Crowdfunding 101 Course

The JOBS Act, or otherwise known as the Crowdfunding Act, has been passing into law since 2012 with the most recent development, Regulation CF, enacted in May of 2016 which has opened up investing in privately-held businesses to the average investor. Previously, only the wealthiest individuals that had $200K or more in annual salary or $1MM+ in net worth, could partake.

This is analogous to tapping into the “other 96%” of US investors as potential sources of startup capital, which brings forth a new financial instrument to enable small and midsize businesses (SMBs) to raise their working capital from their own personal and professional networks or investor networks sourced via a crowdfunding portal or broker-dealer. There are many applications of crowdfunding in today’s marketplace such as tech startups, real estate, cleantech, tourist attractions, computer games, music bands and product companies to name a few.

This intro course will cover, a broad introduction to US equity and debt crowdfunding, the basic mechanics of a crowdfunding campaign, the anatomy of a crowdfunding portal and an industry landscape covering trends, investment data, and key players.

The course is designed for industry practitioners (funding portals or broker-dealers) and large do-it-yourself SMBs trying to receive investments online from the crowd. It could also serve, as the basic intro necessary to apply crowdfunding mechanics to an existing business model and the right foundation to get started on equity & debt crowdfunding.

At the end of the course, a participant should understand the basics of equity and debt crowdfunding and have a basic roadmap for implementing a crowdfunding campaign.

Your Instructor

Amilcar Chavarria is a financial technology entrepreneur with experience in fixed income, personal finance, risk management, and private placements.

He is currently the CEO of FinTech Portfolio, a fast-growing network of FinTech Entrepreneurs that provides Innovation Services to Financial Institutions. In 2015, he started FundPaaS, a funding platform as a service that can convert any website into a crowdfunding portal. Prior to that, Amilcar was on the leadership team of a venture-backed startup that launched the leading payments and compliance engine for crowdfunding portals where he increased client growth by 300%. His portfolio companies include a “Compliant ICO as a Service” which was first to market in incorporating the latest financial securities laws and cryptocurrencies (e.g. ERC20 utility tokens).

In 2016, Amilcar started one of the first online FinTech School which has notable clients such as Moody's Analytics, IBM and The Wharton School of Business. They have also hosted Chinese delegations from Tsinghua University and the Ningbo Municipality. In 2012, Amilcar started one of the earliest Robo-Advisors in the US and has been invited to speak in China during the launch of the 1st Robo-Advisor by Guangfa Bank. In December of 2016, Amilcar was featured on the cover story of CFA Magazine and Bankless Times. Amilcar has had prestigious clients such as Huatai Securities, Insurance Association of China and Huaxi.

Amilcar has held a variety of senior roles in corporate finance, product management, business development and investment analytics at well-renowned investment banks and asset managers like Goldman Sachs and BlackRock. He's also a graduate of The Wharton School Of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Tulane University.

Class Curriculum

• Module 1: Intro to Crowdfunding
  • Start Introduction to Crowdfunding (1:05)
  • Start Three Key Takeaways (0:33)
  • Start What is Crowdfunding? (3:24)
  • Start Types of Crowdfunding (4:06)
  • Start The Birth of a New Asset Class (2:25)
  • Start The JOBS Act (4:58)
• Module 2: Applications of Equity and Crowdfunding
  • Start The Periodic Table of Social Impact (4:50)
  • Start Practical Applications of Crowdfunding (10:58)
  • Start The Future of Crowdfunding (3:10)
  • Start Wrap Up (0:12)
  • Start Post-Course Satisfaction Survey

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the course start and finish?

The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.

What are the prerequisites for the course?

There are no prerequisites to take this course! Students from all backgrounds are encouraged to take this course.