Event on Future of Venture Capital at ieCrowd’s Innovation Economy Expo at Ontario Convention Center in California on May 9th.
A panel of top crowdfunding experts from around the country will lead a large forum on how innovation-focused companies can leverage new technology and upcoming regulatory changes to raise capital as part of ieCrowd’s inaugural Innovation Economy Expo at the Ontario Convention Center on May 9th, 2013, in Southern California.
The crowdfunding forum – part of a day-long expo with over 170 participating organizations from around the world focused on creating a new collaborative platform for innovation-centric business growth – will provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs, business leaders, educators, and government officials to hear the latest in regulatory changes, tools and trends that can help power new ventures and existing startups and companies nationally and regionally.
The interactive forum includes leading experts in the crowdfunding industry. Participants include: David Drake, founder at The Soho Loft; Joseph Barizonsi, Founder of CommunityLeader; Michael Fultz, Founder and CEO of Fund All Be All; Jeffrey Henderson, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing at Invested.in; and Jilliene Helman, Founder and CEO of Realty Mogul.
Crowdfunding, the process of attracting investment for a venture from a network of investors outside of one’s personal network – typically from new online portals designed to connect startups and investors – is poised to become the largest shift in capital flow in recent decades.
“Crowdfunding is an industry that is growing exponentially, in part because traditional sources of capital are becoming increasingly limited,” said Joe Rubin, Director and Co-Founder of FundingPost.com, one of the leaders in the large crowdfunding movement. “People are really using crowdfunding as an alternative method of financing.”
The concept of crowdfunding isn’t new, Rubin noted. The Internet supercharged the ability to raise money from “the crowd” more than a decade ago, and the passage and pending implementation of new legislation is poised to have a dramatic impact on the venture world.
Published reports suggest the SEC could by this summer finalize rules for the implementation of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. It is anticipated that the final rule making on the new law will remove the ban on general solicitation by companies seeking to sell their shares for capital, igniting significant growth in the numbers of companies seeking accredited investors via third-party online portals.
“This has been an age of angels stepping up to fill the voids left by bank loans and VCs that were decimated by the financial crisis,” said David Drake, a Partner with LDJ Capital in New York. “Angels stepped in to fill the gap and now crowdfunding, which we estimate will hit $6 billion globally in 2013, is the new kid on the block.”
ieExpo’s panel includes people who can speak with authority on all aspects of crowdfunding. They will answer questions on legal, technical and other aspects of setting up a crowdfunding network, providing the Inland Southern California region with the first forum on this critical movement.
“We knew when we first began making plans for ieExpo that crowdfunding would have to be a major part of the conversation,” said Aaron Knox, the event’s organizer and ieCrowd’s Chief Partnership Officer. “You can’t talk seriously about increasing the number and strength of high-growth companies without exploring one of the fastest-growing methods of financing these kinds of companies.”