The Soho Loft Presents Crowd Funding Solutions at Silicon Valley Forum in Oakland, CA Tonight

June 20, 2012 - PRLog -- Oakland, CA. – June 20, 2012

David Drake, Founder and CEO of The Soho Loft Capital Creation Events a holding company of LDJ Capital, is presenting a panel discussion on crowd funding today with Mark Perlmutter, MicroAngels, and executives from Indiegogo and Orrick. Crowd funding for equity is one powerful part of the JOBS Act and one of the topics covered today at SVForum in Oakland.

The Soho Loft Capital Creation Events are leaders on JOBS Act and crowd funding focused events - organizing 60 events globally in 2012.  The Soho Loft’s mission is to educate the masses on available opportunities enabled by JOBS Act and capital formation.  MicroAngels in San Francisco has formed partnerships both abroad and in the US to leverage crowd funding for equity globally and Indiegogo the world's second largest crowd funding firm has seen their traffic double the in last 6 months.  

The JOBS Act signed by President Obama April 5, 2012 now needs to be implemented to an effective law.  Mr. Drake, The Soho Loft, says "We are working full time with leading crowd funding advocacy groups in the US to educate the masses and we have meetings with SEC and FINRA on a regular basis to share best practices and processes already in place.  I am looking forward to visiting Europe next month where I will be meeting face-to-face with European ministers and sharing this knowledge with them.  It is an imperative undertaking and the US is at the forefront, we need to make sure we have an effective law implemented.  The ruling on practical implementations of this law could easily be buried under unnecessary fees, which currently exist for both broker dealers and the public market.  Thus, we have to conjure every possible scenario to be prepared for potential thwarting fees that may be implemented.  We want to speak to as many groups as possible to brainstorm and educate on these topics."

Note that crowd funding today is divided into four categories: crowd funding for donations (charities), crowd funding for rewards (you receive a gift back), micro financing (peer-to-peer lending) and crowd funding for equity (securities are exchanging hands) - the last category is not legal today and SEC has 270 days from April 5, 2012 to implement it into a law.  

"The industry of crowd funding goes from $1.5 billion to $2.8 billion between 2011 to 2012.” adds Mr. Perlmutter, “This market is explosive, you technically are pre-selling product and services not yet manufactured.  It is brilliant! The Dutch have already allowed crowd funding for equity.  The Soho Loft has allowed us the intense exposure we needed to get noticed in this nascent industry.  Half of the capital comes from US firms."

Mr. Drake, adds "Crowd funding is the most powerful consumer market funding means we have seen since the stock market was created.   We want to help firms position themselves as market leaders globally and partnered therefore in Europe with the Co-Founder of Skype, Johan Gorecki's firm GlobeForum as well as Europe's fourth largest media company Bonnier."

The challenges entrepreneurs face in capital creation and financing solutions will be discussed today in Oakland with leading minds in the arena.  It’s yet another opportunity for knowledge exchange on how different capital resources are made readily available to small and medium size firms and entrepreneurs.  "Crowd funding is not just for startups and tech firms, it’s a movement for brick and mortar companies and fortune 10,000 as well as hedge funds and private equity funds.  Reach out to us to see how you can become the leading service provider in your city with our help at The Soho Loft," encourages David Drake.

ABOUT THE SOHO LOFT

The Soho Loft Capital Creation Events (TSL) is a world leader in speaking and paneling on crowd funding and the JOBS (Jump Start Opportunities for Business StartUps) Act at conferences globally. We provide leadership to the world in the areas of crowd funding, micro-finance,venture capital, family offices and funds. In 2012 TSL is hosting 60 finance-focused events and expects to increase this to 120 during 2013. TSL co-founded the Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Advocates (CFIRA) and have partnered with Johan Gorecki, co-founder of Skype. For more information, visit thesoholoft.com.