Cheat Sheet
About This Episode
If you thought Rewards-Based Crowdfunding was a new industry, wait until you check out the Equity Crowdfunding Industry!
We have talked about Equity Crowdfunding once before, but this episode we are going to take a look at the legal liability of Equity Crowdfunding, and also touch on Rewards Liability as well.
And it is an especially important episode as Indiegogo JUST started offering to support Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns.
I hate to jump the gun and cry “Game Changer!” but frankly Indiegogo is further cementing its role as the “anything goes” crowdfunding platform.
That being said, to start you on your legal journey I have brought Mark Roderick on the show.
Mark is a lawyer that has been helping entrepreneurs raise money for years.
When he saw the JOBS Act on the horizon, Mark saw an incredible opportunity to help small businesses.
If you haven’t done it before, raising money is a bit of a pain.
You either have to have millions of dollars to IPO, or you have to know the right people.
With Equity Crowdfunding you can sell shares to anyone all over the world over the internet.
Equity Crowdfunding isn’t as easy as Rewards Crowdfunding.
With Equity Crowdfunding you have to have your paperwork in order.
Accounting, corporate governance, and business plan have to be all top notch.
...And then you have to do the same work as a regular campaign building an audience and putting together your pitch.
Generally, this means that you are looking to raise larger sums of money.
And for some businesses Equity Crowdfunding is the way to go!
For a legal conversation, the discussion is surprisingly entertaining. I promise you will learn something that will aid you in your journey.
Resources Mentioned
Circle up - Consumer Products Equity Crowdfunding
RealCrowd - Real Estate Crowdfunding
SPECIAL BEHIND THE SCENES EPISODE!!
If you want to hear all the gory behind the scenes details of a successful crowdfunding campaign, then you HAVE to listen to this episode.
In this episode, I am speaking with one of my clients, Chris Predergast of JamStack.
JamStack is the World’s First Attachable Electrical Guitar Amplifier. If you play electric guitar, then you are probably freaking out right now because you can guess what this thing does…
If you aren’t, you’ve probably seen acoustic guitars at house parties or around a campfire before…
The JamStack makes your electric guitar as portable as your acoustic guitar.
I am super excited about this product, but enough about that.
Chris and I are in the MIDDLE of the pre-launch campaign as of publication.
The actual launch is happening around November 21, 2016...
We are just waiting for Kickstarter to approve our project.
“But Khierstyn, if you haven’t launched, how do you know the campaign will be successful?
Because I have been a part of and studied so many campaigns, that there is basically no WAY this campaign can fail.
Although we don’t know how well it will do, the responses we’ve received to it so far put little doubt in my mind that we will hit our initial goal.
The product is great and fills a strong need.
The founder is incredible.
The audience is SUPER passionate.
And we are building the audience the RIGHT way.
In this episode, we go over pretty much EVERY DETAIL that’s required to build a list before you launch your campaign.
You have heard a lot of the information before, but the discussion has never been so specific because the conversations happen months after the campaign ends.
We go over…
I’m adding this episode to my “required listening” page, it’s that important.
Over the past weekend, I received some news that a great mentor to me (and many) had passed away.
This episode isn't necessarily about Crowdfunding, but it emphasizes a few key things that Andrew taught me that has made me who I am today.
Not only as an entrepreneur, but as a person.
Cheat Sheet
About This Episode
Jake Heilbrunn thought college was going to be the time of his life.
That’s what we are all told, right?
“I expected I would work hard and play hard.”
But early into his first semester he developed a chronic skin condition and ultimately developed severe anxiety and depression.
Something was wrong.
What Jake discovered was that his anxiety came from pursuing the life others wanted from him and wasn’t living life for himself.
So he left school after that first semester, left his cell phone at home, and took a one-way ticket to Guatemala to teach English.
While spending four months in Guatemala, he decided he found the relief from the depression and anxiety that had plagued him that first semester at school.
He realized he wanted to help inspire other college students to pursue life for themselves as well by telling his story.
After exhaustive research, Jake chose to write a book, self-publish, and raise money on Kickstarter.
Jake planned months in advance for his launch.
He made a budget and set realistic expectations.
He recruited friends to help him with copywriting and video production.
Se started writing a blog and got email subscribers.
He wrote guest posts
He even woke up at 2am the day of the campaign launch in order to send out personalized messages to 500 people on Facebook.
He wrote those messages so quickly that Facebook thought he was a bot and almost banned his account!
And he hit his funding goal.
There are a ton of practical crowdfunding gems in this episode and a healthy dose of inspiration.
But I really want you to pay attention at the point he talks about reaching out for endorsements.
By being genuine, reaching out personally to relevant thought leaders, he was able to secure some pretty big names...
He even got the one and only Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup For The Soul fame!
That story is heartwarming and unbelievably instructive.
And Jake did it all without a professional team like I use during my launches.
Don’t be fooled by the modest raise.
Launching a book is a lot different from launching a tech product.
Jake is a future rockstar. I guarantee you will be hearing from him again in the future.
Resources Mentioned
Off The Beaten Trail Kickstarter Page
Off The Beaten Trail on Amazon
The Disturbing Truth About Anxiety and Depression in College