CrowdFunding Made Simple Conference at University of Utah Ignites Ecosystem of Entrepreneurs and Investors

SALT LAKE CITY, June 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- CrowdFunding Made Simple, a crowdfunding educational and events platform, today announced the successful completion of the first national conference endorsed by the Crowdfunding Professional Association (CfPA). Held at the University of Utah Guest House and Conference Center on May 31st and June 1st, the CrowdFunding Made Simple conference brought together hundreds of entrepreneurs, business owners, professional service providers, investors, government officials and students, that collaborated with and gained a much deeper understanding of the potential and power of crowdfunding directly from industry leaders behind this groundbreaking business platform. With the historic Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act signed into law on April 5th, a legal framework for equity-based "crowdfund investing" has been established and the potential for a much larger and expanded global crowdfunding community has been unleashed.

"These conferences are designed to educate and empower entrepreneur ecosystems at a local, grass roots level across the country, which is essential to the economic growth of the nation, particularly as traditional funding sources and bank lending has evaporated," said Berkeley Geddes, Chair of the Crowdfunding Professional Association Executive Committee and Governance Board; and Creator of DooBizz.com, Grow America Insight's entrepreneurship portal. "We were thrilled by the response of entrepreneurs attending, who comprised more than 60 percent of the audience on the first day. Amazingly, an additional 50 people signed up for the conference after the close of the first day as a result of participants igniting their own networks. States that take an aggressive role in educating their entrepreneurs and investors on crowdfunding will reap the benefits of a larger share of investment dollars coming into their community."

"Utah is one of the most entrepreneurial states in the nation," said David Bradford, Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development. "This has been demonstrated again by Utah entrepreneurs getting out in front on the crowd funding opportunity enabled by the JOBS Act. I have rarely been to a conference where more attendees and presenters exhibited such enthusiasm and passion. Utah's entrepreneurial spirit was manifest as so many national leaders contributed to the discussion."

"The event was really well attended, encompassed a very engaged and knowledgeable crowd of entrepreneurs from the greater Salt Lake community who truly understood the significance and impact that Crowdfunding could have on their ability to fund new innovations in the area," said Douglas S. Ellenoff, one of America's top securities law experts who has spent the most time and energy on Crowdfunding in the Country from Ellenoff Grossman & Schole and a speaker and event panelist. "I greatly appreciated the opportunity to participate and applaud efforts underway like this to help educate communities that will most benefit from crowdfunding."

"We had an absolute blast participating in this conference and getting to know the many entrepreneurs making amazing things happen in this community," said Brian Meece, founder and CEO of RocketHub.com, one of the world's top three crowdfunding platforms, and a speaker at the conference. "Collaboration, education and consultation with the entrepreneurs and investors we serve as a crowdfunding platform is critical to evolution of our industry."

The Crowdfunding Made Simple conference encompassed 29 expert speakers and panelists from across the country, representing capital markets, crowdfunding platforms, crowdfunded entrepreneurs, original authors of the JOBS Act legal framework and political policy groups.

Sessions included hands-on workshops on crowdfunding pitches, complete with feedback, suggestions and examples of success in securing funding. Deep dive break out sessions examined actual laws, regulations and the current areas of legal uncertainty in crowdfunding. The conference provided a 360 degree look at the crowdfunding ecosystem: legal, financial, risk, social, political and, importantly, jobs.

Other speakers included Jason Best, co-author of the CrowdFund Investing Framework in the JOBS Act and founder of Startup Exemption; Carl Esposti, founder of Crowdsourcing.org and leader of the CAPS Accreditation Program for crowdfunding platforms; and Alan E. Hall, a founding sponsor of the Crowdfunding Professional Association and founder of Grow America SpringBoard and Mercato Partners.

"Crowdfunding is one of the most promising developments that can help close the gap between entrepreneurs with ideas and their access to capital," said Mr. Hall. "Crowdfunding to me is a significant answer and it was clear from the impact of this conference that I'm not the only one who feels that way. Entrepreneurs need cash to grow their enterprises and an entirely new class of investors should have the right in America to invest small amounts of income in startup companies and ideas."

More information about the conference can be found at www.CrowdFundingMadeSimple.com. Participants also receive discounted access to a complete copy of the most comprehensive Crowdfunding Industry Report based on data from more than 170 crowdfunding platforms (CFPs) and other sources. For more information about the future of Crowdfunding visit the Crowdfunding Professional Association website, http://crowdfundingprofessional.org/, and stay tuned for additional conferences and entities organizing crowdfunding events and summits.

About CrowdFunding Made Simple
CrowdFunding Made Simple is a crowdfunding educational and events platform designed to educate entrepreneurs, small business owners and the American public about this new, groundbreaking industry platform that fuels the creation of new ideas, new businesses and jobs. For more information, visit www.CrowdFundingMadeSimple.com.

Media Contact:
Barbara Thatcher, Thatcher+Co.
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408-701-7528

SOURCE CrowdFunding Made Simple