Merit Harbor Group’s Boutique Investment Banking Arm offers Startups Crowdfunding Consulting Assistance

Boutique middle-market investment bank offers crowdfunding assistance to late-stage startups and growing companies

By Robert Hoskins

Seattle, Washington – Boutique investment banking firm, Merit Harbor Group, now offers expanded capital requisition and crowdfunding assistance ahead of the full release of Title III crowdfunding. The firm, which provides a myriad of expert consulting services to startups, growth and established businesses, is positioning itself to be a market leader in some of the new equity crowdfunding rules and regulations.

Merit Harbor Group’s investment bank works directly with startups via crowdfunding

“As we get closer to the full implementation of Title III equity crowdfunding, our team is gearing up to assist companies in raising the capital they need,” says company Director, Nate Nead. Title III equity crowdfunding, which allows small businesses to raise a maximum of a million dollars in any given twelve-month period, is on the firm’s radar as another method available for smaller companies seeking access to capital.

Equity crowdfunding, an alternative financing medium for small business, allows companies seeking capital to source it through individual investors on portals built for the purpose of information and promotion. The company maintains its own proprietary list of both accredited and non-accredited investors who have expressed keen interest in seeing available deals from real estate to software. The company also maintains key relationships with other equity crowdfunding portals where companies can syndicate for broader exposure.

“We are excited about the partnerships we have formed with other portals and we are confident these alliances will provide a great benefit to our crowdfunding clients who are seeking to raise capital,” says Nead. While the company acts as a traditional investment bank, advising middle-market clients on merger and acquisition transactions, the firm’s and its principals and investment bankers see the wisdom in marrying crowdfunding with traditional middle market business finance. “We are confident that crowdfunding and traditional business finance are not mutually exclusive. While it may take some time for the two to play well together, we are hoping to be able to assist when that marriage becomes more real,” he says.

Merit Harbor Group is a middle market investment bank with offices in multiple cities across the United States. The company provides merger, acquisition and capital raising assistance to post-revenue startups and growing companies across nearly every market sector. The company assists promising companies in structured growth before a meaningful exit via merger or acquisition. The company’s licensed investment bankers in Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Portland.

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(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR

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Mr. 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.

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.

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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Crowdfunding PR Rolls Out 2-Month Crowdfunding Prep Work Program to Help Startups Learn How to Launch More Successful Equity & Rewards Crowdfunding Campaigns

The Crowdfunding Prep Work Program Helps Clients Amass a Large Crowd of Followers on Social Media and Utilizes PR to Generate Hundreds of Articles on Leading Edge News Outlets and Blogs

By Robert Hoskins

Austin, Texas – Want to learn how to launch a successful Title III equity crowdfunding campaign? To help crowdfunders achieve this elusive goal, today Crowdfunding PR 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.

Learn How to Plan a Successful Title III Equity-based Crowdfunding Campaign Using Cost-Effective PR, Marketing and Social Media Campaigns

Crowdfunding Social Media Campaigns

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.

Crowdfunding PR 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 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 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 temporary landing page until the GoFundMe.com, Indiegogo.com,Kickstarter.com or Title III equity crowdfunding campaign goes live.”

Crowdfunding PR Campaign Consulting

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 appointment.

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(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR

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Mr. 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.

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.

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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Phoenix Firm, StartCapital, Announces New Equity Crowdfunding Platform for Title IV, Reg A+ Securities Offerings

StartCapital exclusive investment group has deep-pocketed individuals and institutions willing to pay for the legal and accounting costs incident to a Regulation A+ crowdfunded offering

By Robert Hoskins

Phoenix, Arizona – StartCapital.com announces the launch of its new website to source alternative startup financing for pre-growth companies in Series A and B offerings. The launch of the new website coincides with the new Regulation A+ crowdfunding regulation slated to take effect in several weeks.

StartCapital Plans to Offer Reg A+ Equity Crowdfunding Offerings in Phoenix, Arizona

“We’re seeing great interest in sourcing capital through Reg A+ and we expect this demand will only grow,” says Jake Durrant, Managing Director.

StartCapital.com intends on assisting with capital raising opportunities for startups, but also hopes to source funds for residential and commercial real estate with Regulation A+ crowdfunding. Startups represent an important market, but investors are typically more driven toward investment products that include very solid collateral. Real estate fits this bill very nicely.

“While startups are often very sexy, it can be difficult to sell investors on the idea that their investment is safe, particularly if nothing exists except for some intellectual property and potential in a group of entrepreneurs,” Durrant says. “It’s one of the reasons we’re seeing such a big uptick in real estate related crowdfunding transactions.”

In addition to crowdfunding, the company also provides alternative financing for small companies looking to source capital for their businesses from other non-bank sources. For instance, the company provides debt financing through partners allowing for SBA, line of credit and asset-based lending. In addition, alternative equity options are also offered through things like self-directed retirement accounts, including IRAs and 401(k)s.

Finally, Start Capital is partnered with other equity investors that can assist in writing checks of up to $1,000,000 for the right venture and team. “Our investors are looking for those diamonds in the rough,” says Durrant.

When sourcing the right deals, the Start Capital exclusive investment group also has deep-pocketed individuals and institutions willing to pay for the legal and accounting costs incident to a Regulation A+ crowdfunded offering.

“We’re most excited about our partnership with the right investment groups who’re greatly interested in sourcing and paying for the costs of Reg A+,” Durrant says. “Since June 19th marks the beginning of Reg A+, we wanted to be ready when demand for mini-IPOs really opens up.”

Start Capital is a owned and operated by Deal Capital Partners, an M&A advisory firm with partners scattered across the United States. The firm offers an interesting mix of financial advisory services, from growth capital to mergers and acquisitions. The company is positioning itself for implementation and use of some of the latest options available thanks to the JOBS Act.

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Arc Angel Seeks Dealers, Ecommerce Sites, Franchises, Resellers, and Manufacturer’s Representatives to Pre-Sell Stun Canes, Pet Defenders and Tactical Stun Devices (TSD)

@ArcAngelStunGun prepares to place its first large-scale manufacturing run and would like to pass along big discounts and savings to dealers and wholesalers who help achieve higher-volumes and lower prices

By Robert Hoskins

Los Angeles, CA – After receiving strong customer demand for its Stun Canes, Big Sticks and Pet Defenders, Arc Angel (www.aastuncane.com) is now building out its sales and distribution channel network and plans to place its first large manufacturing production run earlier than expected. To secure better pricing for its distribution partners, Arc Angel is now offering up to 50% discounts for a limited time to retailers/dealers, resellers and distributors who are willing to place orders now to help increase Arc Angel’s volume for its first large manufacturing production run. Larger order quantities will achieve better volume production discounts and provide more margin for Arc Angel’s channel partners.

Arc Angel Stun Canes, Stun Sticks and Tactical Stun Guns offer a Non-Lethal Self Defense Weapon for Consumers and Law Enforcement Agencies

“Arc Angel Stun Canes and Pet Defenders are manufactured with rugged, industrial-strength, aircraft aluminum form factors, long-lasting NiMh batteries and are manufactured to compete directly against the Taser Stun Gun as an affordable, non-lethal force option for law enforcement agencies,” said Glenn Willey, Arc Angel’s CEO. “Our products are built to last with intense daily use, not just by consumers, but by large professional security forces with brute strength requirements.”

“Right now Stun Canes, Big Sticks and Pet Defenders are marketed to consumers seeking self-protection options,” Willey continued. “But soon Arc Angel will be introducing a new line of Tactical Stun Devices (TSDs) that will target police, military, emergency first defenders, federal government, homeland security and other types of tactical security/law enforcement agencies that will benefit from using non-lethal force as an alternative to loaded firearms in order to avoid wrongful death lawsuits like the Darren Wilson/Michael Brown ordeal in Ferguson, Missouri when possible.”

If Darren Wilson had been carry a Tactical Stun Gun instead of a gun, Michael Brown might still be alive.

All channel partners that sign up to participate in Arc Angel Channel Marketing Program will receive a special preview briefing on the new TSD product line after signing a NDA. They also will be allowed to participate in bringing this product to market in an upcoming Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, which will be supported by a nationwide advertising, PR and social media cooperative marketing campaign.

Tactical Stun Gun Channel Marketing Partners Wanted:

• Self Defense Ecommerce Sites – Arc Angel seeks eCommerce centers, online stores and blogs that sell self defense stun guns, Tasers, tactical weapons, police gear and/or uniforms to resell its products.

• Tactical Gear Retailers, Gun Dealers, Stores – Arc Angel seeks retailers and dealers that sell stun guns, Tasers, tactical weapons, law enforcement gear and/or uniforms to stock its tactical stun gun and self defense products.

• Non-Lethal Self Defense Franchises – Arc Angel seeks franchisors/franchisees that would like to add Arc Angel’s Stun Canes, Pet Defenders and Tactical Stun Devices to their franchise’s self-defense product portfolio.

• Stun Gun Resellers, Distributors, Wholesalers – Arc Angel seeks resellers, and distributors that sell stun guns, Tasers, tactical weapons, police gear and/or uniforms that would like resell and distribute Arc Angel’s Stun Canes, Big Sticks, Pet Defenders and Tactical Stun Devices.

• Self Protection Manufacturer’s Representatives – Arc Angel seeks manufacturer reps that sell complementary law enforcement, military tactical gear and self-protection product lines into big box retailers and would like to add Arc Angel Tactical Stun Device (TSD) products to their non-lethal, self-protection and law enforcement portfolios.

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To Celebrate the 2nd Anniversary of the 2012 JOBS Act, Front Page PR Offers Low-Cost License Fee to Start Crowdfunding Training Classes throughout the United States

License Agreement offers Chambers of Commerce, SBA Offices, Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), SCORE & Startup Incubators and Business Accelerators the Opportunity to Offer Front Page PR’s Content to Launch Their Own Crowdfunding Training Programs

 By Robert Hoskins

AUSTIN, TX – Front Page PR announced a new low-cost licensed crowdfunding training class that will provide non-profits, economic development, Meetup groups and government agencies such as the Small Business Administration (SBA) with the basic training materials needed to begin educating entrepreneurs, veterans, startups, small businesses, high schools, junior colleges, universities and employment agencies on how to use crowdfunding to eradicate unemployment by facilitating new businesses and creating new jobs throughout the United States.

Front Page PR is the #1 Crowdfunding PR firm in America

For only $300 per year, licensees will receive the training materials needed to launch a crowdfunding advocacy training program in their community. The low price point should allow crowdfunding educators and experienced public speakers to break even on the very first class by charging attendees $25 or more to attend the seminar. Click here to buy a one-year license.

“Most Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) charge an average of $49 per class to attend classes on how to write a business plan, how to get a bank loan, how to seek venture capital, or how to seek alternative financing to start up a small business,” said Robert Hoskins, Front Page PR’s Director of Crowdfunding Campaigns. “At this price tag, our Crowdfunding Training Program will only take six paying customers to fund a full year’s subscription. After the initial cost, training 20 people per month at $49 would generate approximately $11,460 per year in revenue.”

Front Page PR will provide free Crowdfunding Training Class Workshops for instructors who want to provide the Crowdfunding Training Class, but have no knowledge of the crowdfunding industry or experience in teaching their communities how to launch successful crowdfunding campaigns. In addition, the workshops will include free press release templates and teach instructors how to utilize cost-effective PR/media relations programs to raise awareness for the classes within the local community.

Front Page PR’s Crowdfunding Seminar materials include:

• How to Plan a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign
• How to Conduct a Crowdfunding Competitive Analysis
• How to Shoot a Crowdfunding Pitch Video
• How to Write a Persuasive Crowdfunding Profile
• How to Offer Effective Perks & Rewards
• How to Set Up a Realistic Fundraising Goal

Even Fortune 500 corporations can get involved. Many large companies such as IBM have launched intranet crowdfunding programs to incentivize their employees. Crowdfunding campaigns can be used as an excellent research and development tool. Internal crowdfunding campaigns can be used to fast track great business ideas upward to management based on employee support, which completely bypasses the typical roadblocks that thwart innovation.

Front Page PR’s crowdfunding training class rollout will target Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Columbus, D/FW, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Memphis, Milwaukee, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Washington, DC and Wichita. Additional markets will be added based on market demand.

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Dogological Indiegogo Campaign Strives to Save Dogs’ Lives and Teach Abused Children How to Love

DVD program teaches dog owners to train their dogs from the dog’s point of view and will help them tap into their dog’s natural intelligence and desire to please

By Brad Jaffe, Owner and Founder, Dogological

Dogological uses a compassionate, simple and psychological approach to training dogs by empowering dog owners through teaching from the dog’s point of view. In February, we started our Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, in partnership with Gabriel’s Angels, a non-profit organization whose mission is to deliver the power of healing through pet therapy to neglected and at-risk children, nurturing their emotional development and enhancing the quality of their lives.

Gabriel’s Angels expanding wonderful work with at-risk children by adding more therapy dog teams to serve an additional 10,000 children in Arizona

We’ve been fortunate to have over 50 backers donate a little under $6,000 thus far and we recently announced the extension of the campaign to April 13 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. We’d like to thank our current funders and we look forward to the new support we will be receiving in the next couple weeks.

The funds received from the campaign will make the Dogological dog teaching program available to dog owners worldwide by helping with the production costs of the Dog Teaching Method At-home Program DVD set.

The 6-set DVD program will teach dog owners to train their dogs from the dog’s point of view and will help them tap into their dog’s natural intelligence and desire to please. This non-confrontational method is a contrast to today’s well-known pack-leader dominance models.

For a sneak peek into what the program will offer, see these previews for walking your dog and teaching your dog how to sit.

In addition to contributing to the creation of Dogological’s program that instructs how to have well-mannered dogs through compassionate and simple teaching techniques, a portion of the funding will also be donated directly to the expansion of Gabriel’s Angels’ non-profit pet therapy program, to meet the needs of over 13,000 abused, neglected and at-risk children in the Arizona area looking for empathy, love and trust that only therapy dogs can provide. These therapy dog visits have proven to provide children with unconditional love and teach core-behaviors.

The Humane Society estimates that 2.7 million adoptable cats and dogs are euthanized each year and lack of training has been identified as one of the factors that leads to euthanization. We believe that if dog owners can easily access affordable dog training methods, dogs can be kept out of shelters and these numbers can be lowered.

Over the past 15 years, Dogological has worked with over 6,500 owners and their dogs, including a number of dogs that now serve as therapy dogs at Gabriel’s Angels. We have perfected a program for communicating with dogs in a way that they understand. My goal is to be able to make the Dogological method easily available to anyone and everyone that wants to have a well-mannered dog while preserving a great mutually beneficial relationship together.

The campaign is also supporting the expansion of Gabriel’s Angels because we have tightly aligned missions. Gabriel’s Angels helps heal and nurture children that have been exposed to abuse, neglect, and abandonment through the gentle loving presence of therapy dogs, while Dogological helps to prevent dogs from being exposed to harsh and abusive methods. Just as children never deserve to be hit, intimidated or humiliated, neither do dogs.

With your contribution you are helping to empower dog lovers all over the world with the information, skills, and knowledge to teach their dogs through gentle, loving techniques and prevent many dogs from being relinquished or euthanized due to “so called” undesirable behavior. The icing on the cake is helping more children to find relief from trauma or sadness through the unconditional love of a Gabriel’s Angels therapy dog.

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