Startups and the Crowd: Perspectives on the Future of Crowdfunding

Innovate Pasadena Coffee Meetup - CONNECT Weekend Edition Sponsored by Pasadena Convention Center & Rising Realty Partners: Startups and the Crowd: Perspectives on the Future of Crowdfunding and Potential Opportunities for Entrepreneurs.

Location: Ballroom F&G, Pasadena Convention Center.

Also as part of our 1 year anniversary celebration of our meet-up/complementary continental breakfast provided.

The JOBS Act aims to expand crowdfunding opportunities for entrepreneurs looking to finance their companies and projects, yet much remains uncertain and/or misunderstood about how these new regulations will impact the startups. This panel will present the different perspectives on this topic from local experts who have pioneered the crowdfunding terrain to bring more clarity on the future impact of the JOBS Act on our Pasadena startup ecosystem.

Some of the topics that will be covered:

• How is crowdfunding currently being applied?
• How will crowdfunding evolve as the rest of the JOBS Act is enacted?
• What opportunities does crowdfunding present for local entrepreneurs?
• What are the compliance requirements and challenges that accompany crowdfunding?
• How will crowdfunding impact venture capital and startup cap tables?

Panelists:

John Babcock, Venture Partner at Rustic Canyon (http://www.rusticcanyon.com/)

An experienced venture investor, John Babcock has been a partner at Rustic Canyon Partners since the firm's formation in 1999. With over $900MM under management at Rustic Canyon, John continues to invest in innovative early stage companies in Southern California and the Silicon Valley. His investment interests include Cleantech, SaaS companies, Internet and advanced building materials.

Christopher Girdwood, CEO and Founder at Recovery Pledge (http://recoverypledge.com/)

Christopher Girdwood (Chris) has worked in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Combining these experiences he launched a crowd-funding campaign to raise the capital required to build a social enterprise platform focused on disaster recovery. He raised just under $10,000 in forty days from over sixty investors.

Mark Hiraide, Securities Attorney at Petillon Hiraide LLP (http://www.phlcorplaw.com/)

Mark Hiraide represents companies listed on the NASDAQ, AMEX and OTCBB stock markets and privately held businesses and individual officers and directors in corporate and securities law matters. He specializes in counseling clients in both complex corporate finance and mergers and acquisition transactions and in litigation relating to liabilities under federal and state securities laws. Mark began his career as an attorney for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for eight years and was invited by the Securities Subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee to testify about Crowdfunding, Regulation A, Regulation D, SOX 404, IPOs and other securities law issues relating to the JOBS Act.

Chris Rising, President & COO at Rising Realty Partners (http://www.risingrp.com/)

Christopher Rising manages the day-to-day business activities of RRP, while also serving on its Investment Committee. Drawing on his experience as Senior Vice President, Asset Transactions at MPG Office Trust, Inc. (NYSE: MPG), Christopher is skilled at managing acquisitions and creative development. Christopher currently serves as a member of the Board of Regents at Loyola High School, Board of Overseers at Loyola Law School, and Treasurer for the Board of the Los Angeles River Revitalization Corporation. Additionally, Christopher serves as an advisor to Fundrise, a crowdfunding platform that focuses on local real estate investments.

David Rothstein, VP of Investor Relations at Crowdfunder (http://crowdfunder.com/)

David Rothstein is a fin-tech entrepreneur focusing on wealth disparity in America and the power of the internet to address it. Formerly a wealth management professional with a combined five years of experience at Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch, David joined team Crowdfunder in 2013. Prior to his work in financial services, David received a degree in Philosophy from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Moderated by: Sandro Monetti, Director of BAFTA LA (http://www.bafta.org/losangeles)

Sandro Monetti is a leading international TV and radio host who most recently co-presented BBC Radio's coverage of the Oscars. He is also a Director of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA LA) and the host of the annual Metropole Global Crowdfunding Forum. Sandro also writes and directs award winning films and stage shows and is a crowdfunding evangelist. Learn more at http://www.sandromonetti.com .

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

A special thanks to our fantastic sponsors: Rising Realty Partners (http://www.risingrp.com/) for their underwriting & the Pasadena Convention Center (http://www.pasadenacenter.com/) for the beautiful space and hosting the continental breakfast!