The 2nd annual Canadian Crowdfunding Summit (#CCS2016) on March 3, 2016 brought together a diverse crowd of companies, investors, providers, industry experts and leaders in the crowdfunding, fintech and altfi sectors. Over 440 attendees were in attendance, including 75+ speakers, 30 sessions and 12 pitching companies.

 

View the #CCS2016 photo album

Now in its second year, the Canadian Crowdfunding Summit (hosted by the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada) is Canada’s only national event on crowdfunding, alternative finance and fintech that brings together Canadian and international industry experts, leaders and innovators in the fast growing and lucrative crowdfunding alternative finance industry. With the newly released equity crowdfunding regulations across Canada and the emergence of marketplace lending and investment bank 2.0 platforms, 2016 is anticipated to be a year of exponential growth.

This year’s Summit was officially opened by Ontario Finance Minister Hon. Charles Sousa, who endorsed the emerging industry, which helps build on the province’s plan for economic growth and job creation.

Sharing our support to crowdfunding initiatives that build on ON’s plan for economic growth & job creation #CCS2016 pic.twitter.com/1Eq2mm0b9i

— Charles Sousa (@SousaCharles) March 3, 2016

Master of Ceremonies Michael Brancroft (Executive Producer of Bloomberg Canada TV and co-host of The Feed with Amber Mac on Sirius XM), Tim Jackson (EVP Corporate and Community Development, MaRS) and Craig Asano (founder and Executive Director of the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada) kicked off the summit at 8:30 am, with Hon. Charles Sousa ringing the opening bell.

The 2nd annual @NCFACanada#CCS2016 kicks off @MaRSDDpic.twitter.com/8nqpeb0bbv

— Michael Bancroft (@MBancroft80) March 3, 2016

Following the official opening came the Summit’s keynote speaker Bill Morrow (founder and CEO, Angels Den), who discussed what it takes for a crowdfunding ecosystem to thrive in a country, and not just exist based on over 8 years of insight from having operated Angels Den in the UK and internationally. There is an implied assumption from most crowdfunding platforms that startups “just” need cash to get up and running… but cash is only #3 on most angel investor’s list of important factors to consider, after passion / excitement about the company, and altruism.

We are a big fan of this guy… Entertainment and education. @BillMorrow #CCS2016 pic.twitter.com/BH98pkeFyP — LendingArch (@LendingArch) March 3, 2016

More @BillMorrow wisdom: entrepreneur’s biggest assets are humility, empathy and ability to communicate #CCS2016 — Rubsun Ho (@rubsun) March 3, 2016

Following the keynote were a number of shorter TEDx-style talks and presentation on diverse topics covering Canadian and global market data and trends; the sharing economy; trust and transparency in the internet of money, diversity in crowdfunding; P2P lending and the future of banking; virtual reality; equity crowdfunding’s impact on private and public markets, and marketing to millennials.

Teri Kirk (CEO, Funding Portal)	Ted Graham (Innovation Leader, PwC)
Bernd Petak (Founder and CEO, Finstripe)	Amy Cortese (founder and editor, Locavesting)
Cato Pastoll (Co-founder and CEO, Lending Loop)	Christopher Charlesworth (Co-founder and CEO, HiveWire)
Peter-Paul Van Hoeken (CEO, Frontfundr)	Sophie Nicolaou (Head of Marketing and PR, Lending Arch) and Ryan Laidlaw (FinTexpert, Lending Arch)

Next came the much-anticipated panel ” Fireside Chat with Crowdfunding Rockstars” moderated by Mark Evans (Principal, ME Consulting) with panelists Daniel Blumer (CEO/Co-founder, Revol Technologies Inc, whose raised over $2.6 million USD for their Revols product – Bluetooth earphones that mold to the contours of a person’s ears, earning them the new record for Canada’s top crowdfunding campaign; Behrouz Hariri (Co-founder, Smart Nora), raised more than $1 million USD in pre-orders for Nora, the non-invasive and smart snoring solution and Judeh Siwady (CEO/Founder, Spacefy), who recently raised capital through equity crowdfunding for Spacefy, which gives creators access to unique and under-utilized spaces while allowing space owners to further monetize their spaces.

Up next #fireside chat with #crowdfunding rockstars at @NCFACanada #CCS2016 with @markevans pic.twitter.com/oGioL8ol3g

— Mell (@MellFeurtado13) March 3, 2016

Capacity crowd at #CCS2016 – great information so far! @FundRazr & @TeamSponsifi on next panel pic.twitter.com/jE7BAKbtLY

— Daryl Hatton (@DarylHatton) March 3, 2016

Finally, the morning session wrapped up with an industry experts panel on Regulatory Perspectives: What to Expect in 2016 with securities lawyers, the Ontario Securities Commission, an founders of leading crowdfunding and crowdlending platforms moderated by Alixe Cormick (President, Venture Law Corporation) and panelists Daryl Hatton (CEO, Sponsifi & FundRazr), Monica Kowal (Vice Chair, Ontario Securities Commission), Jason Saltzman (Partner, Dentons Canada LLP) and Kevin Sandhu (CEO, Grow).

 

Our partner @FundRazr # is addressing #innovation in #crowdfunding #CCS2016 @artsfundingca @NCFACanada pic.twitter.com/uiapoYYaej — ArtsFunding.ca (@artsfundingca) March 3, 2016

Then comes the mad dash to the buffet tables as lunch time rolls around! Several guests avoided the lines by going to R2CROWD’s Lunch & Learn in the green room: How to Achieve 8-12% Annual ROI in Commercial Real Estate through Crowdfunding.

Another packed event @MaRSDD this one on crowdfunding #CCS2016 enjoy everyone! pic.twitter.com/NK9lS9uOaw

— AllysonHewitt (@AllysonHewitt) March 3, 2016

Want to learn about #realestate#crowdfunding? Join @R2CROWD‘s Lunch & Learn in the green room at 12:30 #CCS2016pic.twitter.com/3j3lFmDt81

— NCFA Canada (@NCFACanada) March 3, 2016

On #Crowdfunding, easier for retail investors to access opportunities with streamlined document: OSC Vice Chair Monica Kowal at #CCS2016

— OSC News (@OSC_News) March 3, 2016

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After lunch, the crowd chose from 5 concurrent afternoon streams of workshops, panel sessions and live pitching. Here’s a look at the highlights from the Main Stage (Auditorium B+C), where the following sessions took place:

• 1:15 PM: The Emergence of Fintech in Lending: What it Means for Banks and Main St. [Moderator: Sarah Efron (Small Business Editor, The Globe and Mail), Panelists Kevin Clark (Co-founder and President, Lendified), Tabitha Creighton (CEO/Co-founder, InvestNextDoor) and Jeff Mitelman (CEO, Thinking Capital)]

• 2:00 PM: Investment Strategies: Why Leading Angels/VCs are Joining the Crowd [Moderator: Sunil Sharma (Managing Partner, Extreme Venture Partners), Panelists Janet Bannister (General Partner, Real Ventures), Karen Grant (Executive Director, Angel One Investor Network) and Jim Orlando (Managing Director, OMERS Ventures)]

• 3:00 PM: Market Makers: Equity Crowdfunding’s Impact on the Innovation Economy [Moderator: Megan Cornell (Founder & CEO, Momentum Law), Panelists Sandi K. Gilbert (Founder & CEO, SeedUps Canada), Rubsun Ho (CEO, Crowdmatrix) and David Shore (Director, Investor Relations, OurCrowd)]

• 3:45 PM: Hot Vertical: Real Estate Crowdfunding, an Emerging New Asset Class [Moderator: Brooks Barnett (Manager, Government Relations & Policy, Real Property Association of Canada), Panelists Ann Kaplan (CEO, Brix RCR), Amar Nijjar (President & CEO, R2Crowd) and Hitesh Rathod (CEO, NexusCrowd Inc.)]

 

Happening now – Emergence of #Fintech in Lending: What it Means for Banks and Main. #CCS2016 pic.twitter.com/QDoRImM7jp — Lendified (@Lendified) March 3, 2016

 

Full house at the crowdfunding conference. @jebannister @JimROrlando @sunil_extreme @KarenGrant5 #CCS2016 @incubes pic.twitter.com/iIYdveFaxX — Ben Zlotnick (@BenZlotnick) March 3, 2016

 

The crowd is lead investors + posse of talented & passionate investors innovating business together #CCS2016 pic.twitter.com/h1JfQsFoLK — SeedUps Capital (@SeedUpsCanada) March 3, 2016

R2Crowd CEO Amar Nijjar at #CCS2016 #realestate #crowdfunding pic.twitter.com/gd7M8taDh7

— R2CROWD (@R2CROWD) March 3, 2016

Highlights from the Tactical Stream (Auditorium A), where the following sessions took place:

• 1:15 PM: Big Data Investment Trends and Digital Finance Technologies [Moderator: Asier Ania (Co-Founder, HiveWire), Panelists Steven Dryall (Principal, Incipient Technologies), Craig O’Neill (CEO & Director, Versapay) and Angela Wang (Associate Director, Big Data, North America, UnionPay Smart)]

• 2:00 PM: How Dubuc Motors, Canada’s first EV car, is raising $25M in the US?[Moderator: Carlos Pinto Lobo (Chief Compliance Officer), Panelists Alixe Cormick (President, Venture Law Corporation), Mario Dubuc (Co-Founder & CEO, Dubuc Motors) and Mike Kakogiannakis (Co-Founder & COO, Dubuc Motors)]

• 3:00 PM: The Marketplace Lending Opportunity for Banks and Institutional Investors [Moderator: Dr. Sean Geobey (Assistant Professor at the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, University of Waterloo), Panelists Jeff Brown (Vice President, Community Banking, Meridian), Tabitha Creighton (CEO/Co-founder, InvestNextDoor) and Colin Kilgour (Co-founder, First Marketplace Group)]

• 3:45 PM: Making the Most of Every Dollar Raised: Financial Planning for SMEs [Presenters: Darryl Irwin (Tax Partner, PwC) and Alan Lio (Senior Tax Associate, PwC)]

 

 

 

#CCS2016 Dubuc motors very cool!! Raising money on crowdfunding portal in US pic.twitter.com/SDxFdLeIwg — Lauren Linton (@laurenlinton) March 3, 2016

 

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Highlights from the Tactical Stream (CR2), where the following sessions took place:

• 1:15 PM: Crowdfunding Best Practices: Pre, Launch, and Post Campaign [Moderator: Christopher Charlesworth (Co-Founder and CEO, HiveWire), Panelists Bret Conkin (Founder & CEO, Crowdfund Suite), Khierstyn Ross (Founder & Podcaster, Uncut Entrepreneur) and Jaimy Warner (Executive Director, Raindance Canada)]

• 2:00 PM: The Longest 40 Days of Your Life: AMA (Ask Me Anything) [Moderator: Sunny Shao (Advisor, National Crowdfunding Association of Canada), Panelists Gareth Everard (Co-founder, Rockwell Razors), Viktor Grabovskyy (Co-founder, Forever Spin) and Corey Herscu (President, Herscu and Goldsilver)]

• 3:00 PM: Protecting Yourself, Your Business and Your Crowdfunding Investment [Moderator: Jeff Musson (President, Dynamite Network), Panelists Chantal Cipriano (Lawyer / Manager, Compliance, BMO Private Banking), Marvin Huberman (Barrister, Mediator, Arbitrator, Marvin J. Huberman) and Monica Tigleanu (Financial Institutions Underwriter, AIG)

• 3:45 PM: Community Capital and Locavesting [Moderator: Amy Cortese (Founder & Editor, Locavesting), Panelists Jennifer Bryan (Community Investment and Marketing Manager, SolarShare), Trish Nixon (Director of Investments, CoPower) and Adam Spence (Founder & Director, The SVX, MaRS Centre for Impact Investing)

 

Best#crowdfunding practices: the crowd isn’t waiting for you, you need to bring them with you! #CCS2016 @HiveWireCA pic.twitter.com/AAvPr94rfn — Social Impact News (@socimpnews) March 3, 2016

#Crowdfunding AMA, tips and tricks to run a successful campaign. #CCS2016 pic.twitter.com/UBBdAFIxpr

— Crowdmatrix (@crowdmatrixinc) March 3, 2016

Panel talking ‘Protecting Yourself, Your Business and your Crowdfunding Investment’ at @NCFACanada #CCS2016 pic.twitter.com/ArumNtC0d1

— Startup Peel (@Startup_Peel) March 3, 2016

Learning Community & Locavesting at #CCS2016 We can crowdfund everything we need @locavesting@CoPowerIncpic.twitter.com/Fieqjdt5Jg — Revelstoke Economic (@BizinParadise) March 3, 2016

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Highlights from the Meet & Greet (Green Room), where the following sessions took place:

• 1:15 PM: Meet & Greet with Dentons: Crowd Financing Options for Start-Ups [Kris Miks (Senior Associate, Denton and Jason Saltzman (Partner, Dentons Canada LLP)]

• 2:00 PM: Presentation & Discussion by OSC: Ontario’s Crowdfunding Regime (MI 45-108) [Maria Carelli (Senior Accountant, Compliance and Registrant Regulations, Ontario Securities Commission) and Rick Whiler (Senior Accountant, Corporate Finance Branch, Ontario Securities Commission)]

• 3:00 PM: Hosted by NexusCrowd: Crowdfunding Real Estate Primer for Accredited Investors [Hitesh Rathod (CEO, NexusCrowd Inc.)]

.@nexuscrowd pitches a real estate crowdfunding platform to the crowd at #CCS2016 but only accredited investors 🙂 pic.twitter.com/7OW2wrfOnr — Murray McKercher (@MurrayMcKercher) March 3, 2016

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And last but certainly not least, highlights from the Live Pitching stream (CR3) where 12 startups pitched in front of a panel of judges and the crowd for “Front of the Line” Golden Tickets to CBC Dragon’s Den auditions.

• 1:15 PM: Live Pitching Live Pitching 1 – Session Lead: DMZ (post-revenue)
  Pitchers: Pinnguaq (Ryan Oliver), SmartHalo (Xavier Peich), Riipen (Richard Tuck)
  Judges: Bill Morrow (Angels Den), Sherif El-­Tawil (DMZ), Kathryn Wortsman (MaRS)

• 2:00 PM: Live Pitching Live Pitching 2 – Session Lead: Founder Institute (pre-revenue)
  Pitchers: Vizwik (Simon Gauvin), Flipd (Andres Moreno), Rna Diagnostics (John Connolly)
  Judges: Kamal Hussein (IncMind), Dr. Marat Ressin (YEDInstitute), Russell Samuels (Whitecap Venture Partners)

• 3:00 PM: Live Pitching Live Pitching 3 – Session Lead: Startup Canada (post-revenue)
  Pitchers: Stashbelt (Jonah Brotman), Comfable (Neda Ghazi), The Sharing Depot (Ryan Dyment)
  Judges: Sean Burke (Frontfundr), Jim Orlando (OMERS Ventures), Sean Wise (Ryerson University)

• 3:45 PM: Live Pitching Live Pitching 4 – Session Lead: MaRS (3:45 PM pre-revenue)
  Pitchers: Yirego (Megan Savage), NERv (Amr Abdelgawad), Eye-LIVE (Murray McKercher and David Baker)
  Judges: Ben Zlotnick (INcubes), Mark Skapinker (Brightspark Ventures), Anthony Lipschitz (Thinking Capital)

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The crowd gathers back in the main auditorium for the closing panel, closing keynote and closing remarks for the day, including a power panel of experts discussing the future of crowdfunding and the democratization of finance moderated by Erin Bury; a look at P2P decentralized networks by Anthony Di Iorio, who raised over $18 million for his Ethereum crowdfunding campaign (the 5th largest crowdfunding campaign in the world, also partially funded by bitcoin); and finally closing remarks by Adam Nanjee, Head of Fintech at MaRS.

#CCS2016 don’t be the taxi durin Uber disruption @BillMorrow @mkatchen @artimodi_ @BerndPetak @Wealthsimple pic.twitter.com/LHNJB8SBe3

— Manan Buch (@MananRBuch) March 3, 2016

Time for our closing keynote @diiorioanthony of @TMXGroup and @ethereumproject! #CCS2016 #bitcoin #blockchain pic.twitter.com/aBwRRy1XRX — NCFA Canada (@NCFACanada) March 3, 2016

Packed @MaRSInnovation #ccs2016 final keynote. Too many good conversations #crowdfunding . Follow me to connect ! pic.twitter.com/uaUFDgU1ah — Ian Khan PMP (@IanKhanLive) March 3, 2016

.@MaRSDD #FinTech lead @adamnanjee – closing remarks to conclude a great @NCFACanada #CCS2016 conference! pic.twitter.com/ZGywtKgwFV — FrontFundr (@FrontFundr) March 3, 2016

It’s on ice! Getting ready for the reception after a full day. Thanks @highlanderbrew #ccs2016 pic.twitter.com/0ogyQQi2gk — NCFA Canada (@NCFACanada) March 3, 2016

It was good to be here at #CCS2016. Thanks to @NCFACanada and all the event organizers /managers pic.twitter.com/vpHAh2Cbq7 — RIC Centre (@RICCentre) March 3, 2016

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Big thanks to everyone who attended this year’s Summit and all the sponsors, speakers, community partners and volunteers who helped make this event possible! We hope to see you again in 2017!

View the #CCS2016 event website

View the #CCS2016 photo album

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR #CCS2016 SPONSORS AND PARTNERS:

SmartHalo, Rna Diagnostics, The Sharing Depot and Yirego receive “Front of the Line” Golden Tickets to CBC Dragon’s Den audition

 

On Thursday, March 3, 12 finalists pitched their startups in front of a panel of judges and the crowd at the 2016 Canadian Crowdfunding Summit (#CCS2016) at MaRS Discovery District. 4 out of the 12 finalists won a “Front of the Line” Golden Ticket to the Toronto audition of CBC Dragon’s Den, guaranteeing them a chance to pitch in front of the infamous dragons! Winners will also receive a copy of Mark Evans book Storytelling for Startups, as well as one hour of free consulting with Mark himself. The winners of each session are as follows: SmartHalo (Xavier Peich), Rna Diagnostics (John Connolly), The Sharing Depot (Ryan Dyment) and Yirego (Megan Savage).

 

 

 

 

Each pitch session was led by a #CCS2016 startup ecosystem partner, with the following schedule and judging panel:

1. Live Pitching Live Pitching 1 – Session Lead: DMZ (1:15 PM post-revenue)
   • Pitchers: Pinnguaq (Ryan Oliver), SmartHalo (Xavier Peich), Riipen (Richard Tuck)
   • Judges: Bill Morrow (Angels Den), Sherif El-­Tawil (DMZ), Kathryn Wortsman (MaRS)
2. Live Pitching Live Pitching 2 – Session Lead: Founder Institute (2:00 PM pre-revenue)
   • Pitchers: Vizwik (Simon Gauvin), Flipd (Andres Moreno), Rna Diagnostics (John Connolly)
   • Judges: Kamal Hussein (IncMind), Dr. Marat Ressin (YEDInstitute), Russell Samuels (Whitecap Venture Partners)
3. Live Pitching Live Pitching 3 – Session Lead: Startup Canada (3:00 PM post-revenue)
   • Pitchers: Stashbelt (Jonah Brotman), Comfable (Neda Ghazi), The Sharing Depot (Ryan Dyment)
   • Judges: Sean Burke (Frontfundr), Jim Orlando (OMERS Ventures), Sean Wise (Ryerson University)
4. Live Pitching Live Pitching 4 – Session Lead: MaRS (3:45 PM pre-revenue)
   • Pitchers: Yirego (Megan Savage), NERv (Amr Abdelgawad), Eye-LIVE (Murray McKercher and David Baker)
   • Judges: Ben Zlotnick (INcubes), Mark Skapinker (Brightspark Ventures), Anthony Lipschitz (Thinking Capital)

 

Congratulations to the winners and all the companies who pitched! We look forward to #CCS2017! Click here to view the full #CCS2016 photo album.

Hon. Charles Sousa Will Officially Open the 2016 Canadian Crowdfunding Summit on March 3

 

TORONTO, March 1, 2016 /CNW/ – Ontario’s Finance Minister, Charles Sousa, will explain the role alternative forms of funding will play in creating a sustainable economy in the province, at the 2016 2nd Annual Canadian Crowdfunding Summit in Toronto on March 3.  He will address entrepreneurs and investors, and talk about how new legislation announced at the start of the year will increase the number of financing options available for early stage start-ups and small businesses.

Craig Asano, Executive Director of the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada says including crowdfunding in a wider investment strategy for startups and small businesses is long overdue.

“Crowdfunding allows startups & small businesses to access a new source of seed and growth capital. When most people think about crowdfunding they think about Indiegogo or Kickstarter campaigns, but many Canadian businesses are already using these innovative financing tools to raise equity and debt capital up to $5MM.  This new liquidity in the market will help strengthen the early stage funding ecosystem and we welcome the Minister’s support.”

Notes to Editors

Where: MaRS, 101 College St, Toronto, ON M5G 1L7
When: March 3 2016 | 8.30 – 9.20 am

**OFF-STREET PARKING AVAILABLE FOR OB TRUCKS**

On Day contacts:

• Lyndon Johnson 647-773-2677
• Vanessa Wilson 416-817-1894

 

About the NCFA

The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with both social and investment crowdfunding stakeholders across the country.  NCFA Canada provides education, research, leadership, support and networking opportunities to over 1300+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and ecosystem partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry in Canada. For more information please visit: www.ncfacanada.org

Look Who’s Coming to #CCS2016 next Thursday, March 3!

TORONTO, Feb. 25, 2016 /CNW/ – IN JUST ONE WEEK, the 2nd Annual 2016 Canadian Crowdfunding Summit (#CCS2016 – “The Future of Crowdfunding is NOW”) will be held on March 3rd at the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto, Canada.

With the newly released equity crowdfunding regulations across Canada and the emergence of marketplace lending and investment bank 2.0 platforms, 2016 is anticipated to be a year of exponential growth.  #CCS2016 is a not to be missed event with over 70+ speakers confirmed, the foremost destination for leaders in the crowdfunding economy where industry ‘movers and shakers’, companies and investors accelerate partnerships, foster industry growth and bring crowdfunding, fintech and alternative finance markets to life.

CCS2016 is for industry, companies and investors

1. Learn current and relevant content on all models 70+ expert speakers and over 30 sessions
2. Unrivaled premier market access – networking, partnerships and transactional opportunities
3. Opportunity to vote on 12 companies vying to win Dragon’s Den auditions tickets (view)

Freshly announced full list of 75 MC, keynote and program speakers at #CCS2016:

• Adam Nanjee, MaRS, Head of Financial Technology and Innovation
• Adam Spence, The SVX, MaRS Centre for Impact Investing, Founder & Director
• Alan Lio, PwC, Senior Tax Associate
• Alixe Cormick, Venture Law Corp, President
• Amar Nijjar, R2CROWD, President & CEO
• Amy Cortese, Locavesting, Founder & Editor
• Angela Wang, UnionPay Smart, Associate Director, Big Data – North America
• Ann Kaplan, Brix RCR, CEO
• Anthony Di Iorio, TSX and Ethereum, CDO Toronto Stock Exchange, Ethereum Co-founder, CEO & Founder Decentral & Kryptokit
• Arti Modi, Lending Arch, CEO
• Asier Ania, HiveWire, Co-Founder
• Behrouz Hariri, Smart Nora, Co-Founder
• Bernd Petak, Finstripe, Co-Founder and COO
• Bill Morrow, Angels Den, Founder & CEO
• Bret Conkin, Crowdfund Suite, Founder & CEO
• Brooks Barnett, Real Property Association of Canada, Manager, Government Relations & Policy
• Carlos Pinto Lobo, Chief Compliance Officer,
• Cato Pastoll, Lending Loop, Co-Founder and CEO
• Chantal Cipriano, BMO Private Banking, Lawyer / Manager, Compliance
• Christopher Charlesworth, HiveWire, Co-Founder and CEO
• Colin Kilgour, First Marketplace Group, Co-founder
• Corey Herscu, Herscu & Goldsilver, President
• Craig Asano, National Crowdfunding Association of Canada, Founding CEO
• Craig O’Neill, Versapay, CEO & Director
• Daniel Blumer, Revol Technologies Inc., Co-Founder and CEO
• Darryl Irwin, PwC, Tax Partner
• Daryl Hatton, FundRazr + Sponsifi, Founder and CEO
• David Shore, OurCrowd, Director of Investor Relations
• Douglas Cumming, Schulich School of Business, Venture Capital Professor
• Dr. Sean Geobey, University of Waterloo, Assistant Professor, School of Environment, Enterprise and Development
• Erin Bury, 88 Creative, Managing Director
• Gareth Everard, Rockwell Razors, Co-founder
• Hitesh Rathod, NexusCrowd Inc., CEO
• Hon Charles Sousa, Ontario Ministry of Finance, Minister of Finance
• Jaimy Warner, Raindance Canada, Executive Director
• Janet Bannister, Real Ventures, General Partner
• Jason Saltzman, Dentons Canada LLP, Partner
• Jeff Brown, Meridian, Vice President, Community Banking
• Jeff Mitelman, Thinking Capital, Co-Founder and CEO
• Jeff Musson, Dynamite Network, President
• Jennifer Bryan, SolarShare, Community Investment and Marketing Manager
• Jim Orlando, OMERS Ventures, Managing Director
• Judeh Siwady, Spacefy, Founder & CEO
• Karen Grant, Angel One Investor Network, Executive Director
• Kevin Clark, Lendified, President
• Kevin Sandhu, Grow, Co-Founder and CEO
• Khierstyn Ross, Entrepreneur Uncut, Founder and Podcaster
• Kris Miks, Dentons, Senior Associate
• Maria Carelli, Ontario Securities Commission, Senior Accountant, Compliance and Registrant Regulation Branch
• Mario Dubuc, Dubuc Motors, Co-Founder and CEO
• Mark Evans, ME Consulting, Principal
• Marty Gunderson, Quidni Estate Winery, Owner and CEO
• Marvin Huberman, Marvin J. Huberman, Barrister, Mediator, Arbitrator
• Megan Cornell, Momentum Law, Founder and CEO
• Michael Bancroft, Bloomberg TV Canada, Executive Producer
• Michael Katchen, Wealthsimple, CEO
• Mike Kakogiannakis, Dubuc Motors, Co-Founder and COO
• Monica Kowal, Ontario Securities Commission, Vice Chair
• Monica Tigleanu, AIG, Financial Institutions Underwriter
• Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, Frontfundr, CEO
• Rick Whiler, Ontario Securities Commission, Senior Accountant, Corporate Finance Branch
• Rubsun Ho, Crowdmatrix Inc., Chief Crowdpleaser
• Ryan Laidlaw, Lending Arch, FinTexpert and Millennial Insider
• Sandi K. Gilbert, SeedUps Canada, Founder & CEO
• Sarah Efron, The Globe and Mail, Small Business Editor
• Sophie Nicolaou, Lending Arch, Head of Marketing and PR
• Steven Dryall, Incipient Technologies, Principal
• Sunil Sharma, Extreme Venture Partners, Managing Partner
• Sunny Shao, National Crowdfunding Association of Canada, Advisor, Consultant
• Tabitha Creighton, InvestNextDoor, Co-Founder and CEO
• Ted Graham, PwC, Innovation Leader
• Teri Kirk, Funding Portal, Founder & CEO
• Tim Jackson, MaRS Discovery District, EVP Corporate and Community Development
• Trish Nixon, CoPower, Director of Investments
• Viktor Grabovskyy, Forever Spin, Co-Founder

12 Pre and Post-revenue companies pitching live at #CCS2016:

To learn more about the pitching companies click here.

Pitching Judges

1. Anthony Lipschitz, Thinking Capital, Chief Strategy Officer
2. Ben Zlotnick, INcubes, Founder
3. Bill Morrow, Angels Den, Founder & CEO
4. Edwin Frondozo, Slingshot VoIP, Chief Marketing Officer
5. Jim Orlando, OMERS Ventures, Managing Director
6. Kamal Hassan, IncMind, CEO
7. Kathryn Wortsman, MaRS Center For Impact Investing, Investment Director
8. Kevin Taylor, MaRS Center For Impact Investing, Senior Associate
9. Marat Ressin, YEDInstitute, President
10. Mark Skapinker, Brightspark Ventures, Managing Partner
11. Russell Samuels, Whitecap Venture Partners, Principal
12. Sean Burke, Frontfundr, COO
13. Sean Wise, Ryerson University, Professor of Entrepreneurship
14. Sherif El-Tawil, The DMZ, Operations Manager
15. Stefan Palios, Ziversity, Founder & CEO
16. Tarun George, The DMZ, Business Development Officer

For a complete list of conference participants including bios visit the 2016 Canadian Crowdfunding Summit speaking roster and pitchers and judges.

Media Pass and links:

There are a limited number of media passes available.  Please contact sunny@ncfacanada.org if you would like to request a media pass.  More info click here.

Website: www.crowdfundingsummit.ca

March 3 at MaRS: Full day program | Speakers | Partners

Hashtag: #CCS2016 | Social wall

Event Banner: The Future of Crowdfunding is NOW

Latest News: here

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About the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada

The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with both social and investment crowdfunding stakeholders across the country. NCFA Canada provides education, research, leadership, support and networking opportunities to over 1300+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry in Canada. Learn more About Us or visit www.ncfacanada.org.For more information please visit: www.crowdfundingsummit.ca or www.ncfacanada.org.

For further information:

Media Inquiries: Craig Asano, 416-618-0254, casano@ncfancanada.org

Sponsorship Inquiries: Lauren Linton, 416-569-4349, lauren@ncfacanada.org

 

4 out of 12 Startups Will Win A “Front of the Line” Golden Ticket to the CBC Dragon’s Den Audition

 

BIG NEWS! Live pitching at #CCS2016 just got even more exciting – 4 out of the 12 finalists will win a a “Front of the Line” Golden Ticket to the Toronto audition of CBC Dragon’s Den on Saturday, April 2, guaranteeing them a chance to pitch in front of the infamous dragons! One winner will be chosen from each of the four sessions, determined by a panel of judges and the crowd.

The live pitching sessions at #CCS2016 start at 1:15 in CR3, with each session being led by an entrepreneurship ecosystem partner. Sessions are categorized by pre-revenue and post-revenue companies, and include companies from a variety of different industries. Each session includes a panel of judges that includes angel investors, VCs and entrepreneurs from companies such as OMERS, Whitecap Venture Partners, YEDI, Extreme Venture Partners, DMZ at Ryerson University, INcubes and MaRS. Click here to view the full-day program.

 

1. Live Pitching Live Pitching 1 – Session Lead: DMZ (1:15 PM post-revenue)
2. Live Pitching Live Pitching 2 – Session Lead: Founder Institute (2:00 PM pre-revenue)
3. Live Pitching Live Pitching 3 – Session Lead: Startup Canada (3:00 PM post-revenue)
4. Live Pitching Live Pitching 4 – Session Lead: MaRS (3:45 PM pre-revenue)

Serial Entrepreneur and Venture Capitalist Anthony Di Iorio to Deliver Keynote “How We Raised Over $18M via Global P2P Decentralized Network”

 

With just under 2 weeks until the big day, we’re thrilled to announce this year’s closing keynote at the 2016 Canadian Crowdfunding Summit on March 3: Anthony Di Iorio, serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist, community organizer and thought leader in the field of disruptive and decentralized technologies.

Anthony is currently the Chief Digital Officer at The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) / TMX Group, founder and CEO of Kryptokit, Decentral and Decentral Consulting, and most notably the co-founder of Ethereum, a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or third party interference. Ethereum is the world’s 5th highest funded crowdfunding campaign, raising over $18,439,086 (partially funded by bitcoins).

At Decentral Consulting, Anthony and his team provide guidance to financial institutions and enterprise clients on digital transformations, Fintech & blockchain technologies. Since 2012, Anthony has hosted over 100 community-building events, including the first Canadian Bitcoin Expo in 2014, and DEC_TECH (Decentralized Technology) events held at MaRS Discovery District. In 2015, Anthony became a lecturer for the University of Nicosia’s Master’s program in Digital Currency, he is an Influencer for Deloitte’s Exponentials.xyz initiative, the Cryptocurrency Advisor to MaRS’ Fintech Cluster, and a member of the Bitcoin Speakers Bureau for the Bitcoin Foundation.

Hear Anthony share his story of raising over $18M for Ethereum via a global P2P decentralized network at #CCS2016!