Search results for 'top texas crowdfunding '

Top 10 Texas Equity Crowdfunding Sites (Portals)

22 Jul

Top 10 Equity Crowdfunding Sites for Accredited and Non-Accredited Investors in Texas

By Robert Hoskins

Austin, Texas – We set out to write a story on the Top 10 Equity Crowdfunding Sites in Texas, but according to Google there are only few rewards-based and equity-based crowdfunding sites (see lists below) that are planning to serve the Texas market place.

Suffice it to say that there is a huge opportunity for people with finance, legal and marketing experience to get into the Texas crowdfunding business.

Texas ranks #2 only to California by population with an estimated 26 million people, and approximately 20 million of those are 18+ years old.  When the Texas Intrastate Crowdfunding Exemption Rule goes into effect in November 2014, unaccredited investors will be able to invest up to $5,000 per year in start-ups and existing businesses, which represents a potential investment capital pool of $100 billion.

If you’d like to explore what it takes to setup a crowdfunding site in Texas, please give us a call at (512) 627-6622.

Top 10 Texas Sites – Unaccredited Investors:

Rank © Front Page PR   Global Rank
#1 www.texas.trucrowd.com     485,665
#2 www.nextseed.com     992,563
#3 www.massventure.com  1,388,521
#4 www.texascrowdfunding.com  3,315,899
#5 www.investpeer.com  5,659,309

Source: Feb 2015 SimilarWeb Website Statistics

Top 10 Texas Sites – Accredited Only Investors:

Rank © Front Page PR   Global Rank
#1 www.seedinvest.com    184,226
#2 www.microventures.com    241,967
#3 www.investx.com    403,141
#4 www.dreamfunded.com 1,267,585
#5 www.texasenetworks.com 1,721,280
#6 www.realtywealth.com 2,647,893

Contact us at 512-627-6622 if you would like to add your Texas crowdfunding portal to our list.

More Top 100 Crowdfunding Lists:

 

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Texas Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief Crowdfunding Campaigns

28 Aug

Hundreds of Thousands of Texans Need Your Crowdfunding Donations to Help Pay for Food, Water, Shelter, Repairs, Emergency First Responder Services and All Storm-Related Cleanup Expenses

By Robert Hoskins

Houston, Texas – If your family or friends need free help creating a Hurricane Harvey Relief crowdfunding profile to raise money to help pay for pay for food, water, shelter, repairs, emergency first responder services and all storm-related cleanup expenses, visit https://crowdfundingtrainingclasses.wordpress.com first, then call Robert Hoskins at 512-627-6622 for free crowdfunding advice, consulting and marketing services to help raise money for your loved ones.

Front Page PR Offers Hurricane Harvey Victims and Evacuees Free Crowdfunding Marketing Services to Help Them Launch Crowdfunding Campaigns to Fund Home and Business Repairs

Front Page PR Offers Hurricane Harvey Victims and Evacuees Free Crowdfunding Marketing Services to Help Them Launch Crowdfunding Campaigns to Request Donations to Help Fund Disaster Relief

Below is the initial list of Hurricane Harvey Crowdfunding Campaigns that will benefit from a $25 to $100 donation from Good Samaritans that want to do the right thing and help out with just one small donation. It would be best to donate to individual families with their full names and locations posted in the crowdfunding profiles first, then local governments, chambers of commerce, emergency first responders and then local businesses that you know and trust.

Families: 

Help for Gary and Tammy Telles in Port Aransas

Keliy Anderson-Staley in Houston

Samantha Rae Zontini in Richmond

Watson Family in Houston

Terry Wickwire Homeless Relief

Mike Cutler Hurricane Fund

Christenson Family Hurricane Relief

Elise Smith in Rockport Hurricane Relief

Erika & Jamal in Houston

Dustin and Family in Friendswood

Chambers of Commerce:

Rockport Fulton Chamber of Commerce

Schools:

KIPP Houston High School

Harmony Public Schools

Emergency First Responders:

Helicopter Rescue Texas Disaster Relief for Houston Area

Businesses:

eXp Realty Agents and Brokers Hurricane Relief

4 Paws Farm/ I Love My Dog Team

Houston Goodfellas

General Funds:

Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Response

GoFundMe Hurricane Harvey Relief

YouCaring Houston Flood Relief Fund

GlobalGiving Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund

We will add every Hurricane Harvey Crowdfunding Campaign to this list as we receive them! Please the send us a tweet on Twitter at @Crowdfunding_PR or @FrontPage_PR, or an instant message via Facebook at Front Page PR or Crowdfunding PR Campaigns!  We will push this information to millions of crowdfunding campaign supporters, 100% free with no strings attached.

Sign Up Here for Free Help Creating a Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief Crowdfunding Campaign:

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Robert Hoskins, a seasoned Front Page PR veteran provides more than twenty-five years of external communications, media relations, digital social media and SEO skills to Front Page PR’s crowdfunding PR and media relations service portfolio.
Robert Hoskins
(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR


Mr. Robert Hoskins is a seasoned marketing veteran with a proven track record of helping entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses as well as Fortune 500 corporations launch successful marketing communications campaigns to gain market traction for a wide variety of products and services.
On a regular basis, Mr. Hoskins consults with crowdfunding campaign managers as well as crowdfunding sites, portals and platforms to deliver successful crowdfunding marketing campaigns.
Google search “Robert Hoskins Crowdfunding” to see why Mr. Hoskins is considered one of the industry’s foremost crowdfunding experts that has amassed a huge social media following, which is dedicated to supporting donation-, rewards- and equity-based crowdfunding campaigns.

 

 

 

 

Kickstarter Crowdfunding Campaign Offers Hot Deal on STCKBLS BBQ Grilling System for Organized Tailgating

15 Aug

The STCKBLS Grilling system is an affordable stackable, modular, portable solution that is perfect for organized tail gating, camping or backyard BBQs

By Robert HoskinsCrowdfunding PR

The STCKBLS Grill and related modules will also be offered at very attractive early-birds discounts for supporters during the beginning days of the crowdfunding campaign.

Features include:

  • Easy Expandability, with modules engineered to be placed neatly side-by-side to form a practically unlimited grilling area or large or small tailgating needs
  • Proper heat distribution, with the grill designed to foster even cooking without flare-ups
  • Sufficient heat output, with the grill providing 12,000 BTU per hour
  • Portable and modular design, with each module equipped with handles, weighing less than 44 pounds and having the same 18 by 18-inch footprint to allow for easy and organized stacking
  • Other modules include a cooler for storing beverages, meats and other items, as well as a utility box with sliding drawers.
  • Strength and durability, with all modules encased in high-quality steel
The STCKBLS Grill system, a stackable, modular, portable and complete BBQ grilling system

The STCKBLS BBQ Grilling system is an affordable stackable, modular, portable and complete for tail gating, camping or backyard grilling system

Developed by STCKBLS Founders Eric Djie and George Mathew, the STCKBLS BBQ Grilling system was developed by grill-masters for grill-masters.

“We wanted to create the ultimate grilling system. After designing gas and charcoal grills for many years for other companies, I wanted to create a BBQ grilling system that combined all my past design ideas that would foster the ultimate grilling experience,” Djie said. “We made it look and feel cool and sturdy. Some call it the first real ‘manly,’ portable grill system.”

Its associated grill stand also acts as both a table and a cart for the grills and other modules available, which makes STCKBLS both innovative and functional.

“We believe the STCKBLS Grilling  system design delivers a beautiful, portable BBQing solution that serves a very useful purpose,” Djie said. “Our complementary coolers and grill utility boxes can also be stacked and easily transported to form a complete barbecue grilling system.”

The STCKBLS Grill is also unlike many other portable grills on the market today because it is built with stronger materials and made to last longer than its retail competitors.

“The BBQ grilling industry isn’t high growth, so many grill manufacturers lower their quality standards to increase profits, which means most portable gas grills are only designed to last one or two seasons and then be discarded,” Mathew said. “We believe strongly in sustainability, so we designed the STCKBLS Grill system with higher quality materials to last much longer than normal. We want to grow profits from highly-satisfied customers buying other STCKBLS modules, not from replacing their STCKBLS Grills.”

Mathew adds that the company decided to offer the grill through crowdfunding rather than traditional retail outlets to make the revolutionary portable grill more affordable to consumers and enable the company to create higher-quality, longer-lasting products at the same time.

“Combining grill modules allows for a practically unlimited, contiguous cooking surface, which makes the STCKBLS Grill perfect for tailgating and outdoor parties,” Djie said.

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Robert Hoskins, a seasoned Front Page PR veteran provides more than twenty-five years of external communications, media relations, digital social media and SEO skills to Front Page PR’s crowdfunding PR and media relations service portfolio.
Robert Hoskins
(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR


Mr. Robert Hoskins is a seasoned marketing veteran with a proven track record of helping entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses as well as Fortune 500 corporations launch successful marketing communications campaigns to gain market traction for a wide variety of products and services.
On a regular basis, Mr. Hoskins consults with crowdfunding campaign managers as well as crowdfunding sites, portals and platforms to deliver successful crowdfunding marketing campaigns.
Google search “Robert Hoskins Crowdfunding” to see why Mr. Hoskins is considered one of the industry’s foremost crowdfunding experts that has amassed a huge social media following, which is dedicated to supporting donation-, rewards- and equity-based crowdfunding campaigns.

 

Top 100 P2P Lending Sites

30 Jun

2017 List of Top 100 Personal Loan
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Crowd Lending Sites

By Robert Hoskins

Searching for the Top 100 Personal Loan Sites?

Searching for the top 100 P2P (Peer-to-Peer) personal loan sites in the United States and the rest of the world? Each year in June, Crowdfunding PR tracks and updates its list of the top P2P personal loan lending sites around the world and ranks them by their country website traffic statistics.

Most P2P Lending personal loan sites market how much money they have loaned out, but it is worth considering that the higher the volume of loans being processed is more important. Why? Because lower rates equal more loans originated and could mean the best deal for people with bad credit that need a quick loan.

How Does P2P Lending Work for Personal Loans?

The P2P lending business model is starkly different from that of traditional banks. P2P platforms don’t lend their own funds — they act as a platform to match borrowers who are seeking a loan with “investors” who purchase notes or securities backed by notes issued by the P2P platforms.

P2P platforms don_t lend their own funds - they act as a platform to match borrowers who are seeking a loan with investors

P2P platforms don_t lend their own funds – they act as a platform to match borrowers who are seeking a loan with investors

P2P platforms generate revenue from origination fees charged to borrowers and from a portion of the interest charged to investors as servicing fees, as well as additional charges such as late fees. Investors generate revenue from the remaining portion of the interest that borrowers pay on the loan. Borrowers benefit from a streamlined application process, quick funding decisions, and 24/7 access to the status of their loan.

Types of P2P Lending Personal Loans:

There are many different types of P2P lending personal loans that can be originated. Some special in small business loans, others focus on parent/student loans for college and others target residential and commercial real estate.

Here is a quick list of the types of personal loans that the list of P2P lending sites below might offer:

  • Auto Loans
  • Bank Loans
  • Bit Coin Loans
  • Bridge Loans
  • Commercial Real Estate Loans
  • Franchise Loans
  • Mortgage Loans
  • Non-Occupied Residential Real Estate Loans
  • P2P Loans
  • Patient Loans
  • Personal Loans
  • Social Good Loans
  • Small Business Loans
  • Student Loans
  • Veteran Loans

P2P Lending Personal Loan Underwriting:

Most personal loan sites utilize a unique underwriting model to base peer-to-peer lending rates on more than just your credit score including work history, school attended and academic performance. The minimum credit score for loans is 550+ and borrowers are not able to apply if they have a bankruptcy or loan in collection currently. This may make it harder to get bad credit peer loans but may match rates better for other borrowers.

Investors must have a U.S. bank account and an accredited investor status by having net worth that exceeds $1 million, excluding the value of their primary residence, or income that exceeds 200,000 in each of the last two years. A few P2P personal loan sites will also allow retail investors (non-accredited) participate.

Types of P2P Lending Personal Loan Fees:

  • Origination Fee – Percentage of the target loan amount
  • Late Payment Fee – The greater percentage of past due amount or a flat fee, charged after a specified number calendar days past payment due date
  • Check Processing Fee – Fee charged per check received as payment
  • ACH Return or Check Refund Fee – $15 charged if bank transfers or checks are returned or fail

Types of P2P Lending Personal Loan Rates:

  1. Variable Rate – Loans starting from a percentage APR, better rates come with AutoPay
  2. Fixed Rate – Loans available from a percentage APR, better rates come with AutoPay

Top 100 P2P Lending Personal Loan Sites:

2017 Rank © Front Page PR   Traffic Country
#1 LendingClub.com 2,963 United States
#2 FundingCircle.com 3,957 United Kingdom
#3 Zopa.com 4,484 United Kingdom
#4 RateSetter.com 7,009 United Kingdom
#5 Prosper.com 7,665 United States
#6 SoFi.com 7,738 United States
#7 Avant.com 16,720 United States
#8 Kabbage.com 29,234 United States
#9 Upstart.com 34,150 United States
#10 Financeit.io 42,733 Canada
#11 LendKey.com 48,638 United States
#12 NetCredit.com 60,294 United States
#13 Zidisha.org 86,596 Germany
#14 YieldStreet.com 118,099 United States
#15 Peerform.com 134,026 United States
#16 StreetShares.com 312,541 United States
#17 P2BI.com 407,722 United States
#18 ZimpleMoney.com 481,016 United States
#19 SyndiCrowd.com 581,116 United States
#20 ApplepieCapital.com 784,786 United States
#21 BitLendingClub.com 898,392 United States
#22 LoanBack.com 1,056,801 United States
#23 Money360.com 1,412,206 United States
#24 Kiva.com 6,799,012 United States

Search these crowdfunding lists for more information:

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Robert Hoskins, a seasoned Front Page PR veteran provides more than twenty-eight years of external communications, media relations, digital social media and SEO skills to Front Page PR’s crowdfunding PR and media relations service portfolio.
Robert Hoskins
(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR


Mr. Robert Hoskins is a seasoned marketing veteran with a proven track record of helping entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses as well as Fortune 500 corporations launch successful marketing communications campaigns to gain market traction for a wide variety of products and services.
On a regular basis, Mr. Hoskins consults with crowdfunding campaign managers as well as crowdfunding sites, portals and platforms to deliver successful crowdfunding marketing campaigns.
Google search “Robert Hoskins Crowdfunding” to see why Mr. Hoskins runs one of the industry’s foremost crowdfunding PR, social media and marketing agencies that has amassed a huge social media following and is dedicated to supporting a wide variety of donation, rewards and equity crowdfunding campaigns.

Real Estate Lender Zeus CrowdFunding Offers the Crowdlending Industry’s First Customer Loyalty Program

11 May

The Zeus CrowdFunding offers loans for property acquisition, refinancing, discounted home buying, renovation projects, transitional properties, non-traditional borrowers, fix-and-flip projects, fix-and-hold projects, transactional financing, gap financing, and time-sensitive transactions

 By Robert Hoskins

Houston, TexasZeus CrowdFunding, the fastest real estate crowdlending site in America, will offer borrowers a new incentive unmatched in the rapidly growing financial sector: the real estate crowdfunding industry’s first loyalty program. Repeat borrowers with the company can borrow up to 80 percent of a property’s after-repair value (ARV).

The ZeusCrowdFunding.com platform offers borrowers the flexibility to structure custom-tailored financing options that address a variety of unique transactions involving property acquisition, refinancing, discounted home buying, renovation projects, transitional properties, non-traditional borrowers, fix-and-flip projects, fix-and-hold projects, transactional financing, gap financing, and transactions requiring time-sensitive funding.

The ZeusCrowdFunding offers loans for property acquisition, refinancing, discounted home buying, renovation projects, transitional properties, non-traditional borrowers, fix-and-flip projects, fix-and-hold projects, transactional financing, gap financing, and time-sensitive transactions

The program is called LoyaltyZ, and its mechanics are simple. On a borrower’s first loan with Zeus CrowdFunding, they’re eligible to receive up to 75 percent loan-to-value (LTV) of his or her approved project’s ARV. With each loan that they finish paying back to Zeus CrowdFunding, the borrower will receive one more point on their LTV on their next loan—up to 80 percent of the ARV.

On a borrower’s second loan from Zeus CrowdFunding, for example, he or she is eligible to borrow up to 76 percent of the ARV; on his or her third loan, up to 77 percent, and so on. Beginning with his or her sixth loan, a repeat borrower can borrow up to 80 percent of the ARV on every loan.

Zeus CrowdFunding Founder and Chief Acceleration Officer Steven Kaufman says that LoyaltyZ was designed for real estate borrowers interested in completing multiple projects as quickly as possible. No additional sign-up or commitment is required of them.

“Simply put, we devised the real estate crowdfunding industry’s only loyalty rewards program because we value repeat business more than our competitors do,” Mr. Kaufman said. “We find it’s a valuable differentiator in an increasingly crowded marketplace that our customers love. It helps Zeus CrowdFunding to build ongoing relationships with real estate investors in our homebase of Texas and across the United States.

“Best of all, borrowers who pay off more than one loan with us are eligible to receive their funding in as little as three days,” he added.

For more information about Zeus CrowdFunding and the real estate crowdfunding industry’s only loyalty program, please visit AskZeus.com. The platform specializes in lending opportunities up to $2 million, secured by first lien and personal guarantees. New borrowers can receive real estate financing in as little as four days.

Zeus Mortgage Bank is a Texas-based mortgage lender providing the right loan at the right time at the right price for our clients. We pride ourselves on being the fastest mortgage lender in America, and our clients love our Lifetime Mortgage Warranty.

Zeus CrowdFunding is an online real estate crowdfunding platform that was launched by Zeus Trust Company in 2016. The ZeusCrowdFunding.com platform offers borrowers the flexibility to structure custom-tailored financing options that address a variety of unique transactions involving property acquisition, refinancing, discounted home buying, renovation projects, transitional properties, non-traditional borrowers, fix-and-flip projects, fix-and-hold projects, transactional financing, gap financing, and transactions requiring time-sensitive funding.

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Robert Hoskins, a seasoned Front Page PR veteran provides more than twenty-eight years of external communications, media relations, digital social media and SEO skills to Front Page PR’s crowdfunding PR and media relations service portfolio.
Robert Hoskins
(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR


Mr. Robert Hoskins is a seasoned marketing veteran with a proven track record of helping entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses as well as Fortune 500 corporations launch successful marketing communications campaigns to gain market traction for a wide variety of products and services.
On a regular basis, Mr. Hoskins consults with crowdfunding campaign managers as well as crowdfunding sites, portals and platforms to deliver successful crowdfunding marketing campaigns.
Google search “Robert Hoskins Crowdfunding” to see why Mr. Hoskins is considered one of the industry’s foremost crowdfunding experts that has amassed a huge social media following, which is dedicated to supporting donation, rewards and equity crowdfunding campaigns.

SEC Issues Progress Report on United States Title III Equity Crowdfunding Growth Rate

15 Mar

Approximately 163 separate offerings were filed by 156 issuers, seeking a total of approximately $18 million

By Robert Hoskins

Washington, DC – The SEC just released a white paper entitled, U.S. securities-based crowdfunding under Title III of the JOBS Act, which analyzes crowdfunded offerings during the first six months following May 16, 2016 when Title III, Regulation Crowdfunding become official. The SEC’s white paper, which was prepared for Scott Bauguess, the Acting Chief Economist and Acting Director of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA), noted that the majority equity crowdfunding offerings to date have not utilized Regulation D as much as predicted.

Top 20 Title III Equity Crowdfunding Sites in U.S.

The white paper does go into great detail about five largest Title III crowdfunding portals based on the number of offerings, which accounted for 71% of the offerings launched during 2016.  The five largest Title III crowdfunding sites  also accounted for 64% of the total amount of funds raised. And while more 20 crowdfunding sites were listed, most of the offering activity was limited to 25% of active platforms in the Title III crowdfunding marketplace. And, if you ran the numbers for completed offerings, you would see that the top five largest intermediaries accounted for more than 90% of the market share.

The table below low shows the list of the Top Performing Title III Crowdfunding Portals sorted on the number of initiated offerings and then by the target amounts of the initiated offerings, excluding offerings withdrawn as of December 31, 2016.

Top 20 Title III Equity Crowdfunding Sites Ranked by Number of Offerings

Top 20 Title III Equity Crowdfunding Sites Ranked by Number of Offerings

 

Most Successful Types of Title III Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns

Many people want to know what the types of Title III crowdfunding campaigns were the most successful. Preferred Equity led the pack at 36%, followed bySimple Agreements for Future Equity at 26%, Debt at 20%, Units at 7%, Convertible Notes at 6% and Miscellaneous accounted for the remaining 5%, which included Revenue Sharing and Membership / LLC Interests.

Distribution of Title III Equity Crowdfunding Offerings

Distribution of Title III Equity Crowdfunding Offerings

 

Top States for Launching Title III Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns

Another interesting way to look at growing crowdfunding industry is to examine what states launched the most successful Title III Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns.  In the table below you can see that California/Silicon Valley launched the most Title III crowdfunding campaigns, followed closely by Texas/Silicon Hills at 19%, New York at 14%, Massachusetts and Illinois tying at 9%, Delaware, Florida, New Jersey, Oregon, and Pennsylvania bringing up the back to the pack, all with 5%.

Geographic Distribution of Title III Equity Crowdfunding

States with the Most Title III Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns

 

How Many Reg. D and Title IV, Reg. A+ Crowdfunding Offerings Result?

Because many industry experts have stated their concerns that the SEC’s decision to severely restrict the general solicitation guidelines with regards to advertising their crowdfunding deals to the masses of non-accredited investors, the white paper also took a close look at how many Title III Regulation Crowdfunding Campaigns had previously or subsequently conducted an offering under Regulation D or Regulation A.

As shown in the table below, as of January 15, 2017, approximately 15% of offerings initiated during 2016 (excluding withdrawn offerings) were by issuers that have also reported offerings under Regulation D either before or after the initial crowdfunding filing. And, approximately 3% of issuers have issued Regulation A+ filings as of January 15, 2017.

Among crowdfunding issuers, approximately 12.9% of offerings were by issuers that had filed the first Form D notice prior to the first crowdfunding filing and approximately 2.5% of offerings involved issuers that had filed a Form D notice after the first crowdfunding filing. For about 8.6% of offerings, excluding withdrawn crowdfunding offerings, a Form D filing was made within one calendar year before or after the initial crowdfunding filing. Consistent with their young age, the SEC determined that the majority of the crowdfunding issuers were more likely to be new startups rather than “fallen angels.”

Overall, these results suggest that crowdfunding is attracting issuers that have not extensively used other private offering exemptions, such as Regulation D, which is otherwise a very popular private offering exemption among similarly sized issuers as those initially availing themselves of the Crowdfunding market. The initial evidence is points to the fact that Title III, Regulation Crowdfunding is indeed providing a new source of capital for entrepreneurial and small businesses that may not otherwise have had access to capital through alternative capital raising channels.

Form D and Title IV, Reg A+ Equity Crowdfunding Offerings

Form D and Title IV, Reg A+ Equity Crowdfunding Offerings

 

The white paper also made a point of covering the following facts and figures.:

  • There were 163 separate offerings by 156 issuers, seeking a total of approximately $18 million, excluding withdrawn offerings. The median offering amount was $53,000 and the average offering amount was approximately $110,000. However, almost all of the offerings accepted over-subscriptions up to a higher amount (typically close to $1 million) for a total amount of approximately $101 million.
  • As of January 15, 2017, approximately $10 million in proceeds was raised in 33 offerings by issuers filing a Form C-U. The median amount raised in these offerings was $171,000 and the average amount raised was approximately $303,000.
  • For offerings initiated in 2016, were withdrawn by issuers or associated with an intermediary whose FINRA membership was terminated and funding portal registration withdrawn. These offerings sought a total of approximately $2.3 million (approximately $19.5 million if over-subscriptions are included).
  • Most of the offerings solicited in all states.
  • The most popular type of security was equity, followed by “simple agreements for future equity” and debt.
  • The most popular state of incorporation for issuers was Delaware and the most popular principal place of business for issuers was California.
  • The median issuer had under $50,000 in assets, under $5,000 in cash, $10,000 in debt, no revenues, and three employees. Approximately 40% of the issuers reported positive revenue and approximately 9% of the issuers reported a net profit in the most recent fiscal year. Among the issuers that reported non-zero assets in the prior fiscal year, the median growth rate was approximately 15%.
  • 21 intermediaries, including 13 funding portals and 8 broker-dealers, were involved in the offerings. As of December 31, 2016, funding portals have registered with the SEC and FINRA and one funding portal had its FINRA membership terminated and withdrew its SEC registration. The median intermediary percentage fee was 5%, and intermediaries took a financial interest in the issuer in approximately 16% of the offerings.

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Robert Hoskins, a seasoned Front Page PR veteran provides more than twenty-five years of external communications, media relations, digital social media and SEO skills to Front Page PR’s crowdfunding PR and media relations service portfolio.
Robert Hoskins
(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR


Mr. Robert Hoskins is a seasoned marketing veteran with a proven track record of helping entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses as well as Fortune 500 corporations launch successful marketing communications campaigns to gain market traction for a wide variety of products and services.
On a regular basis, Mr. Hoskins consults with crowdfunding campaign managers as well as crowdfunding sites, portals and platforms to deliver successful crowdfunding marketing campaigns.
Google search “Robert Hoskins Crowdfunding” to see why Mr. Hoskins is considered one of the industry’s foremost crowdfunding experts that has amassed a huge social media following, which is dedicated to supporting donation-, rewards- and equity-based crowdfunding campaigns.

Is Title IV Reg A+ Equity Crowdfunding the Right Fundraising Tool for Your Growing Business?

21 Sep

A Checklist of Goals for Businesses Considering Raising Money with a Title IV Reg A+ Crowdfunding Campaign

By Robert Hoskins

Is Title IV, Reg. A+ Equity Crowdfunding the Right Fundraising Tool for Your Growing Business?

Is Title IV Reg A+ Equity Crowdfunding the Right Fundraising Tool?

Austin, Texas – Trying to figure out if Title IV Reg A+ Equity Crowdfunding is the right fundraising tool to help your company move to the next level? Most people consider Reg A+ to be one step below issuing an IPO (Initial Public Offering) at a fraction of what it usually costs, thus it is also known as a Mini-IPO.

Most financial analysts consider existing businesses with several years of operations and generating significant revenue from multiple product/service lines to be the best candidates to launch a Reg A+ crowdfunding campaign. Smaller investment bookrunners will argue that even startups and small businesses are good targets to raise money using Reg A+, especially if they have goal of going public in 18-to-24 months based on certain revenue milestones.

Top Title IV Reg A+ Crowdfunding Questions:

  1. Do you have a strong management team?
  2. Do your founders or investors have any “Star Power?”
  3. Do you need to raise more than $1 million?
  4. Have you developed an effective 30-second elevator pitch?
  5. Have you developed a 3-minute crowdfunding pitch video with a strong call-to-action?
  6. Have you developed a “Pitch Book” for investors?
  7. Do you have a lead investor of $25k+ or more?
  8. Have you raised at least $100,000+ or more from prior investments?
  9. Is your business growing at 20% or more month over month?
  10. Have you generated at least $100,000+ of lifetime revenue?
  11. Is your business projecting  2x to 3x year-on-year profit growth?
  12. Can you provide investors with a 3x to 10x ROI over the next 3 to 5 years?
  13. Is your market valuation worth $5 million or more?
  14. Is your market capitalization realistic from a VC’s point of view?
  15. Have you run a successful rewards/perks-based crowdfunding campaign?
  16. Do you have a database of at least 5,000+ customer email accounts?
  17. Do you have a database of at least 1,000+ investor email accounts?
  18. Have you generated at least 3 or more press articles in the trade press?
  19. Do you have a $20,000 or more for a advertising/crowdfunding PR budget?
  20. Do you have a strong LinkedIn resume and a large social media following on Facebook and Twitter?

If you cannot answer “yes” to the majority of these questions, then your business may not be ready to launch a Reg A+ equity crowdfunding campaign. These are many of the milestones that private equity investors and venture capitalists like see in a pitch deck to make your company worth serious consideration for a seed stage or private equity investment. If not, use this list to set some goals and objectives for your business and work hard to achieve them.

Title IV Reg A+ vs. IPO

If you think you are serious about issuing a Reg A+ offering, it would be wise to read through the following white papers on Title IV Reg A+ vs. IPOs. Learning how a bookrunner works with various investment banks, institutional investors, venture capital and private equity firms can provide valuable insight into how Wall Street has been raising money for startups for the past 100 years.

The white papers will also provide key insights into how much money it will cost as well as the actual fundraising process including what it takes to put together a “Pitch Book” and how to market it via “Dog and Pony” investment road shows. The key to raising for a company’s management team to travel from city to city meeting with potential investors to pitch Reg A+ investment opportunities.

Title IV Reg A+ Background

The SEC has previously stated that the primary purpose in adopting Reg A+ was to provide a simple and relatively inexpensive procedure for small business use in raising limited amounts of needed capital. Reg A+ issuers submit a paper-based offering statement to the SEC; this offering statement is essentially an abbreviated version of an IPO prospectus and it must be “qualified,” or cleared, by the SEC and delivered to prospective purchasers.

In addition to SEC review, Reg A+ offerings have traditionally been subject to review under state securities laws (also known as “Blue Sky” laws). In comparison, a traditional registered IPO listed on a national exchange is exempt from Blue Sky requirements. Securities sold in a Reg A+ offering are freely transferable in the secondary market, though Reg A+ issuers are not subject to Exchange Act reporting requirements.

Title IV Reg A+ as Outlined by 2012 JOBS Act

Title IV of the 2012 JOBS Act directed the SEC to expand Reg A to exempt offerings of up to $50 million in equity, debt or convertible securities. The law mandated that issuers relying on this new exemption would be required to file audited financial statements with the SEC on an annual basis.

However, without infrastructure currently in place for A+ securities to trade on national exchanges, lawmakers left it within the purview of the SEC to settle the state jurisdiction question by establishing the definition for “qualified purchaser” in the rulemaking process.

The 2nd Tier of Title IV Reg A+ Offerings

The SEC’s final rule was adopted on March 25, 2015, and became effective during the summer of 2015. In the rule, the SEC expanded Regulation A into two tiers: Tier 1 for offerings of up to $20 million and Tier 2 for offerings up to $50 million.

By removing key procedural obstacles and introducing common-sense investor protections, this new Reg A+ framework creates a viable capital-raising alternative for issuers that want to remain independent and innovative. Below are some of the key provisions included in the SEC’s Reg A+ rule:

  • Testing the waters: Issuers may solicit interest in a potential offering with the general public, either before or after the filing of the offering statement.
  • Blue Sky: Offerings made under Tier 2 are generally exempt from state securities law registration and qualification requirements. And while Tier 1 offerings would still be subject to state Blue Sky regulations, the states’ new Coordinated Review process has dramatically reduced the burdens associated with this process.
  • Offering Circular: Issuers can confidentially file statements for SEC qualification. Offering circular must include audited financial statements and balance sheets for the two most recently completed fiscal year ends. The Offering Circular format is narrative disclosure, similar to what is required from smaller reporting companies in a prospectus, but more limited in certain respects.
  • Proceeds: For Tier 2 offerings, there is an annual offering limit of up to $50 million in equity, debt or convertible securities, including no more than $15 million from selling security holders. For Tier 1 offerings, the annual limit is $20 million, with not more than $6 million from selling security holders preceded or accompanied by a preliminary offering circular.
  • Transferability/Liquidity for Investors: Securities sold in these offerings are not “restricted securities” under the Securities Act, and thus are freely tradable in the secondary market.
  • Ongoing Reporting: Issuers that conduct a Tier 2 offering must electronically file annual and semiannual reports with the SEC, but those who conduct Tier 1 offerings generally have no ongoing reporting obligations.

Are Title IV Reg A+ Shares More Liquid?

Securities offered under Reg A+ are freely tradable, which makes them more valuable to employees, investors and founders.  This is beneficial for investors but also for issuer constituents, who may be early investors or insiders, seeking liquidity.  The issuers’ choice of venue is mostly to do with the size of the offering and the company’s market capitalization.

Need Help Preparing a Title IV Reg A+ Offering?

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Robert Hoskins, a seasoned Front Page PR veteran provides more than twenty-five years of external communications, media relations, digital social media and SEO skills to Front Page PR’s crowdfunding PR and media relations service portfolio.
Robert Hoskins
(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR


Mr. Robert Hoskins is a seasoned marketing veteran with a proven track record of helping entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses as well as Fortune 500 corporations launch successful marketing communications campaigns to gain market traction for a wide variety of products and services.
On a regular basis, Mr. Hoskins consults on a regular basis with crowdfunding campaign managers as well as crowdfunding sites, portals and platforms to deliver successful crowdfunding marketing campaigns.
Google search “Robert Hoskins Crowdfunding” to see why Mr. Hoskins is considered one of the industry’s foremost crowdfunding experts that has amassed a huge social media following, which is dedicated to supporting donation-, rewards- and equity-based crowdfunding campaigns.
In addition, due to the overwhelming demand from the general public for information on crowdfunding, he empowers entrepreneurs, startups and existing businesses with the internet’s most affordable crowdfunding training classes, which provide insight to startups around the world on a 24 x 7 basis.

Crowdfunding PR Rolls Out Title IV, Reg. A+ 2-Month Crowdfunding Prep Work Program to Help Startups and Existing Businesses Learn How to Launch More Successful Crowdfunding Campaigns

29 Aug

The Crowdfunding Prep Work Program Helps Campaign Managers Amass a Large Crowd of Followers on Social Media and Utilize PR to Generate Hundreds of News Articles on Leading Media Outlets

By Robert Hoskins

Austin, Texas – Want to learn how to launch a successful Title IV, Reg. A+ equity crowdfunding campaign? To help crowdfunders achieve this elusive goal, Crowdfunding PR announced a special two-month Crowdfunding Prep Work Program that will significantly improve a crowdfunding campaign’s success rate by amplifying its management team’s social media profiles and by utilizing an effective crowdfunding PR campaign to generate hundreds of stories via electronic news media outlets prior to the crowdfunding campaign’s launch.

How to Plan a Successful Crowdfunding PR Campaign by Following this Secret Step-by-Step Process

How to Plan a Successful Crowdfunding PR Campaign by Following this Secret Step-by-Step Process

Social Media Campaigns
Conducting a strong social media marketing campaign is one of the biggest challenges that many Title IV, Reg. A+ Crowdfunding Campaigns will face. Improving weak social media credentials for companies is critical to crowdfunding success. What many entrepreneurs and startups need to recognize is how important social media is in the world of crowdfunding.

“The very first thing that an investor/donor does when they read through a crowdfunding profile they like is to look up the company and its team members on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to check out their credentials,” said Robert Hoskins, Crowdfunding PR’s Director of Crowdfunding Campaigns. “Having a strong resume on LinkedIn, lots of likes on Facebook and an army of followers on Twitter is crucial to determining the strength of the team and the likelihood that they have the tenacity and marketing skill set to deliver on their crowdfunding campaign’s promises.”

Public Relations/Publicity Campaigns
The second biggest task is generating stories on electronic news media outlets and blogs prior to launching a crowdfunding campaign. Not only can a well-orchestrated crowdfunding PR campaign generate hundreds of free, positive trade press articles to support the fundraising effort, but the same targeted, search-engine-optimized (SEO) press releases will continue to drive new investors, potential customers as well as sales/distribution partners to the business long after the crowdfunding campaign ends.

“Most investors/donors will do a Google search to see what they can find online for both the company and its team members,” Hoskins continued. “With a two-month crowdfunding prep work campaign there will be several pages of search engine results that link to the client’s website pages, their social media posts/profiles and the crowdfunding campaign’s temporary landing page until they launch an equity crowdfunding campaign on SeedInvest.comStartEngine.com, Republic.co, WeFunder.com or any other Title IV, Reg. A+ equity crowdfunding sites.

Contact Crowdfunding PR
If you would like to speak with a crowdfunding PR, social media and/or marketing expert regarding your crowdfunding campaign, please call Robert Hoskins at (512) 627-6622.

# # #

Robert Hoskins, a seasoned Front Page PR veteran provides more than twenty-five years of external communications, media relations, digital social media and SEO skills to Front Page PR’s crowdfunding PR and media relations service portfolio.
(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR


Mr. Robert Hoskins is a seasoned marketing veteran with a proven track record of helping entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses as well as Fortune 500 corporations launch successful marketing communications campaigns to gain market traction for a wide variety of products and services.
Mr. Hoskins consults on a regular basis with crowdfunding campaign managers as well as crowdfunding sites, portals and platforms to deliver successful crowdfunding marketing campaigns.
Mr. Hoskins is one of the crowdfunding industry’s foremost crowdfunding advocates and has amassed a huge social media following that is dedicated to supporting donation-, rewards- and equity-based crowdfunding campaigns. Due to the overwhelming demand from the general public for crowdfunding information, he empowers entrepreneurs with some of the internet’s most affordable ($20) online crowdfunding training classes, which provide insight to startups around the world on a 24 x 7 basis.

Weekly Update 6/13 – Top 10 Title, Crowdfunding Regulation Offerings Update Report

13 Jun

Top 10 Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Have Raised $711,196 Since May 16th Using Title III, Regulation Crowdfunding

By Robert Hoskins

Austin, Texas – Here is a update of the first round of Title III, Regulation Crowdfunding campaigns that launched on May 16th, almost a month ago. In aggregate, the crowdfunding campaigns have raised $711,196.  And that figure would be much higher if we included the all 40 of the equity crowdfunding campaigns that have been approved by the SEC for issuing Title III offerings.

To give crowdfunders an idea of which platform is raising the most money, we added up the totals for each platform and so far, WeFunder is ruling the roost with 61% of all money raised:

  1.  WeFunder.com            $433,094
  2.  NextSeed                        $112,500
  3.  StartEngine                     $91,302
  4.  SeedInvest                      $74,300

                                     Total: $711,196

Why are some companies raising a lot of money and others are struggling?  It comes down to how much money these crowdfunding campaigns are spending on marketing.  Its hard to raise money unless campaigns are spending money on advertising, email, PR, social media and website marketing to raise awareness for their campaign and its products or services. Simply listing a campaign on a fundraising portal is not enough and why 60% of rewards-based campaigns fail.

For example, check out the profiles below to see their company websites, their social media credentials on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and then Google their founders names and company names to see what they have done to promote their company in the news media.

It will be easy to see what management teams have done the proper prep work and planned effective marketing campaigns and which teams haven’t even been able to cobble together a simple company website.

If a management team can’t build a simple website, how in the world can they run a successful business?

One founder commented that, “They didn’t build a website because they wanted everyone to focus on their crowdfunding campaign profile.”

Most investors will read everything they can about the company, their products/services, news stories, research reports, industry analysts projections for the marketplace, etc., etc.

The goal should be to provide enough information to remove all the fear, doubt and uncertainty from the investment sales equation and give them the urge to invest before they even start reviewing the SEC financial disclosure information on the crowdfunding portal’s website.

For example, let’s take at look at NextRX.  They are on the StartEngine platform.

The good news is that they have a website, but not one shred of industry facts, figures or industry growth projections to support the fact that the Medical and Recreational Marijuana industry is currently the fastest growing industry in the United States and is expected to reach more than $22.8 billion in revenue in the next 4 years. Not one single fact about the 16 additional states that will probably sign new cannabis regulations into law during 2016 that will take the U.S. from 4 legal markets to more than 20.

Is providing some research on local or national marijuana industry markets important? Hell yes.

As an investor, I want to know, in detail, about my possibility of earning a nice return-on-investment for buying shares in their company. I would love to say this is why they haven’t raised any money, but its not.  A smart investor relations team would use their current banking problem and turn it into an opportunity to expose the hurdle they face with setting up an escrow account and use the example to try and put more pressure on the financial banking system and the U.S. Government to remove marijuana as a Class One drug so banks don’t have to worry about breaking federal law.

Why not provide a Marijuana Pitch Video like this one? It practically makes the investor want to jump in before it’s too late! If the big investors are doing it, then I certainly don’t want to miss out on the next big industry that is almost guaranteed to boom in the U.S.

Why not include a Marijuana Industry Analyst Report like this that projects a $22.8 billion industry in the next 4 years. It would be kind of like investing in a liquor company right before prohibition ended.

As a reporter, perhaps I want to write a story based on the marijuana’s industry’s potential growth. But the company’s management team has failed to provide a media kit with company backgrounders, executive head shots, bios, press releases, market research, white papers, photos, graphics, etc., which means they are very inexperienced business executives and have never worked in a big corporation. To me this means this company will mostly likely fail as business because they certainly do not understand marketing, which is the key to all sales growth.

6/13 Weekly Title III, Crowdfunding Update:


1. Taxa Biotechnologies (genetic plant engineers)

Crowdfunding Platform: WeFunder

Amount Raised:  $221,115

2. The Legion M Entertainment (media company)

Crowdfunding Platform: WeFunder

Amount Raised: $188,229

3. Native Hostel Austin (Luxury hostel in Austin

Crowdfunding Platform: NextSeed

Amount Raised: $112,500

4. MF Fire (an app-drive, low emissions wood stove)

Crowdfunding Platform: SeedInvest

Amount Raised: $63,300

5. Bloomery SweetShine (distillery)

Crowdfunding Platform: StartEngine

Amount Raised: $58,800

6. Gigmor (Connecting bands with venues and gigs)

Crowdfunding Platform: StartEngine

Amount Raised: $17,505

7. Urban Juncture (developing commercial real estate)

Platform: WeFunder

Amount Raised: $11,950

8. Treasure State Internet (fiber optic installation)

Crowdfunding Platform: WeFunder

Amount Raised:  $11,800

 

9. GameTree (Social network for gamers)

Crowdfunding Platform: StartEngine

Amount Raised:  $11,060

10. StartMart Cleveland (Coworking space)

Crowdfunding Platform: SeedInvest

Amount Raised: $11,000

11. Graphic Armor (personalized condoms)

Crowdfunding Platform: StartEngine

Amount Raised: $3,937

12. NextRX Inc (Medical marijuana network pass)

Crowdfunding Platform: StartEngine

Amount Raised:  $0 (on hold because escrow account closed by bank)

# # #

Crowdfunding PR Rolls Out Title III Equity Crowdfunding 2-Month Prep-Work Programs to Launch More Successful Crowdfunding Campaigns

16 May

The crowdfunding prep work program helps entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses amass a large crowd of followers on social media and utilizes PR to generate hundreds of articles on leading newspapers, TV/radio stations, trade publications and leading blogs

By Robert Hoskins

Austin, Texas (May 16, 2016) – Want to learn how to launch a successful Title III crowdfunding campaign on one of top 100 equity crowdfunding sites? To help crowdfunders achieve this elusive goal, Crowdfunding PR (http://crowdfundingPR.wordpress.com) announced a special two-month Crowdfunding Prep Work Program that will significantly improve a crowdfunding campaign’s success rate by amplifying its founder’s social media profiles and by utilizing an effective crowdfunding PR campaign to generate hundreds of stories in the electronic news media prior to the crowdfunding campaign’s launch.

How to Plan a Successful Crowdfunding PR Campaign by Following this Secret Step-by-Step Process

How to Plan a Successful Crowdfunding PR Campaigns, a Step-by-Step Process

One of the biggest challenges that most crowdfunding campaigns face are weak social media credentials and the lack of a large group of social media followers that are needed to support crowdfunding campaigns with donations and/or investments. Building strong, professional Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter profiles and amassing the largest possible group of followers on social media networks is crucial to conducting a successful crowdfunding campaign.

The second biggest task is generating stories on electronic news media outlets and blogs prior to launching a crowdfunding campaign. Not only can a well-orchestrated crowdfunding PR campaign generate hundreds of free, positive trade press articles to support the fundraising effort, but the same targeted, search engine optimized press releases will continue to drive new investors, potential customers and sales/distribution partners to the business long after the crowdfunding campaign ends.

“What many entrepreneurs and startups need to recognize is how important social media is in the world of crowdfunding,” said Robert Hoskins, Crowdfunding PR’s Director of Crowdfunding Campaigns. “The very first thing that an investor/donor does when they read through a crowdfunding profile they like is to look up the company and its team members on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to check out their credentials. Having a strong resume on LinkedIn, lots of likes on Facebook and an army of followers on Twitter is crucial to determining the strength of the team and the likelihood that they have the tenacity and skill set to deliver on their crowdfunding campaign’s promises.”

“Next, most investors/donors will do a Google search to see what they can find online for both the company and its team members,” Hoskins continued. “With a two-month crowdfunding prep-work campaign there will be several pages of search engine results that link to the client’s website pages, their social media posts/profiles and the crowdfunding campaign’s prep pages that will point to their live fundraising campaign on Kickstarter.com, Indiegogo.com, GoFundMe.com or any of the other 2016 Top 100 Global Crowdfunding sites.”

If you would like to speak with a crowdfunding PR, social media and/or marketing expert regarding your crowdfunding campaign please call Robert Hoskins at (512) 627-6622 or fill out the contact form at: https://crowdfundingpr.wordpress.com/about-crowdfunding-pr-campaigns/ to setup a telephone consultation.

# # #

Robert Hoskins, a seasoned Front Page PR veteran provides more than twenty-five years of external communications, media relations, digital social media and SEO skills to Front Page PR’s crowdfunding PR and media relations service portfolio.
(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR


Mr. Robert Hoskins is a seasoned marketing veteran with a proven track record of helping entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses as well as Fortune 500 corporations launch successful marketing communications campaigns to gain market traction for a wide variety of products and services.
Mr. Hoskins is one of the crowdfunding industry’s foremost crowdfunding advocates and has amassed a huge social media following that is dedicated to supporting donation-, rewards- and equity-based crowdfunding campaigns. Due to the overwhelming demand from the general public for crowdfunding information, he empowers entrepreneurs with some of the internet’s most affordable ($20) online crowdfunding training classes, which provide insight to startups around the world on a 24 x 7 basis.
Mr. Hoskins adamantly believes that the crowdfunding industry will empower everyone in the United States to rediscover the possibility of living the American dream with a little hard work, a great business idea and the dedication to researching, planning and launching a well-thought-out crowdfunding campaign. He consults on a regular basis with crowdfunding campaign managers as well as crowdfunding sites, portals and platforms to deliver successful crowdfunding marketing campaigns.

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