#secfc13

[devindthorpe]

SECFC13 Highlights Potential Impact of Crowdfunding

The inaugural Social Enterprise and Crowdfunding Conference (SECFC13) was held at Snowbird, Utah on September 27, 2013.

David Boyce, CEO of Fundly, delivered the luncheon keynote, observing that the innovation of crowdfunding is beginning to disintermediate traditional nonprofits--those furthest removed from the impact. Dollars are instead going directly to people and causes working closest to the action and who are using crowdfunding to attract donations.

David Boyce delivers his keynote address. Photo by Micaela Choo.

Alan Hall, philanthropist and investor, kicked off the day with a morning keynote address to inspire participants to seek a higher purpose in entrepreneurship, to make a meaningful difference in the world.

Alan Hall delivers his keynote address. Photo by Micaela Choo.

Wendy Robbins, CEO of crowdfunding site, RedCapes said of the event, "Devin put on an amazing conference! Informative speakers.... genuine authentic people. .. great connections.... awesome food and snacks.. do whatever it takes to come next year."

Host Richard Swart of UC Berkeley visits with speakers Wendy Robbins, David Boyce and Sang Lee. Photo by Micaela Choo.

Dyanne Christensen said, "This has been by far the best platform of information I have attended for the people who really want to make something happen and not just talk about it!"

Todd Manwaring of BYU's Ballard Center for Economic Self-Reliance with students who volunteered during the conference.

Sang Lee, CEO of Return On Change, who spoke at the conference, noted, "The conference was filled with innovators and change makers! Definitely something that everyone should attend and become a part of."

Sang Lee. Photo by Micaela Choo.

Jeff Roberts said, "As a Masters student I had to miss several classes to attend the conference. It was worth every minute. Don't let your education get in the way of your learning!"

Patrick Kitano and I visit about the potential for crowdfunding to have real impact in the world. Photo by Micaela Choo.

Another guest noted, "I loved be surrounded by compassionate and interesting individuals. It was great to learn the latest on Crowdfunding, Impact Investing and Social Enterprise! I look forward to going again. Thanks for all of your hard work bringing everyone together!"

SECFC13 was sponsored by Ellenoff Grossman and Schole, Snapp Conner PR, YESCO, the BYU Ballard Center for Economic Self-Reliance, Carman Lehnhoff Israelson, Return on Change, Stealth Startup, Tanner, LLC, USTAR, and Utah Valley University. 

Devin D. Thorpe

[devindthorpe]

Luke Peterson From UVU Visits With Me Live To Discuss Social Entrepreneurship

Luke Peterson, Director of Corporate & Community Partnerships at Utah Valley University, will be joining me at 11:00 AM Mountain on September 23, 2013 to discuss social impact through community engagement.

Luke will also be speaking at SECFC13, the Social Enterprise and Crowdfunding Conference Friday, September 27, 2013 at Snowbird.

Luke's bio:

Luke Peterson is an expert in innovation, specializing in cross-sector partnerships and innovation. 

  After receiving a B.A. in history from Utah Valley University, Luke completed a master’s in public policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He then worked in local government management and economic development for the City of Davenport, Iowa, the Town of West Warwick, Rhode Island, and Wasatch County, Utah. Luke returned to UVU in 2011 to direct the formation of cooperative partnerships between UVU and its external partners. Luke works with individual companies, nonprofits, communities, government agencies, and entire sectors to provide engaged learning opportunities for students and faculty while creating deep value for the university’s external partners. His current project is the development of the Innovation Academy at UVU — a center designed to teach the principles of design thinking, and opportunity identification to cross-sector teams of public, social, and private sector entrepreneurs.

Devin D. Thorpe

[devindthorpe]

Investor/Entrepreneur/Philanthropist Shares Insights Live

Jeramy Lund, a successful investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist, will share insights with me at 4:00 Mountain on September 19, 2013.

Jeramy will be a speaker at next week's SECFC13, the Social Enterprise and Crowdfunding Conference at Snowbird on September 27, 2013.

Jeramy's Bio:

Jeramy is the CEO of Cairn, Inc. a private investment advisory company.  In that capacity, he serves as Principal for XIII, LLC; a diversified family holding company as well as the Pentagon Holdings family of direct real estate holding companies.  Currently Mr. Lund serves as Board Chair for Symbiot Business Group, Inc. and is a member of the Kickstart Seed Fund Investment Committee.  Prior to his current employment, Mr. Lund worked for JP Morgan (New York), DLJ International (London) and American Stores Company (Salt Lake City, UT).

Jeramy is also actively involved in the non-profit arena.  He is the Treasurer of the Lund Foundation, a founding member of the Community Foundation of Utah and serves as Board Chairman for Recycle Utah.   

Jeramy graduated from the University of Utah, Magna Cum Laude, with a BS in Accounting and received his MBA from Harvard Business School. 

Devin D. Thorpe

[devindthorpe]

Brad Bertoch Speaks About Grown Up Entrepreneurship

Brad Bertoch runs the Wayne Brown Institute, a nonprofit venture accelerator. Let's be clear, he doesn't help small businesses--he helps future big businesses.

Brad will be speaking at SECFC13, the Social Enterprise and Crowdfunding Conference on September 27, 2013 at Snowbird.

Brad will be visiting with me on Friday, September 13, 2013 at 2:00 mountain time to talk about entrepreneurship, nonprofit innovation and impact investing.

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Brad's Bio:

Bradley B. Bertoch for the last 30 years has served as President of the Wayne Brown Institute—a nonprofit, nationally recognized, entrepreneurship organization. He is a leader in equity backed business development, capital formation, technology commercialization and entrepreneurship. Under his direction, Utah companies participating in an Institute venture program have been generated over $7.5 billion in financial transactions. In 2008 WBI Alumni companies produced $1.3 billion in revenue, created over 15,000 jobs in Utah, and paid over $49 million in State taxes. Brad is a member of Salt Lake City and Park City Angel groups and founder of WBI Angels, and was a venture partner with Hamilton Bio-Ventures Fund II. He is currently a fellow of the Foundation for Enterprise Development,co-founder and current board member of the MountainWest Capital Network, and serves on the Boards of the Utah’s Business Resource Centers, the Mountainlands Revolving Loan Fund and USTAR’s SBIR Advisory Board, and served on the Utah Legislature’s Optimization Commission. He is an Honors graduate of the University of Utah, and holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Devin D. Thorpe

[devindthorpe]

Live Discussion with Ted McAleer About USTAR's Community Building

Ted McAleer has been leading USTAR, an independent state agency that supports fundamental research at Utah's tier one research institutions and technology entrepreneurship statewide, will be speaking with me on Thursday, September 12, 2013 at 10:00 MDT about the agencies work.

Ted will be a featured speaker at SECFC13, the Social Enterprise and Crowdfunding Conference, on September 27, 2013.

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Ted's bio:

Ted McAleer is currently the Executive Director of USTAR (Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative).  Prior to USTAR, McAleer was the Director of Business Development for The University of Utah’s Technology Venture Development organization. Ted has 25+ years of experience in technology innovation; business development; and product, services and operations management in both start-up and mature corporations. He has been COO for Teleoptic Digital Imaging, LLC and the Sr. Director of Implementation services at Campus Pipeline, Inc. He has also worked for SunGard SCT, Procter and Gamble, PepsiCo. and the US Army. He holds a MBA from Harvard Business School, a Master of Engineering from the University of Virginia and a BS in Engineering Management from the United States Military Academy at West Point.  He currently serves as a Board Member with the Swaner EcoCenter, the Mountain West Capital Network and the Park City Angel Network.  In his free time, he enjoys skiing, mtn biking and international travel with his wife Donna and 9-year old daughter.

Devin D. Thorpe

[devindthorpe]

Richard Swart of UC Berkeley to Speak at SECFC13

Richard Swart, who is my partner in organizing the Social Enterprise and Crowdfunding Conference on September 27, 2013 at Snowbird, visited with me today for CrowdFundBeat. Richard is a partner at Crowdfund Capital Advisors and also works at UC Berkeley doing research on crowdfunding.

Richard's bio:

Dr. Richard Swart is a PhD in Information Systems, an international award-winning academic and a recognized thought leader in the crowdfunding industry. He is research director at the University of California, Berkeley’s Program in Innovation in Entrepreneurial and Social Finance. This program is developing the world largest database about social finance, microlending and crowdfunding. He works closely with the administration, SEC, and international organizations promoting crowdfunding, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Richard is a founding board member of the Crowdfunding Professional Association (CfPA), theCrowdfunding Intermediary Regulatory Advocates (CIFRA), and an early leader in the field. Richard co-organized the first major national conference on crowdfunding and coordinated several educational events on the JOBS Act throughout the United States.

As Director of Research and Analysis for Crowdfund Capital Advisors (CCA) Richard works closely with the University of California, Berkeley in the Innovation in Entrepreneurial and Social Finance Program which is dedicated to academic research on crowdfunding and has CCA principals as founders. Richard led a research project for the World Bank exploring crowdfunding and funding models for innovative technology. 

After leaving Utah State University’s Huntsman School of Business where he taught Information Systems, he has worked with a number of startups and has become a key organizer in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. He is a former COO of an Internet startup that had a successful exit in 2010. Richard is a board member and strategic advisor to firms in the crowdfunding and crowdfund investing space. While Executive Vice President over Strategic Partnerships for Grow America Ventures Richard worked nationally to help develop initiatives around entrepreneur funding and business competitions.

Richard leverages over 20 years experience in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, proven leadership, academic rigor, deep connections across the US, and his extensive network to help educate and mentor firms, policy holders and businesses.  He has played a critical role behind the scenes helping drive crowdfunding forward in DC since the passage of the JOBS Act and is a highly trusted expert resource for governments, academics and crowdfunding platforms.

Devin D. Thorpe

[devindthorpe]

CrowdFundBeat Founder To Speak At SECFC13

CrowdFundBeat Founder Sydney Armani will speak at the Social Enterprise and Crowdfunding Conference at Snowbird on September 27, 2013. Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Sydney to learn more about CrowdFundBeat.com. 

Sydney Armani:

Sydney Armani is a long time silicon valley entrepreneur, with more than twenty years experience in Valley’s community acting in both an entrepreneurial and investing capacity. Sydney’s vision for starting and successfully managing innovative companies, like Hello Net Internet and Mobile telephony appliance services. Minitel and Videotex.A online a first generation of touch Screen tablets. His international experience in trade and International banking takes him around the world, projects with OPIC Overseas Private Investment Corporation for free trade with business engagement in Europe and UAE’s Dubai. A creative person at heart, he’s working on building CrowdFunding platform ” Live Crowdfunding demo pitch contest building bridge for new generation of Startup’s in the Crowdfunding industry. Sydney is publisher of CrowdFundBeat.com, an online daily crowdfunding news site in US and UK. He is also the organizer of the annual Silicon Valley Meets Crowdfunders conference in Palo Alto, CA. 

Devin D. Thorpe