GrowFL, the Economic Gardening Institute, presents “Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Crowdfunding Today,” a knowledge-sharing event designed to provide valuable insights into fostering innovation and entrepreneurship, and shed light onto the latest crowdfunding strategies and trends. Geared for area entrepreneurs, the special event is scheduled for September 2, from 8 – 10:30 am at the Werner Auditorium at Florida Hospital, Orlando, 601 East Rollins Street.
Registration to attend is $15 per person (breakfast is included). For more information and to register, visit this link.
Unlike traditional fundraising for a venture, crowdfunding refers to the process of funding a venture by raising smaller amounts of individual contributions, but from a larger pool of people, often through the Internet.
“The Central Florida area is really becoming a hotbed for innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Tammie Nemecek, Director, GrowFL. “Funding plays such a key role in the entrepreneurial ecosystem that we knew this event would provide significant value and resonate within this region.”
Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Crowdfunding Today brings together leading venture growth and crowdfunding experts to share their insights into the latest opportunities, strategies and trends in these areas, including accredited investor equity crowdfunding, which the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has recently allowed.
The event will be moderated by Seth Joseph, a shareholder with the law firm Carlton Fields Jorden Burt. Joseph has extensive experience in capital formation for growth companies.
Equity crowdfunding was recently made possible by the SEC’s reversal last year of a regulation that barred companies from soliciting investment funds absent a pre-existing relationship with the prospective investor.
“This change has made more than $1 trillion of sidelined investment capital accessible to earlier stage companies that weren’t ready to go public and trade on a securities exchange,” said Joseph. “Companies tapping into the power of social media have had great success and are fueling crowdfunding’s growth.”
In addition to Joseph, other guest speakers will include Rick Wassel, Executive Director and General Manager for Florida Hospital’s Health Village and International Development initiatives; Elton Rivas, Co-founder, One Spark, The World’s Crowdfunding Festival, based in Jacksonville, Fla.; Heather Schwarz-Lopes, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-founder of EarlyShares, a crowdfunding platform; and Robert Tatum, a Sr. Partner with Financial Partners Network in Fort Lauderdale.
This program is made possible in part by the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast, Florida High Tech Corridor, Titusville Area Chamber of Commerce, and The Greater Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce. This is in addition to the many stakeholders, sponsors and supporters of GrowFL.