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4 Tips for a Successful Equity Crowdfunding Raise

4 Tips for a Successful Equity Crowdfunding Raise I recently interviewed John Fanning, Jr., CEO of Zelgor, and asked him what advice he'd give entrepreneurs trying to raise funds. He recently raised over $500,000 on Netcapital. Here are his top tips:

How Founders and Investors Can (and Should) Leverage Community

Being a founder of a company can feel like you're fighting an uphill battle with an army of one. When you effectively use one of the most invaluable free resources at your disposal, your community, that burden becomes much easier to bear. The Netcapital Advisors team spoke with Daniel Acheampong, co...

Why You Should Fund Women: An Interview with Vanessa Bruce, CEO of Dough

Despite making 80% of all consumer decisions, women are severely underrepresented in startup funding, both as investors and founders. According to Crunchbase, less than 3% of all venture capital (VC) dollars go to companies led by women and less than 13% of VC decision makers are women. Yet business...

How One AI-Powered Company is Disrupting the Digital Customer Experience

Salesforce’s research shows that the way you treat your customers matters: in the U.S alone, $62 billion is lost each year due to poor customer service. Now, companies are facing the challenge of ensuring that their customers feel supported and cared for through their screens. In this week’s blog we...

Why You Should Create a Community for Your Startup

In previous blog posts, we’ve discussed why startup teams are fundamental to your success, and how to build one. Beyond your team, your startup also needs a community.

Impact Investing: How You Can Make a Difference Through Your Portfolio

What is Impact Investing? Impact investing is an investing strategy where you use your money as a tool for social or environmental good. While impact investors still aim to make a return on their investment, they’re selective about the companies and sectors they invest in.

Creating Your Startup Dream Team: How to Convince People to Join Your Startup Team

In previous installments of our Creating the Startup Dream Team blog series we explored who you might need on your team and where you can find talented people to join your startup. In our final installment, we discuss why your core team matters and how you can make the pitch to early team members.

5 Questions You Need to Answer When Starting Your Own Business

Building a business is like building a house — there is nothing more important than a solid foundation. Before pursuing funding or forging ahead in developing your product, it’s important to check in, reassess, and make sure you can answer these 5 core questions about your business.

How 5 Emerging Startups Adapted and Grew in Response to Covid-19

2020 was a uniquely difficult year for startups as Covid-19 impacted every sector. Yet the biggest problems often bring about the most innovative solutions and many entrepreneurs did what they do best: adapt. We spoke to 5 emerging, disruptive startups we work with about how they pivoted or stayed t...

5 Marketing Tips for Q4, the Most Expensive Time for Digital Marketing

Why Q4 is an Expensive Time to Market Your Offering Quarter 4 (Q4) includes October, November and December. While it’s called the most wonderful time of the year, it’s also known as the most expensive time for marketing. During this period, digital marketing is dominated by big spenders in the retai...

What 3 New SEC Rules Mean for Investors and Businesses in the Online Private Markets

The online private markets have become a disruptive tool for companies of all sizes seeking funding. In 2016 the JOBS Act empowered private companies to raise capital online through Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF), sometimes called equity crowdfunding. Four years later, companies with successful Re...

Creating Your Start-up Dream Team: Where to Find & Hire Talent

High-skilled, experienced talent is everywhere nowadays, especially since working remotely is now more accessible. But how do you actually start finding talent? Netcapital Advisors spoke with Arist Co-Founder Maxine Anderson to help us answer that question and outlined a few places for you to start ...

How to Know if a Startup is Really “Disruptive”: 5 Questions to Ask

It's one of the biggest buzzwords in the startup landscape: “disruptive”. When you hear or see this term you might initially think of Uber, Apple, Amazon. At the same time, it may feel like every other startup is claiming to be on par with major trailblazers. As an entrepreneur, you might be unsure ...

Creating Your Startup Dream Team: 6 Types of People You’ll Need to Hire

As an entrepreneur, you’ve probably heard of (and lived) the phrase “wearing multiple hats”. It’s inevitable as a small business owner that you occasionally step in to fill the gaps in your team. However, if you’re in the process of expanding your business or looking further down the road, there are...

Entrepreneurship 101: Advisory Board vs. Board of Directors

TV shows and movies like to show corporate boardrooms as chock full of dramatic office politics. For a lot of first time entrepreneurs, that Hollywood idea of a board might be the first thing that comes to mind. But in real life, things couldn’t be more different. As an entrepreneur, you’ve likely h...

How to Launch a Startup When You Don't Live in Silicon Valley

The United States is home to 40% of the world’s “unicorns”, startups that are valued at over a billion dollars. Many of these companies are located in either the Bay Area and New York. However, there are entrepreneurs with big ideas all over the country, outside of these coastal hubs and off the bea...

Entrepreneurship 101: Do I Need a Co-Founder?

As an entrepreneur, you have to make one of your most important business decisions upfront, right at the beginning of your journey. Before you start working on the product, pitching investors, or finding customers, you have to decide whether or not you need a co-founder. In this installment of our E...

Need a Remote Way to Raise Capital? Try Equity Crowdfunding

In the beginning of the year the public markets faced historic drops as the pandemic spread globally and industries rapidly shifted to accommodate a new norm. Small businesses, which account for 44% of all economic activity, are being especially hard hit. Oftentimes, these businesses turn to venture...

The CEO Secrets to Success No One Will Tell You

An Interview with Chris Lustrino, Founder & CEO of KingsCrowd ValueSetters recently launched a new series on our YouTube channel where we interview angel investors, entrepreneurs, private market experts, and more about the startup ecosystem. Last week, in our first Ask the CEO video, our CMO Kat...

3 Types of Startup Investors

3 Types of Startup Investors Interested in learning more about launching a startup before you take that first step? In our Entrepreneurship 101 blog series, ValueSetters will be exploring everything from meeting investors, understanding the basics of a pitch, and building up your business team. Be s...

5 Industries Transformed by the Pandemic

5 Industries Transformed by the Pandemic

Crowdfunding vs. Equity Crowdfunding: What's the Difference?

Crowdfunding vs. Equity Crowdfunding: What's the Difference? Although “crowdfunding” and “equity crowdfunding” are sometimes used interchangeably, there are big differences between the two types of fundraising. As an investor or entrepreneur, you may be wondering which one is a better fit for you. W...

6 Strategies for a Successful Equity Crowdfunding Campaign

6 Strategies for a Successful Equity Crowdfunding Campaign Raising capital through Reg CF (also known as equity crowdfunding) is gaining traction. Since 2016, over $300 million has been raised through Reg CF offerings, according to CrowdWise. As more and more startups list offerings on online fundin...

3 things you need to know about marketing your Equity Crowdfunding offering

Do You Have What it Takes to Start Your Own Business?

Thinking about starting your own business and wondering if you have what it takes? Read on to see if you share these key personality traits with top entrepreneurs:

Do you ever wonder why some fundraising campaigns take off like magic?

Do you ever wonder why some fundraising campaigns seem to take off like magic, while others fail? These are the key factors that the most successful campaigns have in common:

3 Important Facebook Ad Tips for Marketing Your Equity Crowdfunding Campaign

In a previous post I explained the importance of marketing your Equity Crowdfunding campaign. Social media marketing is one of the most important aspects of any campaign, and Facebook’s advertising platform is incredibly sophisticated in terms of targeting just the right potential investors for your...

How I Maxed Out My First Equity Crowdfunding Raise

Entrepreneur Spotlight: An Interview with Chris Lustrino of KingsCrowd

The Top 3 Benefits of Equity Crowdfunding to Entrepreneurs and Investors

Regulation Crowdfunding, or “Reg CF” of the JOBS Act (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) allows startups and small companies to raise capital from anyone, not just accredited investors. As a result, ordinary people whose income or net worth don’t meet the SEC's standards of accreditation are able to p...

3 common mistakes to avoid when launching an equity crowdfunding campaign

Kathy Kraysler CMO, ValueSetters

Four Ways to Market Your Equity Crowdfunding Campaign

Kathy Kraysler ValueSetters CMO You’ve built a killer offering page, produced a dazzling video, and launched your campaign on an equity crowdfunding platform. Now it’s time to sit back and watch the investments come rolling in, right?

7 Crucial Steps of an Equity Crowdfunding Campaign

Crowdfunding Vs. Equity Crowdfunding

Kathy Kraysler ValueSetters CMO Crowdfunding vs. Equity Crowdfunding: What's the Difference?

6 Ways to Increase Your Odds of Equity Crowdfunding Success

Coreen Kraysler, CFA ValueSetters CFO Interested in equity crowdfunding as a financing option for your company? Follow these six steps to improve your odds of success.

Interview with Jason Frishman, Netcapital CEO

Jason Frishman Netcapital CEO Early stage investing is where the real money is made, and with the passage of the Jobs Act, the average person can now reap the rewards formerly restricted to angels and VC’s. We sat down with Netcapital’s CEO, Jason Frishman, to talk about private capital markets, the...

Interview with Shawn Fanning, Founder of napster

Shawn Fanning Founder of napster Ever wonder what it takes to make the cover of Fortune at nineteen? As part of our Insights series, we sat down with napster Founder Shawn Fanning to discuss his advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.