1.Entrepreneurship & Crowdfunding

2. Agenda About Me Entrepreneurship RockThePost Crowdfunding Equity Based Crowdfunding & JOBS Act Questions 3. Who am I? Alejandro Cremades Born in Spain. Law Degree. Masters on International Business & Trade Law International Business Law at King & Spalding Chevron vs. Ecuador - $113 billion. CEO/ Founder of Rock The Post 4. Entrepreneurship 5. How entrepreneurs are born. Idea Team Market Product 6. Where do ideas come from? Most important ideas take time to evolve and spend along time dormant in the background. Good ideas need time to incubate. Sometimes you have of the idea. It is important toshare with other people and to borrow other peoplesthoughts and combine them. Creativity and innovation happens thanks to the so manyways in which humans can connect nowadays. 7. Assembling the A+ Team Average people hire average employees. A+ peoplehire A+ people. Find these rock stars within your network. People you dont know may be found via Linkedin, Co-Founders Lab, or Meetup events. Retain talent by giving them a piece of the pie. It is betterto have 10% of something valuable than 100% of nothing. Create the best working environment. 8. Market Research Avoid thinking you are the first to market. There arealways similar products. Investigate what potential competitors are doing andhow to do it better. Figure out how to monetize. Investors want to know this. Gather demographic and economic data. 9. Product Avoid outsourcing the core parts of your business. Insteadpartner with someone who is an expert. Gather early testers of your product. Measure and studyhow they react towards it. Launch a store, something simple. Build it from there toget to the mall you envision. Get a grasp on marketing strategies. Think about funding. A lot. 10. First Critical Steps Buy the domain name of your business and get the socialmedia pages before anyone else. Register your mark with the USPTO. Find a great lawyer with experience in your field. 11. Mistakes Keeping your idea secret. Not launching until having the perfect product. Not having a complete business plan. Not living and breathing your project. Raising more money than what you need. Hiring average people. 12. Tips Solve a critical need Simplify as much as possible your product Listen to your costumers. Dont be afraid to iterate yourproduct until you get it right. Spread the word as much as you can. Follow your passion. 13. The Startup Game 14. Featured in: 15. Why Rock The Post Was Born Problem Entrepreneurs had a very hard timefinding financing. In 2009, U.S. banks posted the sharpest decline inprivate lending since 1942. 98% of the business plans rejected byVCs and Angel Investors. 16. Rock The Posts Solutions Funding innovation = Evolution. Platform taking funding from Wall Street To Main Street. Equal opportunities in the world of business. Community involvement. Financing early stage companies and entrepreneurs. Contributing to job creation (small business created 65%of the net new jobs in the past 17 years). 17. Rock The Post = CrowdfundingDEFINITION:Crowdfunding is essentially a tool that gives entrepreneurs the opportunityto attract a pool of people via social media or shared interests in order tocontribute to a funding target that has been previously establishedby the entrepreneur. 18. Why Crowdfund? (The Benefits)Provides access to capitalEstablish proof of conceptIt hedges risk - Presell your productTest current business planAnalyze your products market demandGreat marketing tool - Grow your audienceGather insight for improving your productDetermine the best price point 19. Check List for Creating a Project Video Monetary Goal and Purpose Complete Project Time Effort 20. How it works 21. Recent Success StoriesVilly Custom - $10,032MUUSE - $15,010MusicX.fm - $20,429Jesse Aizenstat - $20,105 22. Crowdfunding Platform ComparisonKickstarterIndiegogoRock The Post Company Focus Product focusBroad PurposeFunding All or nothing FlexibleAll or nothing Mass consumer Fund my life Entrepreneurs atArea productsprojects early stageCustomer Limited Limited Excellent Service 23. MisconceptionsSolely Launching aCampaign Will Bring in the Money 24. MisconceptionsNOT LIKELYLeverage your innernetworks! 25. MisconceptionsBy Directing People toYour Project, They WillPledge 26. MisconceptionsNOT LIKELYBe bold and clear about your message! 27. Misconceptions Crowdfunding Campaigns areEffortless 28. Misconceptions NOT TRUE Requires time and energy! 29. Basic Crowdfunding Campaign Process1. Plan ahead for campaigni. Distribution listsii. Set fundraising goal & campaign lengthiii. Target media outlets 30. Process2. Create the crowdfunding campaigni. Create an epic storyii. Have enticing rewardiii. Identify your target audience 31. Process3. Once the campaign is runningi. Spread The Wordii. Project updates 32. Manage Expectations 1-2 weeks to complete a post 25-40% of funds from1st, 2nd, and 3rd degreeconnections. Stay active throughoutcampaign! 33. Why People Pledge 34. Equity Based Crowdfunding 35. JOBS Act In the spring of 2012, President Obama passed the JOBSAct, short for Jumpstart Our Our Business. Possibility for non-accredited investors to invest in privateofferings. The US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has beeninstructed by Congress to issue the regulations covering thisspace on or before January 2013. The Self Regulatory Organization (SRO) is established. PossiblyFINRA. Equity crowdfunding becomes possible being able to be thefirst investor on the next Facebook, Twitter, or Dropbox. 36. Defining accredited investors Net worth greater than $1 million. The primary residence isnot counted as an asset in the net worth calculation. A natural person with income exceeding $200,000 ineach of the two most recent years or joint income with aspouse exceeding $300,000 Accredited investors represent only 1% of the U.S.population. 37. JOBS ACT - Title III Requirements forissuers (project creators)Registration and incorporation documents.Name of directors, officer and stockholders.Description of the business.Prior year tax returns.Financial statements.Intended use of proceeds, target amount and deadline.Share price.Description of ownership.Outstanding securities of the company. 38. ConclusionCrowdfunding is a great option forearly stage companies andentrepreneurs trying to make theirdreams become a reality to obtainfunding and to gain exposure . 39. Questions