Pacific Northwest Launches Kickstarter Crowdfunding Campaign to Pre-Sell New Lightweight, Waterproof Backpack for Only $54

Sea to Sky Pack is a tough, lightweight, 100% waterproof, 24-liter backpack that compresses to a volume thats smaller than a soda can for storage

By Robert Hoskins

Portland, Oregon – If there’s anything the Pacific Northwest is known for, it’s rain and outdoor recreation. Appropriately enough, “Pacific Northwest” is the name of a new Portland, OR and Vancouver, BC, based company which has announced a Kickstarter campaign to bring their first original product to market – the Sea to Sky Pack, the first waterproof backpack that fits in your pocket.

Kickstarter Crowdfunding Campaign Offers Sea to Sky Pack, a Tough, lightweight, 100% waterproof, 24-liter backpack compresses smaller than a soda can for storage

Founded by a group of avid outdoorspeople, the Pacific Northwest company channeled all their personal experience into the ground-up design of this ultimate daypack. Made of durable, 100% Cordura® material, the large 24-liter pack is fully-immersible and guaranteed to keep all contents bone dry.

It’s loaded with functional features that experienced hikers will appreciate such as roomy, secure side pockets and padded, adjustable breathable mesh straps. There’s an additional sternum strap for added comfort and balance, with a buckle that doubles as a 95dB emergency whistle. The main zipper is fully waterproof and also reflective for safety and visibility. And best of all, the 5.5-ounce pack compresses into the included stuff sack to just 4.5” x 3” – smaller than a soda can!

The Sea to Sky Pack has an estimated retail price of $89, but early bird Kickstarter supporters of the project can receive theirs for only $54.

“We made the pack we always wanted to have but could never find on the market,” said Pacific Northwest co-founder, Mikaella Go. “While some lightweight daypacks were good, they weren’t waterproof. Or if they were waterproof, they were small capacity or bulky to store. We are fully confident that this pack has the best of everything.”

Daypack Features and Benefits:

• Made with 100% waterproof, durable Cordura® material
• Dimensions: 24-liter capacity / 20” x 11” / 5.5 oz. / 4.5” x 3” compressed
• Easy access on the go with the front pocket which is sealed with a 3M water resistant, reflective zipper – be seen at night.
• Adjustable the sternum strap for comfort when on the go. Stability straps are padded, lightweight breathable mesh for comfort and strength.
• Made for rugged adventures: Sand-proof, dust-proof, dirt-proof, simply wipe it down for easy cleaning.
• ITW buckle and an integrated 95dB emergency whistle
• Multifunctional side pockets are large enough to hold water bottles or other accessories without falling out.
• Roll top closure system ensures the main compartment stays 100% dry – doubles as a dry sack.
• Four colors available: Ursus Black, Pacific Blue, Fire Coral, Special Kickstarter Green

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Robert Hoskins
(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR

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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.

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GridShare Launches New Equity Crowdfunding Site to Provide Investment Opportunities for Solar, Wind and other Types Renewable Energy in the United States’ Booming Clean-Technology Industry

The GridShare Equity Crowdfunding Platform allows accredited and non-accredited investors to make very affordable investments in solar, wind and other types of renewable energy projects and clean-tech companies to raise debt or equity, opening up the renewable energy industry to a larger pool of investors

By Robert Hoskins

Portland, Oregon – GridShare.com announced that it has launched its new independent platform offering debt and equity crowdfunding investments that anyone in the United States as well as accredited investors can provide seed stage funding and venture capital to help renewable energy projects and clean-tech companies fund startups, expand businesses and launch new green energy power projects. The clean tech online investment platform allows investors to independently engage with green project owners to learn about and finance deals that will  help reduce America’s carbon footprint and slow down rapidly advancing global warning.

GridShare enables everyday people to invest in renewable energy projects and clean tech companies

“Raising money has been a huge impediment to the growth of the capital-intensive renewable energy industry,” said Jack Jacobs, CEO and Co-Founder of GridShare. “Now, with GridShare’s help, a project developer or clean-tech venture can tap into a new funding channel and ultimately spend less time fundraising and more time focusing on its core business.”

GridShare is funding portal authorized by the SEC and FINRA to conduct securities offerings under SEC Regulation Crowdfunding. Initial offerings on GridShare.com include a $250,000 secured debt offering for a community solar project, a $350,000 equity offering for a floating solar project and a $100,000 secured debt offering for a community wind project.

Floating on water, this 1.2 MegaWatt solar project in wine country (Sonoma County, California) is part of nearly 20 MegaWatts of floating solar projects awarded to Pristine Sun

Offerings on GridShare.com include a $100,000 secured debt offering for a community wind project

Posting a project on GridShare is free and easy. Once the GridShare team approves the project, it will be published online. Investors will then have the opportunity to review the project details, and invest online. With respect to US offerings, GridShare earns a commission from the offeror only if its funding goal is fully achieved. GridShare also offers optional services, such as assistance in preparing listing materials, filing forms, facilitating investor webinars, and managing the security offerings.

Potential investors can peruse investment opportunities in a variety of renewable energy sectors. GridShare also intends to host funding opportunities for energy efficiency initiatives and early-stage clean technology ventures.

“For too long, large financial institutions and accredited investors have controlled the financing for renewable energy. Finally, project developers like Pristine Sun can rely on GridShare to facilitate innovative solar investments available to all investors,” said Troy Helming, President of Pristine Sun, a major developer of solar projects in the US, and the sponsor of two listings currently hosted on GridShare.com. “Pristine Sun can now get support from the crowd to complete its solar projects, and the crowd can now own part of our projects and participate in the growing market for clean energy in the United States.”

GridShare is an online crowdfunding platform for renewable energy and clean-tech projects registered with the SEC and FINRA, which enables everyday people to invest in renewable energy projects and clean-tech companies based in the US.  By significantly expanding the funding options available to business owners and project developers, GridShare opens up the renewable energy industry to a much wider audience of non-accredited investors.

The platform is a clean technology agnostic, posting investment opportunities from all types of renewable energy projects and clean-tech companies. GridShare allows renewable energy projects and clean-tech companies to raise debt or equity from investors. By diversifying the available investment opportunities, GridShare offers a more inclusive environment for non-accredited and accredited investors alike.

GridShare International, LLC, which is not registered with the SEC,  but does assist issuers in countries other than the United States in listing securities offerings in their own countries.

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Robert Hoskins
(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR

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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.

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

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

 

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

 

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%.

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

 

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
(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR

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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.

420FundMe.com Launches Equity Crowdfunding Site to Tap $100 Billion Marijuana, Weed & Cannabis Industry

Aimed at cannabis related ancillary companies, which are not directly involved in the actual growing or selling of cannabis, 420fundme focuses on individuals that are bringing unique new products to the industry

By Robert Hoskins

San Francisco, California – The IPAmediagroup announced the official launch date of www.420fundme.com, a highly anticipated crowdfunding platform to crowdfunding for cannabis, marijuana and weed related projects. The site launch is set for September 15^th and will enable individuals, groups and businesses to fund a project or venture by raising monetary contributions from individuals online.

420FundMe.com Launched a highly anticipated platform for crowdfunding cannabis, marijuana, and weed-related projects, startups and business expansion

Aimed at cannabis related ancillary companies, which are not directly involved in the actual growing or selling of cannabis, 420fundme focuses on individuals that are bringing unique new products to the industry. Working within a potential $100 billion industry, according to Economist.com, since August 1^st the site prelaunch has allowed registration for new projects to be listed on launch day.

“We have beat all expectations and are already seeing a large influx of highly exceptional new products that are simply going to change the industry,” Jon Greene, 420FundMe’s Chief Operating Officer confirms.  “From lighting, security, paraphernalia, and grow products to research, genetics, publications and even real estate services as well as a number of artists, websites, glassblowers, and even filmmakers we can already see we created a necessary platform that is going to be well used.”

Centered on making certain each and every campaign is a success, 420fundme has implemented a number of unique solutions that are not only new to the cannabis industry but also new to crowdfunding and alternative financing. This includes facilitating inline promotional abilities and applying third-party partnerships directly through the platform.

With uninterrupted connections from the project page any campaign has direct access to high quality third-party marketing, publicity, advertising, and media services as well as packaging and branding services and solutions.

“It is a seamless partnership that will enable every campaign to create success at the same time providing our partners and advertisers a huge new market,” Greene added.

Visit 420FundMe.com to pre-register your project and to find out more about how to utilize crowdfunding to raise money to launch your cannabis, marijuana or weed related business or how to sponsor a campaign, become a partner, and explore advertising opportunities.

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

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 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.

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(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR

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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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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.

SEC’s Proposed Amendments to Approve Nationwide Intrastate Crowdfunding and Raise Limit to $5 Million for Small Business

SEC’s Proposed Amendments to Rule 147 and 504 to Facilitate New Intrastate Crowdfunding and the Sale of Regional Securities Offerings

SEC Staff Proposes Amendments to Securities Rules 147 and Reg. D. 504

 By Robert Hoskins

 SEC’s Proposed Actions for Title III Crowdfunding

The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering whether to propose amendments to Securities Act Rule 147 and Rule 504 of Regulation D.  The proposed amendments would be part of the Commission’s efforts to assist smaller companies with capital formation consistent with its investor protection mission.

Proposed Title III Crowdfunding Amendments

Proposed Amendments to Rule 147

The proposed amendments would modernize Rule 147 to permit companies to raise money from investors within their state without concurrently registering the offers and sales at the federal level.  The proposed amendments to Rule 147 would, among other things:

• Eliminate the restriction on offers, while continuing to require that sales be made only to residents of the issuer’s state or territory.
• Refine what it means to be an intrastate offering and ease some of the issuer eligibility requirements in the current rule.
• Limit the availability of the exemption to offerings that are registered in-state or conducted under an exemption from state law registration that limits the amount of securities an issuer may sell to no more than $5 million in a 12-month period and imposes an investment limitation on investors.

Proposed Amendments to Rule 504

The proposed amendments to Rule 504 of Regulation D would increase the aggregate amount of securities that may be offered and sold under Rule 504 in any 12-month period from $1 million to $5 million and disqualify certain bad actors from participation in Rule 504 offerings.  The proposed rules would facilitate capital formation and increase investor protection in such offerings.

 

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What is Crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding sites and platforms are a great way for Universities and Colleges to generate extra revenue and market their school’s brand name on a global basis

By Robert Hoskins

What is Crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding is not a new concept. It has been used for thousands of years to collect small sums of money from the masses to pay for some of the most well known works in the world such as the Statue of Liberty.

The JOBS Act made it legal to use e-commerce sites to build crowdfunding profiles to collect money online from investors and utilize general solicitation  (advertising/marketing/PR) to raise money from the masses for the first time in 80 years. Funding that can be used provide seed investment capital to startups and help existing businesses expand their operations.

What States Have Legalized Equity Crowdfunding?

At the federal level, the final Title III equity crowdfunding rules guidelines have been stalled by the SEC, but at the state level Texas, Michigan, Georgia and 13 other states have passed Intrastate Crowdfunding Exemption rules that allow startups and businesses to raise money by selling equity shares online to raise seed investment capital. Other large states including California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania have proposed legislation, which is working its way through the legislative process.

Map of U.S. States that have approved Intrastate Equity Crowdfunding Exemptions

                                                Source: CrowdfundingLegalHub.com

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What is an Intrastate Equity Crowdfunding Exemption?

Due to the SEC’s Refusal to Pass Title III Crowdfunding Guidelines, which are Three Years Overdue, 31 States Have Passed or Plan to Pass Their Own Intrastate Equity Crowdfunding Exemptions

By Robert Hoskins

Intrastate Crowdfunding Exemptions

List of States with Approved Equity Crowdfunding Exemptions:

The good news is that there are currently 15 states, including Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin  that have approved Intrastate Crowdfunding Exemptions. This represents 33% of the United States population or  106.3 million people.

List of States with Pending Equity Crowdfunding Exemptions:

Another 16 states including Alaska, Arizona (not reflected on map), Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, Minnesota, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia that have pending legislation.  This represents 38% of the United States population or 112.4 million people.

List of States Who are Asleep at the Wheel:

Apparently Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming are either asleep at the wheel or do not have internet access. This represents 19.7% of the United States population or 63.6 million people.

List of States that have Rejected Equity Crowdfunding Exemptions:

Only Florida and North Carolina have decided not to help small business get access to investment capital. This represents 9% of the United States populations or 29.8 million people.

100% of Colleges and Universities Can Solicit Accredited Investors

This means that 100% of colleges and universities in the United States can solicit accredited investors nationwide using an equity crowdfunding platform to fund their incubator and accelerator programs.

On a state level, 33% can solicit non-accredited investors now with another 38% hopefully coming online by the end of 2015. If that happens equity crowdfunding will be legal in 31 states where 71% of all Americans live.

      Source: CrowdfundingLegalHub.com

 What are Non-Accredited Investors?

In states where an Intrastate Crowdfunding Exemption has been approved by the state securities board or the state legislature, anyone 18 years or older who lives in the same state can invest in local school accelerator’s equity crowdfunding opportunities regardless of income or assets.

This means that even schools in rural areas with zero funding to support startups companies or incubator or accelerator programs can setup an equity crowdfunding sites and begin soliciting angel and accredited investors all over the United States.

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CrowdStreet Offers Equity Crowdfunding $2.7 Million Investment Opportunity for Accredited Commercial Real Estate Investors

Crowdfunding Real Estate Marketplace Offers Accredited Investors Opportunity to Capitalize on High-Growth Dallas Metro Area

By Robert Hoskins

Portland, OR – CrowdStreet announced it has listed an equity investment opportunity for Timber Oaks, an 11-building, Class A multifamily property in the Dallas metro area. The opportunity is sponsored by Windmill Investments, a privately held, Oregon-based real estate investment and operating company.

CrowdStreet Real Estate Equity Crowdfunding Platform in Indianapolis, Indiana

By listing on CrowdStreet, Windmill Investments is raising $2.7 million from accredited investors toward the $18.4 million purchase of a 180-unit, 190,920 square foot complex built in 2010 and located in Midlothian, Texas. With 98 percent occupancy and an acquisition price of $102,000 per unit, the targeted investor IRR is 17.7 percent with average annual cash-on-cash returns to investors of 7.1 percent.

“We are pleased to announce CrowdStreet’s first posting of a multifamily investment opportunity,” said Tore Steen, CrowdStreet’s CEO. “As a Class A property with a high occupancy rate located in a market with strong local job and population growth, Timber Oaks represents the kind of institutional-quality investment that CrowdStreet seeks.”

Investors in Timber Oaks will own an equity percentage interest of Timber Oaks Apartments, teaming up with Windmill Investments, an experienced multifamily owner and operator with more than 1,300 units under management in Oregon, Texas and South Carolina.

“The Timber Oaks project offers CrowdStreet investors a great opportunity to participate in a quality project in a strong market. The Midlothian area has seen a population explosion of more than 136 percent during the last decade and continues to grow,” said Dan Carter, founder of Windmill Investments. “I believe that crowdfunding is the future of commercial real estate investment because it eliminates the middleman and puts investors directly in touch with firms, like Windmill, that have a proven track record of acquiring and operating real estate.”

CrowdStreet provides a crowdfunding marketplace that connects accredited investors with institutional-quality commercial real estate investments. Accredited investors access an intuitively designed portal to find properties, manage offers, track investment performance and build a commercial real estate portfolio.

With its cloud-based fundraising and investor relationship management platform, CrowdStreet offers real estate operators, funds and private equity companies an online vehicle to raise capital and manage relationships with new and existing investors more efficiently and cost effectively.

Windmill Investments LLC is a private real estate investment firm. With over 100 years of collective experience, Windmill seeks out high cash flow multifamily apartments located in growth regions of the U.S. and applies operational expertise to consistently deliver double-digit returns.