Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Online Funding / Investing Portals
GAME-CHANGERS: Crowdfunding real estate projects in the GTA
Mississauga.com | by Louie Rosella | June 7, 2017
NexusCrowd, a Canadian real estate crowdfunding platform, has a number of projects on the go through crowdfunding, including a $12 million real estate redevelopment project announced in 2015 boasting three properties — one in Mississauga.
Real estate crowdfunding is experiencing explosive levels of growth, particularly in Mississauga and across the GTA.
NexusCrowd, a Canadian real estate crowdfunding platform, has a number of projects on the go through crowdfunding, including a $12 million real estate redevelopment project announced in 2015 boasting three properties — one in Mississauga.
NexusCrowd bills itself as the first investment platform in Canada that provides investors with exclusive access to co-invest with established real estate developers and investors in real estate deals that have reached at least 50 per cent of the funding target.
See: Could Real Estate Crowdfunding Help Millennials Retire Sooner?
Just last fall, NexusCrowd announced it has closed its fourth real estate investment offering, raising $517,000. By partnering with Downing Street Realty Partners, NexusCrowd allowed accredited investors to participate in the development of a mixed-use commercial real estate project located in downtown Toronto.
“We have now raised over $2 million for four private real estate investments using our innovative investment platform,” said Hitesh Rathod, CEO of NexusCrowd. “Offering high-quality exclusive investment opportunities to our investors is our top priority and we are excited to announce that we are working on additional partnerships to further expand our product offering.”
NexusCrowd was part of what was hailed Canada’s first crowdfunded real estate project in fall 2015 and featured another Mississauga location.
“This type of deal is extremely exclusive,” said Rathod in a 2015 interview with The Mississauga News. “I think crowdfunding has huge potential. It just needs to be done the right way. You need to do due diligence. It can be a risky proposition and I work to mitigate risk.”
One of the three assets in the $12 million project is a 25,000-square-foot former pharmaceutical manufacturing facility at 951 Verbena Rd., in the area of Tomken and Britannia roads. The other two properties are industrial facilities in Etobicoke.
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 1500+ 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 at ncfacanada.org.
Is Your Crowdfunding Portal Ready For Your First FINRA Exam?
With the recent one-year anniversary of Crowdfunding under Regulation Crowdfunding on May 16th, business executives and compliance officers at registered Crowdfunding Portals (CFPs) should be actively preparing for their first regulatory examination by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
FINRA’s 2017 exam cycle will for the first time include the examination of CFPs. FINRA will conduct examinations of each CFP within the first twelve months of membership and no less than once every four years thereafter. FINRA has considerable oversight and authority over the daily activities of its members and periodically exams its members to ensure compliance with both the FINRA rules and the federal securities laws.
As a self-regulatory organization, FINRA has the power to take disciplinary action against its members which range from fines, censure to full expulsion. Last year, FINRA brought 1,434 disciplinary actions resulting in $176.3 million in fines, $27.9 million in restitution to harmed investors, suspended 727 individuals, barred 517 persons from the industry and either suspended or expelled 50 firms.
Last year we saw UFP, LLC, a once registered crowdfunding portal, expelled from FINRA membership. UFP’s expulsion was a decisive move by FINRA and sent a clear message to the crowdfunding industry. With upcoming examinations and a possibility of regulatory action against member firms and their associated persons, this is an important time for CFPs to ensure that they are meeting compliance standards. FINRA will assess each CFP’s business and the risks associated with those activities. The level of risks, and the CFP’s management of those risks is an important factor in FINRA determining how frequently the CFP will be examined going forward. After the first examination, CFP’s may be examined on a one, two, three or four-year cycle.
We expect that FINRA will be carefully examining how CFPs manage their day-to-day operations, ensure that their issuers are meeting the requirements of Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF), oversee issuer communications with investors on the portal, and develop their compliance infrastructure to address their specific business model and risks. The following are some key areas where we believe FINRA will focus its efforts.
See: Are Overseas Portals the Next Big Thing in US Equity Crowdfunding?
Gate Keeper Responsibilities.
CFPs are viewed by regulators as “gate-keepers” with the primary goal of protecting investors from fraudulent and noncompliant offerings. The FINRA rules require CFPs to have a reasonable basis for believing that issuers posting offerings on their portals comply with applicable regulatory requirements, including Regulation Crowdfunding, and require CFPs to deny access to issuers that present the potential for fraud or otherwise raise investor protection concerns.
We expect extensive consideration of how CFPs are evaluating prospective issuers, and the scope and manner of detecting issuer noncompliance. There is growing industry concern that Form C filings and other offering materials being made available to investors may fall short of Regulation Crowdfunding. This ranges from offerings failing to provide the appropriate financial disclosures to offering materials appearing not to provide adequate disclosure about the business and the offering, including non-generic risk factors. One emerging trend includes issuers filing screenshots of the offering’s deal page on the CFP with the SEC as the Form C. These filings are often illegible and at times appear to be thin on disclosure of material information. If the disclosures provided in the Form C are on their face inadequate or fail to meet basic requirements, we can expect FINRA to inquire into the effectiveness of the CFPs’ compliance procedures and controls.
Communications with the Public & Advertising
CFPs routinely communicate with the public to, among other things, market their services. All CFP communications or advertisements to the public, including written communications distributed to one or more investor, must be based on principles of fair dealing and content must be fair and balanced.
CFP communication with the public may not include false, exaggerated, unwarranted, promissory or misleading statements or claims. This may be as subtle as a slogan, graphic or eye-catching headline which is promissory in nature or hints at the potential future success of a specific offering or the offerings posted on the portal in general. Profit forecasts are prohibited, with the exception of a hypothetical illustration of mathematical principles, provided that it does not predict or project the performance of an investment.
CFPs are not permitted to make recommendations or provide investment advice. If there are any statements which are intended to act as an endorsement or suggest that an offering is of a higher quality, safer or worthier than others, it could be deemed a recommendation and a breach of the rules.
The scope of review extends beyond just the CFP to all forms of communication. For CFPs that post article, reports and other content prepared by third-parties, your compliance team must be mindful of whether such content is one-sided. CFPs will be deemed to have adopted third-party content which may include impermissible investment advice or recommendations or contain misleading statements. Executives who choose to use the CFP to post their own blogs need to also be sensitive to this issue. Chief Compliance Officers (CCO’s) and supervisors need to carefully review all content posted on the CFP. FINRA’s recently published Notice to Members 17-18 provides valuable guidance on digital media communications.
One of the most important compliance tools CFPs are expected to use is email surveillance which is the periodic review of communications between the issuer or its agents and the public. We expect that FINRA will be evaluating how CFPs have been monitoring these communications, including how frequently and in what manner this review is conducted.
CFPs that include offerings outside of Title III Crowdfunding can likely expect questions and comments by FINRA staff pertaining to those offerings as well.
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 1500+ 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 at ncfacanada.org.
Fintech Platform futureshare Launches to Help Canadian Homeowners Unlock Their Real Estate Wealth
Market Wired | May 18, 2017
Alternative to HELOCs and reverse mortgages means homeowners don't have to sell to tap into their home equity
TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - May 18, 2017) - There is more than $2.9 trillion in unmortgaged real estate equity in Canada (CREA), and today fintech platform futureshare launches to help Canadians unlock that real estate wealth without taking on new debt. The company was founded in 2016 as an alternative to home equity loans, home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and reverse mortgages and gives homeowners a lump sum free of ongoing payments and interest rates in exchange for a percentage of the home's appreciation, which can be paid out without penalty at any time or once the property is sold. futureshare's online platform is the first of its kind in Canada and is now live in beta and accepting online applications for homes within Ontario with plans to launch in Alberta, Manitoba and British Columbia by the end of 2017.
"Canada's housing market has billions in untapped equity and futureshare is giving that wealth back to Canadians to help them reduce financial stress and live happier lives. We're revolutionizing the process by giving Canadians an alternative to home equity loans or HELOCs that's interest rate and payment free, allowing them to unlock their real estate wealth and increase their cash flow," said Michael Orrbrooke, CEO and founder of futureshare. "Whether it is, for example, for home improvements, debt consolidation, for funding retirement or investing in a small business, futureshare wants to help Canadians achieve their financial goals without adding new debt."
See: Real Estate Crowdfunding - An Emerging New Asset Class
The average Canadian owes $1.67 for every dollar in income (StatsCan), and futureshare is designed to help homeowners access the equity tied up in their home without adding to their ongoing debt burden. Unlike a reverse mortgage or HELOC, futureshare doesn't require homeowners to have perfect credit scores or to fall within a specific income bracket, and it doesn't increase monthly payments. A homeowner's eligibility is based primarily on their home value and whether they have at least 25 per cent equity ownership in their home. Homeowners will be able to access on average up to 10-20 per cent of their home equity using futureshare's platform, and unlike a loan, there's no ongoing payments or interest rates.
Canada has become a hub for fintech innovation, with venture capital financing for fintech companies increasing by 74% from 2015 to 2016 (Thomson Reuters). Like other fintech platforms, futureshare's process is simple and easy to complete online. Homeowners can use the online equity release calculator to see how much of their wealth they can unlock, and once they complete the 90-second pre-qualification questions, the homeowner receives a real-time conditional offer outlining the details of the equity release amount and terms they could receive. The home is then appraised and a final offer is sent via email by futureshare to the homeowner, with the credit application and underwriting process continuing online. Homeowners receive their funds, via electronic transfer, on average within 10-15 business days of signing the final offer.
About futureshare
futureshare provides an alternative to home equity loans, home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and reverse mortgages, helping homeowners unlock their real estate wealth without having to sell their home. The online platform provides consumers with the opportunity to receive funds based on an appraisal on their home in exchange for a portion of their homes future appreciation, meaning that homeowners have zero ongoing payments, and incur zero interest. futureshare is currently available in beta in Ontario with plans to launch in Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia by the end of 2017. futureshare is based in Toronto, and the platform launched in May 2017.
To learn more about futureshare, visit futureshare.ca.
Social media links:
Facebook: facebook.com/futuresharedf
Twitter: twitter.com/futuresharedf
For additional information, contact:
Jamie Gillingham
Eighty-Eight
Account Manager
jamie@eightyeightagency.com
416-944-2722
SOURCE: futureshare (view release)
Naval Ravikant hints at future plans for Product Hunt and adding secondary trading to AngelList
Tech Crunch | Connie Loizos | May 19, 2017
Earlier this week, at TechCrunch’s Disrupt event in New York, we sat down with AngelList cofounder and CEO Naval Ravikant to talk primarily about the platform’s new Angel Funds product, wherein a select number of proven “angel-operators” is being provided capital from AngelList and outside VCs to invest in a basket of startups. (We wrote about that new program here.)
Of course, while we had him in our clutches, we wanted to talk with him about other directions in which AngelList might move over time. What we gleaned: the platform, which is famous for continuously iterating on its approach and offerings, may eventually use its late December acquisition of the popular product platform Product Hunt to create a paid offering for companies looking to buy specific technologies or products. It sounds like AngelList may also eventually dive into the brisk secondaries business, wherein investors buy up earlier investors stakes in certain companies.
Here are some outtakes of that chat, edited for length and clarity:
TC: Recently, a crowdfunding marketplace, Seedrs, announced that it’s going to launch a secondary marketplace. It could be interesting to see AngelList get into this business.
NR: We are obviously always looking at secondary marketplaces. The problem is how much liquidity can you have for these things. Generally, if you have a really well-known company, like a Facebook or a Snapchat, before their IPO, there’s demand from later-stage investors for a secondary marketplace. But it’s usually concentrated in a very few names.
See: A British firm plans a secondary market for crowd-funded shares
We work at the very early stage where, frankly, people don’t know the companies. If someone wants to sell, it’s such a negative signal; it’s not clear that there’s a buyer on the other side. But 1,500 companies on the platform have already raised half a billion dollars and they’ve gone on to raise over $5 billion [in subsequent fundraising rounds], so they’re getting larger and larger and larger, and there will be a point where some of those names become so hot that there will be secondary demand. And then if those companies are open to it, we’ll work with them to fill that secondary demand.
TC: We’re also wondering what you’re doing with Product Hunt, which you acquired in December.
NR: There’s so much innovation going on, and there’s lots of people funding that innovation, but there’s very little innovation on that infrastructure for innovation itself, so we like to do that ourselves to help companies create more tech companies. So what do tech companies need? They need money, they need talent, and they need customers. So AngelList started out with helping them raise money, now we’re the largest startup recruiting marketplace in the world, with 25,000 startups recruiting and about one million candidates. But the missing piece is helping companies find their early customers. And Product Hunt did an amazing job of that. They’ve now launched 90,000 products; they do millions of product discoveries every single month; and it’s kind of the place where teams from Uber and Facebook and Google and lots of startups go to launch their latest apps. So we were always in awe of Product Hunt and we brought them in to kind of complete the third leg of that triad.
TC: It sounds like that could be a revenue-generating product, showing companies [needing products] who they should be talking to, what the various tech stacks are of different startups . . .
NR: Yeah, I think long term it can generate revenue. In the short term, we’ve left the team completely independent. They’re still executing on the same plans as before we merged up. And all the team and the management is still there.
TC: You also spun off a crowdfunding platform for non-accredited investors called Republic last year. Can you tell us a bit more about that and how involved you are?
NR: Crowdfunding is going to happen — it’s happening in the U.S. — it’s just happening a little bit slower than in the U.K. as [the U.S. government] works out the final [regulations]. And Republic is a spin-out that we did with some of our best people to go and start doing that. It’s still very early; Republic has done a couple of deals, but I think we’re still in the first inning of crowdfunding.
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 1500+ 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 at ncfacanada.org.
Ulule wants to be the “best” crowdfunding platform instead of the biggest
Betakit | | May 10, 2017
If you’re in North America but outside Quebec, it’s entirely possible that you’ve never heard of Ulule. That’s not to say that this crowdfunding platform isn’t worth noticing. With a focus on quality rather than volume of projects funded, Ulule has an impressive 67 percent success rate: quite a contrast to the 31 percent on Kickstarter or 13 percent on Indiegogo.
“Our mission is not to make the biggest crowdfunding platform in the world. It’s to make the best crowdfunding platform.”
This past Thursday evening, Ulule celebrated its second anniversary in Montreal with a panel about crowdfunding, and a party in their new loft space. This office, in the startup-heavy Mile End neighbourhood, not only includes physical space for the Ulule team, but a seating area where projects using their platform can work under the guidance of the company’s “success managers,” along with an events space for product launches and community events.
“Our mission is wider than only a web platform,” said co-founder and CEO Alexandre Boucherot. “The needs of creators and entrepreneurs are much wider. It’s important, in our opinion, to try and invent ways to give them the best chances of success.”
Founded in France in 2010, Boucherot brought Ulule to Montreal to see if the same things that made the platform successful in Europe would translate to the Quebec market.
“We have a big focus on the coaching of projects, and the success of the project,” Boucherot told BetaKit. “Our mission is not to make the biggest crowdfunding platform in the world. It’s to make the best crowdfunding platform. And we think that crowdfunding platforms are not only about funding, but about success: finding a market, finding a public, a community.”
See: Ulule launches The Big Step and will contribute $30,000 to high-potential France/Canada initiatives
By vetting and coaching all projects, Ulule is able to ensure that many more of their users reach their goals.
With a team of 45 people based primarily in Europe (seven in Montreal), and having been certified as a B Corporation in October 2015, the company hopes to continue their growth, while maintaining their goals for positive social impact.
They have partnered with National Bank to create a competition called Le Grand Sault (The Big Step) that gives an additional $30,000 to three projects based in France or Canada ($10,000 each). Last year’s winners included Le Geebee, an electric bike/scooter hybrid; Le Kit du Jardinier-Maraîcher, a film project that documents the daily activities of an urban farm; and Loupp, an ethically made weekend bag.
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 1500+ 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 at ncfacanada.org.
A British firm plans a secondary market for crowd-funded shares
The Economist | May 17, 2017
Everyone would like a piece of the next Google or Facebook. But the big venture-capital (VC) firms do not usually raise money from small investors. And some entrepreneurs complain that it is hard to get noticed by the hotshots in the VC industry. Hence the enthusiasm for crowd-funding, where small investors can buy a stake in startup companies.
Seedrs, a British crowd-funding firm, was set up in 2012, and has backed 500 firms so far, raising a total of £210m ($271m) from more than 200,000 users. But there are two big problems with crowdfunding. First, it is risky: most startups fail. Second, investments tend to be illiquid—shareholders have to wait for a takeover or a stockmarket flotation to recoup their investment.
See: Seers Announces First-ever Portfolio Results With Overall 14.44% IRR (Annualized Rate of Return)
Seedrs is trying to solve the illiquidity problem by setting up a secondary market, where buyers and sellers can exchange shares. The new market will start operating this summer, and will allow trading for a week every month, starting on the first Tuesday. The price at which investors can deal will be set by Seedrs itself, based on a valuation mechanism in line with industry guidelines. But there are some restrictions: only current investors in a firm will be allowed to buy shares. And, to the extent that investors make a profit, Seedrs takes a 7.5% cut of the gains.
"An obstacle to crowdfunding is that investors have to wait so long to sell their shares"
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 1500+ 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 at ncfacanada.org.
Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, CEO and Founder of FrontFundr, Joins National Crowdfunding Association of Canada’s Advisory Group
NCFA Canada | C. Asano | May 9, 2017
Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, Advisor, Investment Crowdfunding
TORONTO, MAY 8, 2017 – The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA) today announced that Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, CEO and Founder of FrontFundr, has joined the Association as Advisor, Investment Crowdfunding.
Peter-Paul is Founder and CEO of FrontFundr, a FinTech company focused on supporting start-ups and young ventures in Canada with access to capital through innovative online investment-based funding solutions.
Peter-Paul has over 15 years of experience in finance, investment management and business consultancy. He worked in Vancouver as director business development with a finance & investment company in the renewable energy space and as finance director of a real estate investment fund. Prior to that he held a number of positions with several global banks in the areas of corporate strategy, corporate & investment banking and he worked as a senior management consultant in The Netherlands. Peter-Paul is a director of the National Board of the Private Capital Markets Association, PCMA (Canada) and holds a masters’ degree in Business Economics & Finance from the Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Funding platform? Investor? Company? Take the 2017 Alternative Finance Survey in Canada (learn more)
“We’ve had the pleasure of working together with Peter-Paul to advance the growth and development of the equity crowdfunding ecosystem in Canada since the beginning. He’s shown utmost commitment to make this industry work and thrive, and on behalf of the Association we’d like to thank Peter-Paul for his professionalism and early leadership. We look forward to continuing to work together to achieve transactional efficiencies to the benefit of all stakeholders including platforms, companies and all types of investors.” Craig Asano, Founding CEO, NCFA Canada
“Investment crowdfunding unlocks a tremendous dispersed pool of capital and democratizes investing in young companies. It redefines the way that young companies look at their investors and customers. Eventually, they will become the same. I am honoured joining the NCFA Advisory Group contributing to a healthy and prosperous investment crowdfunding industry in Canada." Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, CEO & Founder, FrontFundr
# # #
About National Crowdfunding Association of Canada
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 1500+ 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. For more information please visit: ncfacanada.org.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Craig Asano
casano@ncfacanada.org
416 618 0254
