Crowd Valley COO Paul Higgins presented at Innovami's event entitled 'Una nuova idea d'impresa e crowdfunding' ('A new business idea and crowdfunding') in Imola, Italy on Thursday June 13th.
2. Overview!
â˘âŻ Grow VC Group â innovating investing
â˘âŻ Crowdfunding in connected ecosystems
â˘âŻ Different models in the funding ecosystem
â˘âŻ Creating an effective framework
@paulhigginz @crowdvalley
3. Background â Grow VC!
â˘âŻ Global marketplace for startup funding
â˘âŻ Founded 2009
â˘âŻ âEveryone Funding Startupsâ
â⯠2012 - $35M raised
â⯠5,000+ startups
â⯠190+ countries
â⯠Several raised rounds, first exits
@paulhigginz @crowdvalley
4. Grow VC Group!
â˘âŻ Launched spin-off Crowd Valley in 2012 to provide crowdfunding
infrastructure:
â⯠Configurable platform
â⯠Shared business networks
â⯠Back Office financial services
â˘âŻ Spun out other companies providing various services to support new online
funding marketplaces
â⯠Grow Advisors
â⯠ChangeLab23
â⯠Mutual Seed Fund
â˘âŻ Developed a portfolio through global incubation services
â⯠6 portfolio companies to date
@paulhigginz @crowdvalley
6. Crowdfunding must be part of existing ecosystems!
â˘âŻ Crowdfunding does not happen in a vacuum
â˘âŻ âInvest in Lines, not Dotsâ â venture capitalist, Mark Suster:
Images from bothsidesofthetable.com/2010/11/15/invest-in-lines-not-dots
@paulhigginz @crowdvalley
7. Finding your natural constituency!
Source: crowdsourcing.org
@paulhigginz @crowdvalley
8. Equity crowdfunding goes beyond startups!
â˘âŻ Expanding a mezzanine fund for Oil & Gas investments in Rio de Janeiro
â˘âŻ Providing liquidity for existing shareholders in high-tech companies in
Auckland
â˘âŻ Doctors financing R&D for new medical device companies in Sydney
â˘âŻ Alumni supporting their universityâs entrepreneurship in Boston
â˘âŻ Offering investment opportunities in real estate in London
â˘âŻ Connecting traders of precious stones with professional investors in New
York
@paulhigginz @crowdvalley
9. Different models in the funding ecosystem!
â˘âŻ It is important to get different funding models to work together
â⯠Transparent models, fair agreements and opportunities
â⯠Market value and market dynamics
â⯠Continuity for future funding rounds
â˘âŻ Different models are suitable for different endeavors
â⯠Non-securities models
â⯠Equity financing
â⯠Debt models
â˘âŻ There can be several co-investment models; passive or active
â˘âŻ It is important to build co-operation with traditional investors VC, PE firms
and syndicated investor groups
@paulhigginz @crowdvalley
10. Creating an effective framework!
â˘âŻ Increasing demand to access the right ventures
â⯠Impact investments
â⯠Focus on innovation and sustainable job creation
â˘âŻ Crowdfunding is inherently cross-border
â⯠Transparency and distribution via effective, online models
â⯠An efficient framework is needed to ensure efficient and suitable models
to interact in the EU as a single market
â˘âŻ The impact on growth and job creation could be transformative if a more
unified European market is successfully created
â⯠Fragmentation and bureaucracy could be the main challenges
@paulhigginz @crowdvalley