup exemption.
Even though the rules have changed, Mr. Van Hoeken said companies must still actively seek out investors and educate them about equity crowdfunding.
“Now that we have rules in Canada doesn’t mean we have crowdfunding in Canada,” he said. “Canada is conservative. It’s not like everyone is knocking on our door saying, ‘This is great. This is what we’ve been waiting for!’ It’s a process.”
The education includes not only telling investors about the new rules, but also the risks.
“We as a platform are trying to make sure everyone understands the risks and rewards,” said Mr. Van Hoeken.
Experts say more than half of startups ventures fail, which is partly why regulators are putting restrictions on the equity crowdfunding sector as a way to protect investors.
Mr. Asano of the NCFA said his association is rolling out an equity crowdfunding education campaign across Canada to help investors better understand the model and its potential.
“We’re excited, but we understand the complexities – and opportunities – that crowdfunding holds,” he said.
Not all equity crowdfunding companies are planning to get involved in the new markets for everyday investors. Some cite the complex patchwork of regulators and regulations and prefer to stick with the larger, accredited investor market, which deals with higher sums.
Continue to the full article --> here
Register for Half-Day Toronto Equity Bootcamp on July 28 (more info)
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 1100+ 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.
Crowdvetting for crowdfunding? How donation sites get to the truth behind campaigns
GlobalNews | | Apr 13, 2015
TORONTO – Crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and GoFundme minimize risk and protect their users from fraud, in part, by relying on their users to find it themselves.
Frauds can happen – a recent post by the unidentified creator of a fundraiser for a South Carolina officer accused of shooting Walter Scott alleges the fundraiser was a fraud.
This person claimed in a Facebook post that the campaign was created to raise money for their car payments.
“Well the jig is up; IndieGoGo pulled my support and returned all donations. I admit I was trolling and was looking to get enough donations to pay my car off,” the person wrote on the Michael T. Slager Support Fund Facebook page.
“I never promised a single dime to Michael Slager and was careful not to say that I was. I was, as a gesture of fair play, going to seek a way to get him some small token of the donations (I was, of course, using his name and likeness).”
The owner of the Facebook page has not responded to requests for comment.
Fraudulent campaigns do happen but they are rare. A World Bank report on crowdfunding states “no successful fraud has been perpetrated through pledge-based crowdfunding platforms.”
The report goes on to say would-be fraudsters were thwarted by “the transparency inherent in crowdfunding.” Or – the large crowd of possible investors vetted the projects themselves.
“The crowd has been very successful at uncovering suspect campaigns,” Craig Asano, the executive director of the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada said in an interview.
Websites like Kickstarter rely in part on their users to vet the campaigns. The Michael T. Slager Support Fund reportedly only received about $1,100 in large part because of the criticism it faced.
View:
- In Crowdfunding, Who is Responsible for Preventing Fraud?
- Damned if we do, damned if we don't (LinkedIn post, Daryl Hatton, CEO FundRazr)
Asano said would-be investors should educate themselves about not only the project – making sure it’s legitimate, and realistic – but also the website, making sure it uses accepted methods of payment.
But crowdfunding sites also have their own means of verifying legitimate campaigns and pulling down campaigns deemed unrealistic or illegitimate.
Indiegogo has an algorithm which seeks out fraudulent claims and employs a Trust & Safety Team which combs the site for bad projects, getting rid of anything that doesn’t meet the site’s terms or is deemed to be potentially fraudulent.
Kickstarter doesn’t transfer any money until the project is completely funded. This, according to a spokesperson, helps keep people from being tricked into funding a fake project. But Kickstarter also, in part, relies on the community to vet the project.
“If I pledge to your project on day one and you turn out to be a bad actor, our Integrity Team has 60 days to look into the project, field user input,” Justin Kazmark, a spokesperson for Kickstarter said in a statement.
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 950+ 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.
Equity Crowdfunding Dominates Discussion at Canadian Crowdfunding Summit
Techvibes | by Donal Power | March 5, 2015
The fast-evolving field of equity crowdfunding was the hot topic at the inaugural Canadian Crowdfunding Summit in Toronto earlier this week. A capacity crowd of nearly 350 filled the MaRS auditorium for a full day of crowdfunding-related speakers, seminars and product pitches hosted by the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada.
Dominating the summit was discussion about the potential benefits and pitfalls of the emerging field of equity crowdfunding, which lets individual investors fund startup companies and small businesses online in return for equity.
Of the $5 billion global crowdfunding marketplace in 2013, Funding Portal CEO Teri Kirk estimated that equity crowdfunding comprised only 4% of the total, compared to 96% in non-equity crowdfunding that consist of product pre-sales, donations and rewards. However, with the global crowdfunding marketplace projected to grow to $96 billion by 2025, she noted that a 4% share still represents a huge opportunity, without even factoring in the accelerated growth anticipated for equity crowdfunding worldwide.
View the full article --> here
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Checkout some images of the SELL OUT CCS2015
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 950+ 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.
Crowdfunding has changed, but these three things you should know to succeed haven’t
Financial Post | Erin Bury | Mar 5, 2015
For entrepreneurs looking to finance their company, crowdfunding using platforms such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or Tilt has become one of the easiest ways to measure consumer demand and raise funds without turning to outside investors. The landscape has changed drastically since Kickstarter launched in the U.S. in 2009 (in Canada, 2013), so here’s what you need to know if you’re considering launching a crowdfunding campaign in 2015.
The first big change is just how common it has become for companies to turn to crowdfunding. More than 275,000 campaigns have been launched on Indiegogo since its debut in 2008, and more than 7,000 active campaigns at any given time. In 2014 alone, 3.3 million people contributed more than $500 million to projects on Kickstarter’s platform.
“Public awareness has grown in tandem with a strong domestic crowdfunding industry, and there is now a recognition by the traditional providers of capital that crowdfunding adds value by demonstrating clear market validation,” said Christopher Charlesworth, co-founder of HiveWire, a crowdfunding agency that builds custom crowdfunding platforms, and conducts industry research and consulting.
There has also been a big regulatory change in the crowdfunding landscape. Last week, the first Canadian Crowdfunding Summit was held in Toronto, organized by the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada. One item on the agenda was the upcoming changes to equity crowdfunding rules, which would allow companies to offer equity in exchange for financial backing. Saskatchewan already has a crowdfunding exemption that allows businesses to offer equity in exchange for financial support on crowdfunding platforms, and in March 2014 several regulatory bodies including the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) introduced plans to add a similar exemption for other provinces.
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 950+ 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.
