Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Press Releases
Introducing CrowdfundSuite – Alternative Lending, Investing & Funding Solutions for Business
CrowdfundSuite | Bret Conkin | August 11, 2014
Vancouver, BC – A new funding hub was launched today to enable both existing crowdfunding channel players and interested private capital industry stakeholders to successfully navigate and profit from the exploding Alternative Funding sector. CrowdfundSuite provides platform access, services and education across the spectrum of rewards, debt and equity crowdfunding models.
“Powerful forces are turning the capital markets on their head yet alternative funding is still in it’s infancy,” stated CrowdfundSuite Founder Bret Conkin. “The plethora of online platforms, revolutionary new North American securities regulations and social media’s growth are key factors to the disruption facing broker dealers, banks, angel groups, financial and legal advisors, and other industry players.
"We started CrowdfundSuite to help our clients profit by identifying alternative funding strategies and bringing new crowd capital solutions to market.” -- Bret Conkin, Founder, CrowdfundSuite
Expert Consulting Services and Education for Industry Stakeholders
The CrowdfundSuite team has helped raise over $40M since 2012 and has assisted leading platforms; broker dealers and other industry stakeholders develop effective strategies and solutions to participate in the crowd capital boom. The space is complex but the fundamental shift to greater venture capital access is a game-changer. While consultants have emerged to assist entrepreneurs with campaign management, we discovered a huge resource gap for expert assistance to organizations from new platforms to service providers to business associations and even enterprise. Contact us to learn more.
One-Stop Access to Leading Platforms – Choose your Funding Model
Crowdfund Suite launches with access to 3 industry leading platforms creating more options for investors and providing a funding escalator for entrepreneurs that grows with each venture.
- InvestNextDoor is the Crowdlending marketplace for small businesses across North America to borrow directly from investors. Great returns with big impact for local investors. Small businesses pay a nominal fee to set their own rates and terms creating better access to capital of up to $300,000.
- FundRazr is a global Rewards platform launched July 2010 with over $52M raised to date in 20+ countries. Business, artists, organizations or non-profits can fund projects or causes via donations, new product pre-order or contributor perks.
- SeedUps Canada is a a curated Canadian Equity Crowdfunding platform launched in January 2014. Enterpreneurs looking to raise $250,000 - $2 Million in the Exempt market can access support services and investors. Investors tap interesting early stage companies, connect with co-investors and bid on valuations.
- Other industry leading platforms will be added including in the area of US equity crowdfunding and real estate crowdfunding.
Tabitha Creighton of InvestNextDoor says “We are very pleased to partner with CrowdfundSuite to help businesses access the capital they desperately need to thrive and succeed from innovative alternative funding sources, like the InvestNextDoor marketplace."
About CrowdfundSuite:
Crowdfund Suite was created to help clients extract clarity from the complexity of the crowd economy so they can thrive and profit. CrowdfundSuite founder Bret Conkin is a visionary in alternative funding that started Canada’s first crowdfunding platform in 2008 and then helped FundRazr become a top 10 global rewards and donations platform. Bret is an Ambassador to the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada, a frequent venture funding event speaker, most recently Funding Roadshow 2014, and he has been frequently quoted in the press on crowdfunding and marketing including in The Globe and Mail, Vancouver Sun, Yahoo Finance and The Guardian.
Stay informed on the new crowd economy on our blog.
About InvestNextDoor:
InvestNextDoor is a Crowdlending marketplace where individual investors lend money to small businesses in their community. InvestNextDoor is hitting the reset button on borrowing and investing for Main Street.
About FundRazr:
FundRazr is the easy, effective rewards and donations crowdfunding platform for everyone. Over 40,000 people, groups, and non-profits in 36 countries have raised more than $52,000,000 with FundRazr.
About SeedUps
SeedUps Canada is a CrowdFinance platform where ordinary investors can find, evaluate and make direct investment into privately held small to emerging companies seeking growth capital.
# # #
Media Contacts:
Bret Conkin, Founder
bret@crowdfundsuite.com
http://crowdfundsuite.com
778-323-7297
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada crowdfunding hub providing education, advocacy and networking opportunities in the rapidly evolving crowdfunding industry. NCFA Canada is a community-based, membership-driven entity that was formed at the grass roots level to fill a national need in the market place. Join our growing network of industry stakeholders, fundraisers and investors. Increase your organization’s profile and gain access to a dynamic group of industry front runners. Learn more About Us | About Crowdfunding or contact us at casano@ncfacanada.org.
OurCrowd crowdfunding investments hit $60 million
Startup Israel | | July 15, 2014
If there were ever doubts about the validity of the crowdfunding investment model, an announcement Tuesday by Israeli crowdfunding pioneer OurCrowd should put them to rest. The fund said it has raised $60 million since it was established 16 months ago — nearly $20 million of that in just the last four months. Those figures, said CEO Jon Medved, put OurCrowd far ahead in fundraising of any other crowdfunding firm anywhere.
Local Crowdfunding Site Launches Campaign to Support Brampton Fire Victims
GreedyGiver Release | June 10, 2014
Toronto-based crowdfunding platform GreedyGiver.com has launched a campaign to raise $10,000 for the Brampton fire victims.
On June 8, 2014 a devastating fire broke out in a Brampton townhouse complex leaving one child dead and nearly 100 homeless.
The community has gathered to support the victims bringing them clothing, blankets and food, but officials are saying money is needed most.
“We manage a platform that raises money for many worthy causes,”says Apostolos Sigalas of GreedyGiver.com, “starting a campaign to help the victims of this local tragedy is something we felt we had to do.”
The proceeds from the campaign will go to the Nicolas Gabriel/Ardglen Trust Fund managed by Regeneration Outreach Community - a local not-for-profit dedicated to assisting families in need.
GreedyGiver.com has also decided to waive its campaign fees to help raise more money. It is calling on the local community to support the campaign and help spread the word.
The campaign launched today and will be live for 30 days.
Visit GreedyGiver.com/BramptonFire to donate.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Sabrina Nicosia, Marketing Director, GreedyGiver.com
nicosia@greedygiver.com | 416 840.9800
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada crowdfunding hub providing education, advocacy and networking opportunities in the rapidly evolving crowdfunding industry. NCFA Canada is a community-based, membership-driven entity that was formed at the grass roots level to fill a national need in the market place. Join our growing network of industry stakeholders, fundraisers and investors. Increase your organization’s profile and gain access to a dynamic group of industry front runners. Learn more About Us or contact us at casano@ncfacanada.org.
2014 Funding Roadshow Crowdfunding Competition Launches April 9th Introducing The Fundees Awards – 2 Grand Prizes worth $10,000 + More
FundRazr and Fundica Press Release | Roy Gong | April 8, 2014
Montreal/Vancouver: Two of Canada's most successful funding platforms, Fundica and FundRazr, have teamed up to add an exciting crowdfunding layer to the 2014 Funding Roadshow.
The Fundees Crowdfunding Competition, powered by FundRazr, will be unveiled at the Toronto and Guelph Funding Roadshow events on April 9th and 11th, respectively. Visit www.FundingRoadshow.com/Fundrazr for more details.
A Grand Prize package worth $10,000 awaits 2 Canadian startups that tap the crowd most successfully in either the Keep-it-All or All-or-Nothing streams. Startups across Canada (excluding Quebec) will strut their stuff during the 7-week "competition period" running from May 5th - June 23rd, 2014.
Campaigns can be created and updated starting April 9th until the end of the competition period. The leaderboard will go live on May 5th and campaigns can be launched publicly on that date. All competitors will also access valuable incentives detailed below.
"Crowdfunding is a proven and powerful new way for entrepreneurs to build community, get market feedback and raise alternative financing," said FundRazr CEO Daryl Hatton. "We are pleased to launch The Fundees competition to celebrate more entrepreneurs raising capital as funders and backers conveniently access the campaign stories and perks online."
View: The Fundees Leaderboard now
The Grand Prize includes: a Future Equity Crowdfunding campaign on the FundRazr platform with FundRazr fees waived1 (valued at $5,000+), a Startup Marketing package courtesy CrowdClan (valued at $2500), a Winner Promotional package including profile video courtesy FundRazr (valued at $2,500) and the coveted first ever Fundees Award representing market validation by the Crowd. Best of all, competitors keep the funds raised during the campaign.
"We are excited to enable more entrepreneurs, even outside the 10 cities we visit, to access complementary funders via this crowdfunding competition," stated Fundica CEO Mike Lee. "The proven FundRazr technology will enable campaign set-up and related tools to help campaigns succeed right on the FundingRoadshow.com website."
All eligible3 competitors that launch campaigns will also qualify for two great incentives. CANARIE is offering one year of DAIR cloud infrastructure services worth more than $2,000. DAIR provides entrepreneurs with high performance, made-in-Canada cloud resources for development, testing and demonstration of new products and services utilizing advanced computing and network technologies.
Free Webinars: The Funding Roadshow Webinars April 15 and April 7 - Crowdfund your business, Raise Money for Your Startup
Competitors will also be eligible to receive an exclusive invitation to Canada's first Equity Crowdfunding cohort courtesy of FundRazr. The cohort will be among the first startups to have the opportunity to raise capital under the new Canadian crowdfunding exemptions. The will receive beta access, coaching, event and networking opportunities.
"We've extended the competition period to allow entrepreneurs in cities whose Funding Roadshow events do not occur until May to better participate,” stated FundRazr CMO Bret Conkin. He added, “The competitors will gain valuable crowdfunding and social media experience and have fun along the way. However, unlike The Dundies Awards on the TV show The Office, not everyone will get a Fundees Award.”
Crowdfunding Workshops will be held at several Funding Roadshow events including the Toronto and Guelph stops, as well as via online webinars (webinar dates to be announced shortly). These sessions will share best practices as well as insights on the future of crowdfunding in Canada. Attendees can learn more about The Fundees Competition and alternative financing.
About FundRazr
FundRazr is Canada's most successful crowdfunding platform with $45M raised in over 20 countries over 40,000 campaigns that span entrepreneurial, personal and charitable projects and causes. FundRazr offers a suite of Business Crowdfunding Solutions including Donations, Rewards and Pre-order with Equity solutions planned for Fall 2014. Crowdfunding-as-a-Service technology (CFaaST) was launched in 2013 to enable businesses to offer crowdfunding to their community - Powered by FundRazr. Recent FundRazr awards include 2013 BCTIA Most Promising Startup and the Profit Magazine Hot 50. For more information, visit www.business.fundrazr.com.
About Fundica
Fundica, Canada’s most successful traditional funding identification and connection platform, matches entrepreneurs, private investors, public funders and advisors. Through unique crowdsourcing/crawler technology, Fundica provides an up-to-date, comprehensive and intuitive platform. Additionally, Fundica manages the Funding Roadshow, an annual cross-Canada event. In 2013, Fundica earned a Bronfman Foundation Top 25 Emerging Entrepreneurs Award and was named an Intuit Financial Literacy Startup Finalist. For more information, visit www.fundica.com.
Yoyomolo.com reaches the million mark
Yoyomolo Press Release | Benoit L’Archevêque | April 7, 2014
Montreal, April 7, 2014 — Yoyomolo is proud to announce that it has distributed $1,000,000 since its founding 18 months ago. Yoyomolo is the only Quebec crowdfunding portal to have reached one million dollars in donations. It’s also the only portal to use an innovative technology based on participants’ social networks with a person-to-person (P2P) solicitation system.
More than a simple online donation formula, Yoyomolo is based on strength in numbers. With Yoyomolo.com, multiple campaigns can be created in which any number of teams can be activated. Within each team, an unlimited number of participants can be added independently, multiplying the results to spectacular effect.
“We’ve raised over a million dollars to help organizations, groups, sports teams, arts collectives and foundations looking for an effective fundraising solution in the current economic context, which we all know is difficult. And we're really proud of that,” said Benoit L’Archevêque, founder and CEO of Azzimov Mobile and cofounder of Yoyomolo.com.
View: Crowdfunding raises $38,000 for Quebec Cancer patient
Yoyomolo is the most effective solution for philanthropic social funding in Quebec. “What thrills us the most,” said Yoyomolo co-founder Pierre Gagnon, “Is that we’re providing a free-access fundraising solution for every size of organization, whether it’s a local soccer team needing funds to enter a tournament or a small foundation looking for money to help someone who’s sick.”
Yoyomolo was instrumental, for instance, in raising over $8000 for Roxane Beaupré, a young mother with breast cancer; nearly $10,000 to finance the web series Féminin/Féminin by filmmaker Chloé Robichaud and over $40,000 for the Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont’s Fonds Antoine-Loranger.
About Yoyomolo
Yoyomolo is the largest and most effective social funding portal in Quebec. Yoyomolo is the brainchild of ODE Technologies, which specializes in transactional platforms for the philanthropic community. ODE boasts over 100 philanthropic projects and over 50 million dollars raised over the past 10 years.
For more info contact:
Benoit L’Archevêque
CEO Azzimov Mobile
Co-Founder of Yoyomolo.com
514-370-2248 ext.223
ben@azzimov.com
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada is Canada’s Crowdfunding Advocate. Newly formed, dynamic and inclusive, NCFA Canada works closely with industry groups, government, academia, other business associations and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry and voice across Canada. JOIN today and ‘stand out’ in the crowd. Learn more About us.
Northern Credit Union launches crowdfunding website to support worthwhile initiatives in Ontario communities
Wawa-news.com | Northern Credit Union | April 7, 2014
As an organization dedicated to giving back, Northern Credit Union (Northern) – in partnership with some of Canada’s top athletes – is launching a new fundraising website, TrueNorthStrong.ca, that draws upon the power of crowdfunding to raise money for worthwhile projects in the communities Northern serves.
“Crowdfunding” is a new and popular method of fundraising where a large number of people each contribute a small amount of money to reach a fundraising goal. In this case, Northern’s goal is to showcase and support charitable campaigns in communities across Northern Ontario.
“Corporate social responsibility is a cornerstone of Northern’s True North Strong philosophy,” says Al Suraci, Northern’s CEO. “Our new crowdfunding website allows our members and other visitors to donate to a range of campaigns they care about, generate new fundraising ideas, and learn more about Northern’s unique delegate governance system.”
View: Sochi 2014 - Crowdfunding Fuels Olympic Dreams
The project is being launched with two campaigns. Sault Ste Marie’s hometown heroes Ryan Fry, E.J. Harnden and Ryan Harnden from Team Jacobs, Canada’s Olympic gold medal-winning curling team, are raising money for the Northern Ontario Curling Association, while the Marcoux Brothers, a gold and bronze-winning Paralympic alpine ski team, are supporting Parasport Ontario’s Ready Willing and Able program. This initiative allows athlete ambassadors with disabilities to share their inspirational stories with school communities and other local organizations.
To kick off the project, over the next week Northern is committed to matching all funds raised up to $3,000 for each of the two campaigns.
“Empowering people with physical disabilities by helping them realize their full potential is something that’s very close to my heart, which is why my brother BJ and I are so proud to promote this exciting new crowdfunding initiative,” says Mac Marcoux. “We’re delighted to work with Northern to make a difference in the True North Strong communities we call home.”
To learn more or donate, visit TrueNorthStrong.ca
Source: here
Canada’s National Crowdfunding Association Applauds Regulators for Setting the Stage for Crowdfunding Success
CNW - NCFA Press Release | March 24, 2014
TORONTO, March 24, 2014 /CNW/ - On March 20, 2014, a total of six (6) provincial regulators announced two main proposals for new Crowdfunding prospectus exemptions that would allow early stage companies such as start-ups and SMEs to raise up to $1.5 million of capital online through the issuance of securities.
This represents a significant leap forward and positive progress for Crowdfunding advocates such as the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada), who has been working diligently with key industry stakeholders, government, regulators, media, eco-system partners and academia, since launching in October 2012, to provide education, research and valuable input into the developmentof a viable 'made in Canada' framework.
"While 2013 was a year of 'awareness and community building' for NCFA Canada, 2014 should prove to be busier than ever. We want to thank all of the Association's founding members, sponsors, directors, advisors, ambassadors, and members for all of their support. We are on the cusp of building something great together - we need your continued support", said Craig Asano, Executive Director of NCFA Canada.
The crowdfunding industry is exploding with entrepreneurs, investors, portal operators, third party service providers and experts from around the world who are all jockeying for position to take advantage of a promising and brand new fundraising channel for small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The industry continues to grow at a tremendous rate with global crowdfunding markets increasing from $1.5 billion in 2011 to $5.1 billion in 2013, according to US-based Massolution's industry research report. NESTA, a UK charity focused on innovation initiatives predicts that within 5 years crowdfunding could grow to £15 billion pounds in the UK alone.
The proposed "Start-up Exemption", which has already been adopted in Saskatchewan (SK) last December 2013, would allow start-ups and SMEs to raise up to $300,000 per 12 month calendar year. Investors can invest up to $1,500 per deal on crowdfunding portals that distribute offerings for up to 90 days online. The Start-up Exemption is based-on the Saskatchewan model and provincial regulators in British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are seeking public comments until June 18, 2014.
A second proposal is Ontario's version called the 'Crowdfunding Exemption', which has been a collaborative effort between Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with the Ontario Securities Commission leading the initiative by setting up a dedicated task force that has conducted a remarkable amount of research, hosted numerous town halls and reached out to various community stakeholders to engage in consultation sessions. The 'Crowdfunding Exemption' has higher caps and limits than the SK model, and would allow start-ups and SMEs to raise up to $1,500,000 per 12 month calendar year with investors being able to invest up to $2,500 per deal and up to $10,000 per year.
Related:
-
Two equity crowdfunding specific exemptions taking hold in Canada
-
Canadian securities regulators propose new crowdfunding exemptions
"The regulators should be commended for their thoughtful and consultative approach. The proposed regulations have some great characteristics and will help propel Canadian early stage companies from the farm team to the big leagues," said Daryl Hatton, CEO/Founder of FundRazr, Canada's leading crowdfunding portal based in B.C.
"Crowdfunding powers business growth and is a strong economic generator for start-ups and SMEs who need capital and investors to fuel innovation, create jobs and compete on the global stage. SMEs are the backbone of Canada's economy representing approximately 50% of GDP an employing 55% of all the jobs in Ontario alone," said Debra Chanda, President of Launch 120, and newly appointed Advisor at NCFA Canada.
In international jurisdictions such as Australia, where equity crowdfunding has been legally permitted for over 5 years, leading portal ASSOB (Australian Small Scale Offerings Board) has raised over $130 million in seed and growth capital for over 130 companies of which 83% of them are still operating without a single incident of fraud.
Crowdfunding was in the spot light in 2013 with the number of Canadian portals more than tripling from 17 in 2012 to over 70 in March 2014, according to the NCFA Canada Crowdfunding Directory. "We've enjoyed high growth last year and the demand for portal software continues to ramp up," said Brock Murray, CEO and Co-founder of Katipult, Canada's leading crowdfunding portal software provider.
View: NCFA Canada equity crowdfunding principles and response to OSC staff consultation paper 45-710
Craig Asano enthused, "We're thrilled that there is such wide support to adopt equity crowdfunding exemptions in various provinces across Canada. The proposed regulations will benefit all Canadians and the entire capital raising eco-system by working to fill the 'funding gap' and pave the way for Canada to support a thriving entrepreneurial culture to compete with other international regions that accelerate growth and provide supportive funding environments."
"We're hopeful that over time, data collected from crowdfunding transactions will enable regulators to 'right size' policy and edge closer to a harmonized set of rules and also lay the foundation for a second market. Education and due diligence will be of the highest importance to ensure early stage crowdfunding markets formed around 'The Start-up Exemption' and the 'Crowdfunding Exemption' proposals are efficient, sustainable and safe for investors," said Myles Harding, President of Inline Reference Check, a leading background and due diligence company.
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is Canada's Crowdfunding Advocate. Newly formed, dynamic and inclusive, the NCFA Canada works closely with industry groups, government, academia, other business associations and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry and voice across Canada. Membership is comprised of a network of professional individuals, companies and non-profit associations (students are most welcome) interested in crowdfunding markets in Canada and beyond. The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada is a networking and solutions-based organization to provide advocacy, education, support and leadership to Canadian crowdfunding communities. For more information please visit ncfacanada.org.
SOURCE: National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada)
For further information: Craig Asano, National Crowdfunding Association of Canada, Executive Director, (416) 618-0254, ncfacanada.org, casano@ncfacanada.org
