Expert Jonathan Sandlund to share his wealth of crowdfunding ideas at Louisville seminar Monday

CommonWealth Crowdfunding and Idea Festival 2013 are teaming up to host their first equity crowdfunding seminar 2-5 p.m., Monday, Sept. 23, at the Nucleus Building,
Training Room, 300 E. Market St., in downtown Louisville.

The event Ready, Set, Fundraise? features equity crowdfunding expert Jonathan Sandlund of TheCrowdCafe and Megan Johnson and Jeffrey Bekiares from SparkMarket.

The event is intended to prepare entrepreneurs, investors and service providers for the Securities Exchange Commission’s new funding laws, which go into effect Sept. 23 – bringing equity crowdfunding a step closer.

CE credits are available for accountants. The event is sponsored by Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs.

Purchase tickets online, or send an email if you have questions.

About the presenters:

Jonathan Sandlund, owner, thecrowdcafe.com

TheCrowdCafe is the leading crowdfunding research, resources, education, advocacy and news site, featuring numerous interviews with all the big players in the equity crowdfunding platforms. Jonathan and his site serve as a reference for trusted information on this exploding field.

Megan K. Johnson, CEO, Sparkmarket

Megan is a Georgia attorney with six years of experience in financial transactions and general business law. She is a crowdfunding visionary and community activist who knows how to design, build, promote, manage and close a successful crowdfunding campaign the right way. Her experience includes the packaging and marketing of crowdfunding campaigns.

Jeffrey A. Bekiares, COO, Sparkmarket

Jeffrey is a Georgia attorney with six years of experience in securities and corporate law. He was the first attorney to discover the Invest Georgia Exemption (IGE) and has worked closely with regulators and experts in the state and national crowdfunding community to design IGE campaigns that are compliant and safe for issuers and investors.

CommonWealth Crowdfunding is a volunteer organization that raises awareness for all types of crowdfunding, with an emphasis on equity crowdfunding. The grass-roots volunteer-led group is working to ensure that our area’s entrepreneurs and investors are prepared to take advantage of this exciting form of financing.

Topics will include:

Rewards vs. Investment-Based

• Social/motivational differences
• Structural differences: how investment-based presents new opportunities (supported by data)

U.S. Legalities

• Broad overview of Title II & Title III of the JOBS Act; timeline and implications of each
• Intra-State crowdfunding movement

A Snapshot of the U.S. Marketplace 

• Market segmentation: Who’s who and how are they differentiating
• Different models; different target markets
• Activity to-date; case studies: CircleUp and Fundrise

Global Marketplace: What Can We Learn? 

• To varying degrees, this is legal abroad. Looking at the leading platforms: What does the data say? What can we learn?
• Case studies: FundingCircle, Seedrs, Crowdcube
• Technical Disruption
• Social Disruption

How are Successful Campaigns Run?

• How are audiences reached
• What reporting is critical
• Steps and timelines

What Can Our Region Do to Prepare?

• Laws
• Services
• Information
• Groups

Going Forward: What Does It All Mean? 

• For Businesses
• For Investors
• For Communities