SEC Issues Three-Year Research Study on Title III, Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) Fundraising Campaigns

Leading Crowdfunding Industry Analyst Firm, Crowdfund Capital Advisors, States Now is the Time to Update the Regulation to Further Enable Capital Formation

Washington, DC – Recently the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a staff report on Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF), also known as Title III Crowdfunding. The Commission, in the adopting rules, stated that the “staff will undertake to study and submit a research report to the Commission no later than three years following the effective date of Regulation Crowdfunding on the impact of the regulation on capital formation and investor protection.” The report finds the size of market, while modest in comparison to the broader financial markets, is evolving and doing so without any material risk to investors. Crowdfund Capital Advisors (CCA) data and analysis were cited in 7 references throughout the report.

“The industry is evolving systematically and responsibly,” says CCA Principal Sherwood Neiss. “With the appropriate adjustments to the regulation we can further enable capital formation without risk to investors. The time is now for the SEC to act.”

Sherwood Neiss, Crowdfunding Capital Advisors, testifies at the SEC The CCA data and references used by the SEC were attributed to analysis by CCA and published in VentureBeat as well as Crowdfund Insider. The data comes from CCA’s CCLEAR Database. CCLEAR is the leading Regulation Crowdfunding database that collects, cleans, aggregates and reports on all companies seeking funds via Regulation Crowdfunding as well as those doing parallel 506(c) offerings. A 506(c) offering is an online accredited investor offering. A parallel offering allows an issuer to run two offerings side-by-side and group the accredited investors in one pool and the Reg CF investors in another. This type of offering is popular for issuers that seek to raise in excess of the $1.07M cap in Regulation Crowdfunding. Issuers that seek to raise funds via Reg CF must file a Form C (a form filed by a company (issuer) with the SEC before starting to raise capital and discloses financial information for its current and prior fiscal years) as well as a Form C-U (a progress report that an issuer files that discloses total capital raised). Data that the SEC does not collect in either of these disclosures includes information like industry, a breakdown on the cost of the offering, daily change in capital commitments, daily changes in investors and information on a company’s valuation. CCLEAR collects all this missing data which allows for more detailed analysis of the market including which industries are most popular with the crowd, which regions of the country have the lowest/highest overall valuations, what industries the crowd is most interested in supporting, etc. An entire section of the report titled “Cost to issuers of undertaking a crowdfunding offering” came directly from research CCA did with issuers successful with Regulation Crowdfunding. A key finding from our research, which was highlighted in the report, was that “the total cost of creating a campaign page, issuer disclosures, film, and video, and hiring a marketing firm, a lawyer, and an accountant amounts to approximately 5.3% of the amount raised.” This average was based on feedback from 81 issuers. “This amount is substantially less than what a typical issuer would incur in a Regulation D offering,” says CCA principal Sherwood Neiss “and is a key reason why more companies should be looking at Reg CF as an attractive pathway to raising funds.” The report provides a detailed look at how Regulation Crowdfunding has performed through December, 2018. (For people interested in data through today’s date, you can find it on CCLEAR’s Daily Dashboard – see below for the latest data).

“Unlike opponents who said regulated crowdfunding would open the floodgates to fraud, we have yet to see fraud materialize,” says Neiss. “This is because there are easier ways to defraud investors than to come up with an idea for a business, incorporate it under federal laws, convince a funding portal to list you, spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars trying to bring your friends, family and followers to the campaign page, and then hitting 100% of your funding target or the commitments get returned. Add on top of this the hundreds of discerning eyes picking apart a campaign in the comments section. These types of ‘built-in investor protections don’t exist in other parts of the private capital markets.” Multiple recommendations were included in the report on how to improve Regulation Crowdfunding. The SEC cited a US treasury Report entitled “A Financial System That Creates Economic Opportunities.” The Report recommends: Allowing single-purpose crowdfunding vehicles advised by a registered investment adviser; Waiving certain crowdfunding offering limits for accredited investors; Amending certain crowdfunding investment limits by other investors; Modifying the Exchange Act’s Section 12(g) exemption; And increasing the limit on how much can be raised through crowdfunding from $1M to $5M. CCA’s principals were interviewed and cited in the Treasury report. The Fed’s recommendations were a summary of CCA’s more detailed recommendations as requested. “The industry is evolving systematically and responsibly,” ended Neiss. “With the appropriate adjustments to the regulation we can further enable capital formation without risk to investors. The time is now for the SEC to act.” # # #

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 PR” 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.

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.

# # #

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.

British Columbia Ski Resort Raises $10 Million via Equity Crowdfunding Campaign

2,923 crowdfunding investors decided to “Fight the Man and Own a Piece of the Mountain” by investing a minimum of $1,000 each on StartEngine.com 

By Robert Hoskins

Rossland, BC – On August 22, 2016, RED Mountain Resort launched a $10 million crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine.com called “Fight the Man. Own The Mountain.” This was the first time a for-profit ski resort explored equity crowdfunding and nobody at RED knew what to expect in Phase I, of the “Test The Waters” campaign. As of last Thursday morning (Feb. 9), RED hit their $10MM Reservation Goal — an historic achievement within the North American ski industry.

RED Mountain Resort launched a $10 million crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine

“We went into this campaign feeling that these were uncharted waters,” says RED CEO Howard Katkov. “But the response was immediate, passionate, and unequivocal. Our choice to plant the flag for independent skiing and snowboarding during a time of high-profile mergers and acquisitions really resonated.”

Since launch, “Fight the Man. Own The Mountain.” has been featured many times in the mainstream press across North America, and has been covered extensively by ski and snowboard outlets. The videos created for the campaign have so far received over half a million views.

Equity crowdfunding is a new style of investment and RED’s choice to accept a relatively low minimum reservation of $1,000 allowed “everyone from Lifties to Learjet owners” to make a reservation for this unique equity financing campaign. (And they did!) RED’s campaign on StartEngine will continue to take reservations as they prepare their auditing and legal documents to be provided to investors for Phase II, which is scheduled to launch in the Fall of 2017.

“Our goal was to hit $10 million in reservations by April, but we managed to hit that number months in advance. We now sincerely hope that a large percentage of the RED fans that pledged their support will convert their reservations to a real investment when the Phase II launches this fall,” says Katkov.

There are two exciting aspects of “Fight the Man. Own The Mountain.” in investment terms. The first is the “Last In, First Out” feature. What this means is that investors in Phase II — whether they’re in for $1,000, $25,000 or more — would receive their investment back before all previous equity investors. The second is the “rewards” associated with each level of investment, from lift tickets, custom skis or snowboards, season and family passes and access to a purpose-built clubhouse and overnight cabins. These rewards are laid out in the StartEngine platform.

RED Mountain is the oldest ski resort in Western Canada and has been the site of many firsts: First World Cup ski race in Canada; one of the largest terrain expansions in North America in over 40 years… This campaign marks another first — the opportunity through equity crowdfunding to own a slice of world-class ski resort for as little as $1,000.

“The groundswell of support from the snow community, the press, and investors has been nothing short of astonishing,” says Katkov. “The success of the campaign, thus far, has been a nice reminder of just how passionate and free-spirited the ski and snowboard community really is. It’s been an incredible winter so far and I’ve had a number of guests come up to me and say they booked their ski week at RED after hearing about us through the campaign. Some of them invested, some of them didn’t, but all of them sensed that we have something special going on in Rossland and needed to check it out in person. And to us, that means more than anything. We can’t wait for what the future holds.”

RED is the last great, unspoiled resort. Located in Rossland, BC, 1st stop on Canada’s famous Powder Highway, RED delivers 2,877 acres of pristine, unfettered skiing. RED recently added nearly 1,000 acres of intermediate to advanced terrain on Grey Mountain.

# # #

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.

Shellback Targets Commercial Fleet Managers with Intelligent Cell Phone Cases and Monitoring Business Services that Allow Any Company to Enforce Cell Phone Policies and Increase Driver Safety

For a fleet of any size, an enforceable smartphone distracted driving prevention and safety compliance program can cut losses related to vehicle accidents by up to 25% and save money on insurance

New York, NY – Shellback Business Services announced a new Smartphone Safe and Live Undistracted Monitoring App (http://liveundistracted.com) for commercial fleet managers of cars, vans, buses and trucks that will remove the temptation for drivers to take their eyes off the road due to distracted driving by storing their phones out-of-sight inside a special type of cell phone case called a Shellback Smartphone Safe.

The Summit Landscape Management team with its truck fleet

Shellback Smartphone Safe ROI

“A low monthly fee costs just pennies a day, but provides a massive ROI as a stand-alone solution or in conjunction with your existing telematics solution,” said Michael Maguire, Shellback’s CEO and Founder. “And, if it prevents just one accident or provides indisputable evidence in defense of a negligent entrustment claim, the Shellback solution will yield a huge return-on-investment for our clients and any organization that allows individuals to drive while performing company business.”

Shellback Smartphone Safes

The Shellback Smartphone Safe provides intelligent cell phone storage and includes a cloud-based cell phone app, called the Live Undistracted Monitoring App for both Apple iPhones and Samsung Galaxy Smartphones (all Androids), which provides guaranteed confirmation that the phone is not a driving distraction or a company liability.

Shellback Smartphone Safes are lightweight, easy-to-carry and unlock, yet are very effective at improving driver behavior by requiring them to keep their eyes on the road while driving and to reinforce the policy that the only safe time to look at their phone is when drivers are parked in a safe location. The MSRP for the Shellback Smart Phone Safe starts at $20, which includes the Live Undistracted Monitoring App, and can be negotiated down for large purchase orders.

Shellback Live Undistracted Monitoring App

The Shellback Live Undistracted Monitoring App uses a centralized database so that administrators can manage multiple fleets at multiple locations. Fleet administrators can add or delete cell phones and users from the system, create regional teams of drivers and view daily, weekly, monthly and annual cell phone safety compliance reports and statistics.

The Live Undistracted Monitoring App is easy-to-install, simple-to-administer and provides commercial fleet operators with real time reports to ensure that their cell phone safety policies are being followed and that all state and federal laws are being obeyed.

Shellback Business Services Call Center

Another option is to outsource the Smartphone Safe Alerts and Compliance Reporting to Shellback Business Services, which is a large fleet monitoring call center, so that fleet dispatchers can focus on their core operations. The Shellback Live Undistracted Monitoring Service ranges from $15 to $5 per cell phone case per month based on monthly alert and reporting volume.

Potential Shellback Smartphone Safe Accident Prevention

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), on-the-job crashes cost employers more than:

• $24,500 per crash
• $150,000 per injury
• $3.6 million per fatality

Shellback Business Services

To learn more about Shellback’s Business Services for Commercial Fleet Managers, please contact us through Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter; call Michael Maguire at (215) 628-3353 or visit the company’s website at http://liveundistracted.com.

# # #

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.

NasKart Indoor Kart Raceway Hosts Media Day for Reporters and Bloggers that Cover Motorsports, Entertainment Venues and Tourist Attractions in Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island

Reporters will be treated to an F1-like motorsports racing experience at the world’s largest and longest indoor multi-level racetrack to compete for the fastest track times and the coveted Media Day Trophy!

 By Robert Hoskins

Montville, CT – Feel the need for speed? Searching for a place to get your next adrenaline rush? NasKart Indoor Kart Racing (http://naskartracing.com) challenges all journalists, reporters and news/sports anchors and bloggers to come out to our new indoor kart racing facility and trampoline park to and partake in the Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island Media Day Event Racing & Photo Opportunity.

NasKart Indoor Kart Racing and Trampoline Park Opens the World’s Largest Indoor Go Kart Raceway in Connecticut

Come learn first hand what it feels like to step on the accelerator and experience the thrill and excitement as sixteen go kart racers head for the first turn and then down the backstretch at up to 45 mph.

Practice racing opportunities will be available for those who show up early. No racing skills are required. All safety gear will be provided. Racing excitement is guaranteed!

RSVPs Are Required – Reporters can sign up at https://www.facebook.com/events/353832974993604/ or contact Robert Hoskins at rhoskins@frontpagepr.com

Who: NASKART LLC Ownership Team: Stephen & Sandi Sangermano, Dan & Stephanie Fawcett, and Brookside Private Equity

Ronald K. McDaniel, Mayor of Montville, Connecticut
Thomas A. (Tony) Sheridan, President, Eastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce

What: Ribbon Cutting – Connecticut/Rhode Island Media Day Racing & Photo Opportunity

Where: 1 Sachatello Industrial Dr., Oakdale, CT 06370

When: December 8, 2016
3:00 pm – Meet and Greet/Brunch with Hot Hors d’oeuvres/Cold Drinks
3:30 pm – Photo Op: Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
4:00 pm – Indoor Kart Racing Practice Laps Begin
4:30 pm – Media Day Racing Begins
5:00 pm – Photo Op: In-Kart or Winner’s Podium

Why: All reporters will receive a chance to race 18-horsepower electric karts American built by Velocity Motorsports that can attain speeds as high as 45-mph.

All racers will receive the same excitement and adrenaline rush that F1 racecar drivers feel when they see the green light flash, step on the accelerator and compete with 15 other race kart drivers as they speed through 13 hairpin sloped and 180-degree banked turns racing down 2 electrifying passing straightaways on a four-level racetrack.

All drivers will receive the thrill of a lifetime!

# # #

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.

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

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?

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.

• A Guide to Title IV Reg A+ – White Paper
• IPO (Initial Public Offering) Guidebook – White Paper
• Managing Key Investors in IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) – White Paper
• Fatal Flaws in Selecting an IPO (Initial Public Offering) Underwriter Selection – White Paper

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?

How Much Money Would You Like to Raise?

What Industry Do the Business Serve?

Company Website

30-Second Elevator Pitch (required)

Founder Name(required)

Founder Email(required)

What Crowdfunding Goals Do You Need Help With?(required)

Building a Company Website with Great SEO

Developing a Strong Social Media Following

Generating Positive PR Articles in the Press

Completing One Successful Crowdfunding Campaign

Developing an Email Database of ~5k+ Customers

Developing a Database of ~1k+ Potential Investors

Developing a Customer Acquisition Program

Growing Sales and Distribution Channels

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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 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.

Kite Shield Equity Crowdfunding Campaign Promises to Make Humans Nearly Invisible to “aedes egeypti” Mosquitoes that Carry the Zika Virus in Florida

Kite Shield is a 100% DEET-free spray which when applied renders humans virtually invisible to mosquitoes (including aedes egeypti) by blocking the mosquito’s olfactory sense of smell which it uses to locate humans

By Robert Hoskins

Riverside, CA – ieCrowd announced that it is conducting an equity crowdfunding round conducted on Crowdfunder.com that has already surpassed its goals twice within two weeks of its listing, and the company is already into its third extended funding mode. ieCrowd has two breakthrough technologies including one that gives cell phones the sense of smell and a spray that makes humans practically invisible to mosquitoes. ieCrowd’s campaign can be found at https://www.crowdfunder.com/iecrowd.

Kite Shield: DEET-free Mosquito Repellent Spray is an effective, 3rd-party validated mosquito repellent that is shipping now as the result of a 2013 Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign that raised $587,884 from 12,131 backers that funded the project to 743% of its original goal on August 30, 2013.

Kite Shield, is a 100% DEET-free spray which when applied renders humans virtually invisible to mosquitoes, including aedes egeypti that carry the Zika Virus in Florida

ieCrowd has also broken into “CNBC’s Crowdfinance 50 Index,” rising rapidly to emerge within the top 10 companies employing crowdfunding to finance its growth.

“We are thrilled that allowing individual investors, and not just big banks or funds, to invest in a company dedicated to addressing some of our biggest global health challenges is resounding so well,” said Amro Albanna, CEO of ieCrowd. “Our leadership in the concept of ‘crowd capitalism’ is growing a significant community of investors worldwide.”

The company’s lead product, Kite Shield, is a 100% DEET-free spray which when applied renders humans virtually invisible to mosquitoes (including aedes egeypti that carry the Zika Virus) by blocking the mosquito’s olfactory sense of smell which it uses to locate humans.

ieCrowd’s second technology, Nuuma, is a nanotube chip that gives cellphones and other smart devices the ability to smell by enabling such devices to measure air pollution, alcohol in exhaled breath, food spoilage and even bad breath. Additionally, using Nuuma to potentially detect various diseases at their earliest stage through breath analysis is of key interest to several leading medical institutions.

ieCrowd is a company focused on bringing health innovations to the marketplace. ieCrowd partners with leading research institutions and scientists to secure commercialization rights to develop life, health, and wellness innovations into transformative products. For more information about ieCrowd, visit http://www.ieCrowd.com or call 951-824-8669, ext 1503.

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What New Title III Investors Should Be Trying to Learn Before Making Their First Crowdfunding Investment

Whether You Are One of the 188 Million New Non-Accredited Investors or a Small Startup or Existing Business that Wants to Learn More about Issuing a Title III or Title IV Reg. A+ Equity Crowdfunding Campaign You Should Read through All of the Information Below

By Robert Hoskins

Austin, Texas (May 2, 2016) – The best way to educate yourself on the Title III investment/investing marketplace is to perform a thorough competitive analysis on all of the Top Equity Crowdfunding Sites and/or the Top Reg. A+ Equity Crowdfunding Sites in the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel, which is where most of the top crowdfunding platforms are based.

A Crowdfunding Guide to Risks, Returns, Regulations, Funding Portals, Due Diligence, and Deal Terms

Our Top 100 Crowdfunding Lists are based on website traffic, which should be a first step in determining how many eyes are being delivered by every site.  This will highlight how many crowdfunding campaigns are being launched as well as how many investors are visiting the equity crowdfunding site on a monthly basis.

There has been a great deal of content generated that covers that the Title III Equity Crowdfunding rules that will begin on May 16, 2016 so I will skip repeating the basic information. Up until the past 12-months not much has been written about how to evaluate the up an coming Title III equity crowdfunding deals.

So the purpose of this article is provide lots or relevant documentation that has been written by leading university legal departments and law firms that will soon be guiding investors and issuers through the process of issuing Title III and Title IV Reg. A+ equity crowdfunding securities.

Great Equity Crowdfunding Research Articles:

1. The Coming ‘Transformation’ in Private Capital Markets – This article provides a really good overview of the equity crowdfunding industry to date.

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2. Duke Law School – The Social Network and the Crowdfund Act: Zuckerberg, Saverin, and Venture Capitalists’ Dilution of the Crowd – This provides really good a good overview of how to avoid stock holder dilution and making sure that early stockholders are included fair and justly in every exit strategy. It also provides examples of how Zuckerberg diluted one of his business partners right out of the Facebook fortune.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. CROWDFUNDING OVERVIEW
   A. The Five Models of Crowdfunding
   B. Examples of Crowdfunding
   C. The Transformative Power of Crowdfunding
2. POLITICAL INFLUENCES
   A. Securities-Law Prohibitions on Crowdfunding
   B. Democratic Push for Crowdfunding
   C. Crowdfunding under the JOBS Act
3. THEORETICAL TENSIONS
   A. Paternalistic Impulses: The Rule 504 Lesson
   B. Securities Regulation: Disclosure vs. Merit Review
4. VENTURE CAPITALIST ELITES AND THE MASSES
   A. Vertical and Horizontal Risks
   B. Downside and Upside Risks
   1. Financing Rounds, Exits, and Protecting Crowdfunders

a. Price-Based Anti-Dilution Protection
b. Shares-Based Anti-Dilution Protection
c. Tag-Along Rights
d. Preemptive Rights

5. QUALITATIVE PROTECTIONS FOR CROWDFUNDERS

A. Contractual Provisions
B. Venture Capital–Deal-Terms Disclosure Table
C. Congressional and Regulatory Action

CONCLUSION

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3. Harvard Business Law Review – Equity Crowdfunding: The Real and the Illusory Exemption – This document has a good section that discusses investment syndicates and why novice investors should follow lead angel investors until they get the hang of assessing crowdfunding securities risk.

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION

I. BACKGROUND

A. An introduction to crowdfunding
B. The rationale for a new exemption
C. The legislative history of the retail crowdfunding exemption
D. The quiet compromise

II. TWO CROWDFUNDING EXEMPTIONS COMPARED

A. Affordability in small offerings
B. Access to potential investors
C. Investor protection
D. Summary and implications

III. AN INCENTIVES-BASED THEORY OF INVESTOR PROTECTION

A. The public theory and retail crowdfunding
B. The private theory and accredited crowdfunding
C. A theory to describe the spectrum

IV. ASSESSING POTENTIAL SEC ACTION

A. Pooled investments managed by a lead investor
B. Public company regulation
C. Verification
D. Liquidity risk
E. Integration and aggregation
F. Substantial compliance
G. The accredited investor definition

V. RECOMMENDATIONS

A. Strengthen accredited investor bargaining power
B. Encourage retail investors to piggyback
C. Harmonize the resale and substantial compliance rules
D. Generate empirical data and conduct a special study

CONCLUSION

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4. David M. Freedman and Matthew R. Nutting – Equity Crowdfunding for Investors: A Guide to Risks, Returns, Regulations, Funding Portals, Due Diligence, and Deal Terms, which I have not read, but the following paragraph descriptions definitely look worth reading while learning the the Title III equity crowdfunding securities investment process.

Preface: The New Angel Investors

In 1977, Mike Markkula became the first angel investor in Apple Computer. His $80,000 stake in Apple grew into about $200 million when the company went public three years later. Few opportunities can generate personal wealth as profoundly as being a founder or early investor in a startup that achieves that sort of grand success. Before 2012, however, angel investing was strictly limited to wealthy and extremely well connected people. Thanks to Title III of the JOBS Act of 2012, tens of millions of average investors will, for the first time in several decades, have an opportunity to invest in growing startups and early-stage companies via equity crowdfunding portals. This book covers not only Title III crowdfunding, but Regulation D offering platforms and intrastate securities exemptions (in at least 18 states) as well.

Chapter 1: The Foundations of Online Crowdfunding

Internet crowdfunding gained traction around 2003, starting with rewards-based platforms like ArtistShare, Kickstarter, and Indiegogo. They were followed by donation-based platforms like GoFundMe. Securities (debt- and equity-based) offering platforms launched around 2011 in the United States. Equity offering platforms were still open to accredited investors only, however. The JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act of 2012 legalized a new form of equity crowdfunding for all investors regardless of income or net worth. This chapter clarifies the differences between the various kinds of crowdfunding and provides lessons for investors about risk, reward, fraud prevention, and the wisdom of the crowd.

Chapter 2: Equity Offerings under Reg. D

Starting in 2011 in the United States, startups and early-stage companies began offering securities to accredited investors through Web-based offering platforms, under Rule 506 of Regulation D. Issuers could raise an unlimited amount of equity capital via Reg D platforms. Title II of the JOBS Act of 2012 lifted the ban on general solicitation for offerings made under new Rule 506(c). We profile two pioneers in Reg D offering platforms: MicroVentures (focusing on tech startups) and CircleUp (focusing on earlystage consumer products and retail companies).

Chapter 3: Equity Crowdfunding for All Investors

Title III of the JOBS Act of 2012 created a legal framework for equity crowdfunding, whereby all investors (not just wealthy “accredited” investors) can buy securities issued by startups and early-stage companies. The regulations limit the amount of money investors can invest in equity crowdfunding offerings each year, based on their income and/or net worth.

Chapter 4: Intrastate Crowdfunding, Non-accredited Investors

At least a dozen states got a jumpstart on equity crowdfunding, using the “intrastate exemption” to initiate regulatory frameworks for in-state equity crowdfunding. Georgia was the first U.S. state in which an equity crowdfunding portal successfully funded a startup with participation of non-accredited investors.

Chapter 5: Deal Flow

What kinds of companies will offer equity shares on Title III crowdfunding portals? Will they really have high growth potential and be worth investing in? Will there be a big enough supply of offerings to meet the demand of tens of millions of new angel investors? In this chapter we forecast what kinds of companies— in terms of industry, development stage, growth potential, and other characteristics—will represent the most attractive Title III deals for all (including non-accredited) investors.

Chapter 6: Angel Investors

In depth, we discuss the benefits, returns, costs, and risks of investing in startups and early-stage companies via equity crowdfunding. The possibility of earning spectacular return on investment (even if not very likely) is one attraction of angel investing. We discuss how the emergence of equity crowdfunding creates a new class of angel investors, with some of the same motives and benefits as traditional angels but some new ones, too—especially social benefits.

Chapter 7:  How to Navigate through Title III Offerings

This chapter offers a glimpse behind the scenes of equity crowdfunding portals—how they are regulated, the difference between “funding portals” and broker-dealer platforms, how they decide whether to approve or reject issuers’ applications, how investors communicate with each other, and using an investor dashboard.

Chapter 8: How to Invest, Part 1: Portfolio Strategy

A three- to five-year plan for building an equity crowdfunding portfolio Investing in private securities, including Title III offerings, is one way to diversify your investment portfolio. This chapter helps you decide what percentage of your portfolio assets should be devoted to “non-correlated” alternative assets like Title III offerings; identify your primary motives for investing in startups and early-stage companies so you can narrow down the kinds of offerings that you consider; create an equity crowdfunding budget, pinpointing the amount of money that you can invest each year over three to five years; and build a diversified equity crowdfunding portfolio.

Chapter 9: How to Invest, Part 2: Identify Suitable Offerings

How narrow down your choice of Title III offerings, based on your selection criteria—the first of which is identifying your social, personal, and/or financial motivation for investing in startups and early-stage companies.

Chapter 10: Equity Crowdfunding Securities

Title III equity offerings are predominantly C corporation stock, limited liability company membership units, and convertible debt. This chapter covers the fundamentals of each of those securities (including both common and preferred stock), and their advantages and drawbacks for both issuers and investors.

Chapter 11: Deal Terms

We provide concise explanations of the terms of private securities deals, in four categories: economic terms (like price per share, minimum investment, fully diluted valuation, etc.); control terms (protective provisions, veto power, etc.); terms relating to liquidity events and future financing (liquidation preferences, anti-dilution provisions); and other terms (conversion rights, dividends, redemption rights, right of first refusal, etc.).

Chapter 12: How to Invest, Part 3: Due Diligence

How to research an issuer’s management team, financial reports, revenue projections, business strategy, regulatory compliance, and other key indicators. You have the option of conducting due diligence independently, relying on a sophisticated “lead investor,” hiring a professional adviser, and/or collaborating with members of the crowd through on-platform discussions and Q&A forums.

Chapter 13: How to Invest, Part 4: Funding and Post-funding

We talk about the on-platform investment transaction, your rights and obligations as a shareholder, and how to monitor and manage your equity crowdfunding portfolio.

Chapter 14: Liquidity and Secondary Markets

Equity crowdfunding securities are relatively illiquid, especially in the first 12 months that you hold the investment. Secondary markets will probably develop over the next few years to provide liquidity to Title III securities. We look back at how secondary markets developed for accredited investors in the past 10 years, and project how they might develop for all investors in the near future.

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5. Charting a New Revolution in Equity Crowdfunding: The Rise of State Crowdfunding Regimes in the Response to the Inadequacy of the Title III JOBS Act – Good analysis of intrastate crowdfunding exemptions.

6. The Next British Invasion is Securities Crowdfunding: How Issuing Non-Registered Securities through the Crowd Can Succeed in the United States – Good analysis of equity crowdfunding in the U.K.

7. Breaking New Ground: The Americas Alternative Finance Benchmarking Report – Research report on peer to peer lending, another form of alternative finance.

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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.

Top 100 Crowdfunding Sites in the United States, Europe, Asia, South America, Africa and other Global Markets in 2016

Seeking the Top 100 Crowdfunding Sites
in the United States or the Rest of the World? See Our Updated 2016 Rankings!

Crowdfunding PR’s 2016 Top 100 Global Crowdfunding Sites

 By Robert Hoskins

[Click Here to Tweet this Top 100 List to Your Business Colleagues]

United States – We have updated our List of the Top 100 Global Crowdfunding Sites for 2016 in the United States, Europe, Asia, South America, Africa and other global markets.  

Clicking on the website traffic ranking links below will take readers to one of the most insightful resources of information that details each website’s traffic ranking; the number of unique visitors per month; the average time spent on each site per visit; and the number of pages viewed per each visit.

Of more interest to crowdfunding campaign managers will be the precise ratio of social media, content marketing, search engine marketing, email marketing and display advertising that is being utilized by each crowdfunding site’s marketing campaigns to drive readers and investors to their crowdfunding profiles.

GoFundMe vs Kickstarter SimilarWeb Stats

Even though these numbers reflect the aggregation of all of a given portal’s crowdfunding campaigns marketing efforts, they offer direct evidence of what is working and what is not.  Note the difference on how much social media and display advertising is being used by the Top 10 Crowdfunding Sites compared the lower 90 crowdfunding sites. 

This information can be used by crowdfunding sites as well as their crowdfunders to get a thorough understanding on how to plan future marketing campaigns that will have a higher than average success rate.

Want to know how Kickstarter has just retaken GoFundMe as the world’s #1 crowdfunding platform? Click on the Global Rank number links below and then use the comparison tool to show side-by-side comparisons of SEO keywords, link referrals, and social media usage. See the bottom of the page for more crowdfunding marketing tips.

[Click Here to Tweet this Top 100 List of Crowdfunding Sites]

2016 Rank	© Front Page PR	Global Rank
#1 (2015: #2)	www.kickstarter.com	692
#2 (2015: #1)	www.gofundme.com	1,805
#3 (2015: #4)	www.indiegogo.com	2,126
#4 (2015: #3)	www.angel.co	4,550
#5 (2015: #5)	www.lendingclub.com	9,781
#6 (2015: #6)	www.justgiving.com	10,950
#7 (2015: #9)	www.ulule.com	15,943
#8 (2015: #7)	www.youcaring.com	22,315
#9 (2015: #8)	www.kiva.org	24,366
#10 (2015: #12)	www.crowdrise.com	24,617
#11 (2015: #10)	www.donorschoose.org	33,737
#12 (2015: #16)	www.fundingcircle.com	37,717
#13 (2015: #11)	www.pledgemusic.com	42,380
#14 (2015: #13)	www.tilt.com	51,509
#15 (2015: #50)	www.seedandspark.com	64,606
#16 (2015: #22)	www.circleup.com	68,095
#17 (2015: #24)	www.kickante.com.br	69,483
#18 (2015: #15)	www.crowdcube.com	73,968
#19 (2015: new)	www.seedrs.com	90,162
#20 (2015: #28)	www.gogetfunding.com	97,023
#21 (2015: #29)	www.fundrise.com	117,386
#22 (2015: #20)	www.firstgiving.com	117,598
#23 (2015: #17)	www.razoo.com	126,920
#24 (2015: #14)	www.giveforward.com	126,939
#25 (2015: #38)	www.seedinvest.com	135,275
#26 (2015: #18)	www.fundly.com	140,609
#27 (2015: #27)	www.zeczec.com	151,454
#28 (2015: #25)	www.crowdfunder.com	158,984
#29 (2015: #23)	www.fundable.com	185,100
#30 (2015: #19)	www.pozible.com	189,422
#31 (2015: new)	www.companisto.com	201,708
#32 (2015: new)	www.wiseed.com	211,628
#33 (2015: #21)	www.fundrazr.com	214,382
#34 (2015: #31)	www.experiment.com	217,304
#35 (2015: #53)	www.peerform.com	222,324
#36 (2015: #53)	www.startengine.com	227,165
#37 (2015: new)	www.seedmatch.de	227,277
#38 (2015: #86)	www.bnktothefuture.com	279,553
#39 (2015: new)	www.fundersclub.com	284,743
#40 (2015: #45)	www.ourcrowd.com	286,808
#41 (2015: #26)	www.equitynet.com	293,867
#42 (2015: new)	www.syndicateroom.com	293,940
#43 (2015: #32)	www.realtymogul.com	332,585
#44 (2015: #42)	www.pledgie.com	351,524
#45 (2015: #39)	www.slated.com	354,964
#46 (2015: #44)	www.fundanything.com	361,785
#47 (2015: #40)	www.patchofland.com	364,803
#48 (2015: #33)	www.geldvoorelkaar.nl	367,546
#48 (2015: new)	www.anaxago.com	392,914
#49 (2015: #48)	www.ppl.com.pt	407,009
#50 (2015: #30)	www.fundedbyme.com	410,994
#51 (2015: #41)	www.givezooks.com	443,766
#52 (2015: #76)	www.joinmosaic.com	472,517
#53 (2015: #43)	www.microventures.com	504,408
#54 (2015: #new)	www.invesdor.com	520,978
#55 (2015: #37)	www.offbeatr.com	526,705
#56 (2015: #36)	www.wefunder.com	586,450
#57 (2015: #57)	www.plumfund.com	603,093
#58 (2015: #65)	www.crowdstreet.com	616,566
#59 (2015: #49)	www.dragoninnovation.com	635,079
#60 (2015: #52)	www.opportunity.org	669,915
#61 (2015: #61)	www.flashfunders.com	693,854
#62 (2015: #58)	www.fundraise.com	744,583
#63 (2015: #46)	www.pave.com	748,172
#64 (2015: #64)	www.symbid.com	884,303
#65 (2015: #68)	pitchfunder.asufoundation.org	1,072,918
#66 (2015: #34)	www.onevest.com	1,098,541
#67 (2015: #66)	www.assetavenue.com	1,124,447
#68 (2015: #69)	www.artistshare.com	1,135,924
#69 (2015: #70)	www.nextseed.com	1,138,179
#70 (2015: #63)	www.piggybackr.com	1,162,479
#71 (2015: #62)	www.trucrowd.com	1,246,018
#72 (2015: #60)	www.barnraiser.us	1,288,466
#73 (2015: #54)	www.bolstr.com	1,477,216
#74 (2015: #59)	www.earlyshares.com	1,585,544
#75 (2015: #80)	www.pledgecents.com	1,597,425
#76 (2015: #82)	www.crowd2fund.com	1,776,210
#77 (2015: #47)	www.growvc.com	1,791,220
#78 (2015: #87)	www.acquirerealestate.com	1,989,566
#79 (2015: #71)	www.appsfunder.com	2,649,175
#80 (2015: #78)	www.dreamfunded.com	2,760,699
#81 (2015: #72)	www.assob.com.au	2,767,540
#82 (2015: #90)	www.massivemov.com	3,234,838
#83 (2015: #55)	www.investx.com	3,486,195
#84 (2015: #75)	www.faithlauncher.com	3,605,295
#85 (2015: #75)	www.crudefunders.com	3,792,211
#86 (2015: #84)	www.texasenetworks.com	3,923,796
#87 (2015: #51)	www.pubslush.com	4,078,981
#88 (2015: #73)	www.foodstart.com	4,358,969
#89 (2015: #56)	www.uinvest.com.ua	4,483,866
#90 (2015: #79)	www.propellr.com	4,516,046
#91 (2015: #85)	www.icrowd.com	4,629,191
#92 (2015: #67)	www.microgiving.com	4,757,890
#93 (2015: #81)	www.massventure.com	5,544,974
#94 (2015: New)	www.offerboard.com	5,968,517
#95 (2015: #99)	www.cMEcompete.com	6,363,051
#96 (2015: #83)	www.ipledg.com	6,460,243
#97 (2015: #93)	www.funderhut.com	6,764,561
#98 (2015: #97)	www.crowdfundingbank.com	7,068,480
#99 (2015: #77)	www.crowdfundingpays.com	7,667,040
#100 (2015: #88)	www.sterlingfunder.com	7,951,827

Source: Feb 2016 SimilarWeb Website Statistics

Crowdfunding PR’s goal is simple. We want to make it possible for crowdfunders to shop for  crowdfunding platforms in a similar manner to the way media planners/buyers used to analyze ABC and BPA audit statements to buy advertisements in the business-to-business trade publication industry, where important media buying decisions were based on straight mathematics, not popularity or random guessing.

For example, would you rather run a crowdfunding campaign on a site where visitors are looking at 2-3 pages in around 3 minute’s time or a site where buyers are spending 6 to 11 minutes reviewing 6 to 10 pages?

This is the difference between shoppers who are visiting a site to see a particular crowdfunding campaign based on a marketing campaign versus people who are visiting a site to explore and actually shop around to find good deals to buy or invest their money.

This is why launching a campaign on Kickstarter or GoFundMe does not guarantee success. While Kickstarter, GoFundMe or Indiegogo may be the largest sites in the world, people are only spending enough time to shop through more than 2 to 3 crowdfunding profiles before they exit. While other sites like Razoo.com, DonorsChoose.org, and FundingCircle.com have visitors that stay more than 6 to 11 minutes and view 6 to 10 pages.

When researching, planning and executing successful marketing programs for both crowdfunding platforms as well as their individual crowdfunding customer profiles, it is extremely important to see what is driving the most traffic to any given crowdfunding site.  Success is usually determined not only by what site the crowdfunding campaign is being hosted on, but also the marketing programs being harnessed to drive potential donors/investors to a specific crowdfunding profile.

Clicking on each link above will allow media planners/buyers to understand what role direct traffic (content marketing), search engines (SEO, PPC Advertising), social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Reddit, Quora), email marketing and display advertising (Google Display, Outbrain, AppNexus) are having on the success of crowdfunding campaigns.

For example, when planning a social media strategy, one of the most popular questions we get asked is – what social media networks are driving the most visitor traffic? Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Quora, Reddit, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram? The links above will make this answer crystal clear.

Not satisfied with your position on the list? Front Page PR’s team of crowdfunding PR, social media and marketing experts can help crowdfunding sites and crowdfunding campaigns plan the perfect mix of integrated marketing programs to significantly improve the amount of website traffic being driven to any given fundraising campaign or crowdfunding platform.

Feel free to call (512) 627-6622 with questions or request help to improve your website statistics before June.

More Top 100 Crowdfunding Site Lists:

• Top 100 Global Crowdfunding Sites
• Top 100 Equity Crowdfunding Sites
• Top 100 Real Estate Crowdfunding Sites
• Top 100 Reward/Perks Crowdfunding Sites
• Top 10 Donations Crowdfunding Sites
• Top 10 University Crowdfunding Sites
• Top 10 Texas Equity Crowdfunding Sites
• Top 10 Crowdfunding Cities

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Amazon Demonstrates Its Business Expertise, Provides Superior Marketing and Distribution Services for Entrepreneurs and Startups

Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Other Top Crowdfunding Sites Should Pay Attention and Start Providing a Deeper Portfolio of Marketing and Distribution Channel Services or Suffer the Consequences

By Robert Hoskins

Seattle, Washington – Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) announced Amazon Launchpad, a new program that makes it easy for startups to launch, market, and distribute their products to hundreds of millions of Amazon customers across the globe. The program offers a streamlined onboarding experience, custom product pages, a comprehensive marketing package, and access to Amazon’s global fulfillment network, all geared toward helping startups successfully launch their innovations and share their stories. With Amazon Launchpad, startups can overcome many of the challenges associated with launching new products by using Amazon’s retail expertise and infrastructure to create awareness and drive sales.

Amazon Launchpad for Entrepreneurs and Startups

“As the pace of innovation continues to increase within the startup community, we want to help customers discover these unique products and learn the inspiration behind them. We also know from talking to startups that bringing a new product to market successfully can be just as challenging as building it,” said Jim Adkins, Vice President, Amazon. “Amazon Launchpad gives customers access to a dedicated storefront featuring a variety of innovative new products from emerging brands. For startups, we handle inventory management, order fulfillment, customer service, and more, allowing them to focus their efforts on the innovation that results in more cool products.”

Amazon Launchpad offers participating startups:

• Brand Development: Custom product pages help bring products to life through visually-compelling imagery and videos. Founders can tell their story and connect with customers in a personal way with Q&A about the startup. Products from these emerging brands are featured in the new Amazon Launchpad store, which is dedicated to showcasing startups and their innovations.
• Customer Reach: Amazon’s most powerful marketing tools – including merchandised placements, personalized recommendations, and participation in the Amazon Vine customer reviews program – give products from startups added visibility. Startups also enjoy access to Amazon’s global fulfillment network, fast and free shipping with Amazon Prime, and customer service.
• Global Expansion: When startups are ready to reach customers outside the U.S., Amazon Launchpad can help them expand globally with cost-effective supply chain solutions and marketing programs in more than 10 Amazon marketplaces around the world.

Amazon is working with more than 25 venture capital firms, startup accelerators, and crowd-funding platforms to bring startups into the Amazon Launchpad program. Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator, and Indiegogo are a few of the companies that have funded the more than 200 products currently available in the Amazon Launchpad store – which features everything from Electronics to Kitchen to Beauty items. Products from startups in the program include the Bluesmart Smart Carry-On Luggage, eero Home Wi-Fi System, Cuff DVB Smart Sport Band, Fenugreen FreshPaper Produce Saver Sheets, Electric Objects EO1 Digital Art Panel, Soma Sustainable Pitcher & Plant-Based Water Filter, Thync Mood-Changing Wearable System, and Casper Mattress, among others.

Initial feedback from some of the companies in the Amazon Launchpad program includes:

• “Launchpad makes Amazon an ideal partner for the most innovative young tech companies,” said Marc Andreessen, Co-Founder and General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz. “It’s yet another way Amazon fosters a real ecosystem of invention and creativity.”
• “At Y Combinator, our support doesn’t end on Demo Day. With Amazon Launchpad, we are reinforcing our commitment to help bring physical products to a wide audience,” said Luke Iseman, Partner, Y Combinator. “This program will help our hardware startups get in front of more users than ever before.”
• “Indiegogo empowers campaigners to turn ideas into reality through customer engagement and funding mechanisms. By partnering with Amazon Launchpad, Indiegogo entrepreneurs gain instant access to Amazon’s powerful distribution capabilities and massive audience,” said Slava Rubin, Co-Founder and CEO, Indiegogo. “I’m excited to see how this unique partnership enables startups to accelerate their growth and share their innovative products with the world.”
• “Amazon recognizes the increasing importance of fast and reliable home Wi-Fi as consumers stream more video and music than ever before and connected devices go mainstream,” said Nick Weaver, Co-Founder and CEO, eero. “We couldn’t ask for a better partner and are honored to be one of the emerging companies in the Amazon Launchpad program. We’re excited to showcase our product on the world’s largest discovery platform.”
• “Amazon Launchpad is the perfect home for our smart jewelry. This innovative way to shop lets us tell consumers the story and philosophy behind Cuff, and hopefully makes them fall in love with our product,” said Deepa Sood, Founder and CEO, Cuff. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of this initiative.”
• “I am an accidental entrepreneur – I never dreamed that FreshPaper, which started as my middle school science project, would one day be in the hands of farmers and families across the globe. But my unlikely story is only possible because of visionary partners like Amazon who believe in our product’s potential to change the way the world eats,” said Kavita Shukla, Inventor and Founder, Fenugreen FreshPaper. “By throwing their considerable weight behind ideas like FreshPaper, Amazon is using its technology and reach to make innovation accessible to all.”
• “The sheer scale that Amazon Launchpad offers a startup like Electric Objects is unparalleled,” said Jake Levine, Founder and CEO, Electric Objects. “Working closely with their team these last few months, I’ve been consistently impressed with the level of service and access that this program makes available. This partnership could be game-changing for our company, and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to participate.”

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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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