Discovering The Power Of The Crowd – Remarkable Conference Line-Up

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Leading financial media organisation, City A.M., crowdfunding data benchmarker, CrowdneticUK, and alternative finance intelligence platform, Another Crowd, are pleased to announce the line-up for a ground-breaking conference on crowdfunding to be held at London’s Royal Automobile Club on 28 May. The conference (you can book here – with a £40 CityAM reader discount) will feature Money&Co.’s CEO Nicola Horlick as a speaker, and be co-hosted by Money&Co.’s director of communications, Martin Baker, and City A.M.’s deputy features editor, Harriet Green (pictured below).

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“The basic idea is to provide a high concentration of top-quality individuals and companies in the crowdfunding space,” said Martin Muncaster of City A.M. “This won’t be just a talking shop, but an even with real, practical value. Our speakers will address the primary business and financial needs of borrowers and the options that crowdfunding offers. The conference will cover seed-capital and mezzanine equity investment, and drill down on the borrowing opportunities available to more mature small and medium-sized businesses.”

Gordon Rae, publisher of Another Crowd added: “We’ll also look at the delicate operation of building a portfolio of equity and debt crowdfunding investments. This is a very young, exciting market, one where investment professionals are racing to standardize the industry and nail down the characteristics of what are essentially new asset classes – crowdfunded debt and equity investment.”

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Rae believes that the Discovering The Power Of The Crowd event will bring a unique focus on the fast-growing alternative investment markets, and the attendant legal, regulatory and commercial requirements needed to sustain success for companies seeking capital, equity investors and lenders alike.’

The latest recruit to the conference line-up is Goncalo de Vasconcelos, co-founder of the award-winning equity crowdfunding platform, Syndicate Room.

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Here is the day’s programme:

10.00 – Opening remarks

Martin Baker, director of communications, Money&Co. 
Harriet Green, deputy business features editor, City A.M.

10:05 – Understanding Alternative Finance and Crowdfunding

  • Overview of the crowdfunding landscape
  • How modern finance is transforming itself
  • Why alternative finance is becoming the mainstream

Justin Urquhart Stewart (Seven Investment Management) – Well-known financial pundit and entrepreneur. (Full Bio)

10.45 – How Seedrs all began, and where is it going? (Case Study)

  • The opportunities of raising funds via crowdfunding
  • How Seedrs started small got to where they are now. Moving from raising capital for startups…
  • …to now also helping later stage companies seeking second and third round financing.
  • Realising Seedrs vison to help small companies obtain seed capital.
  • Better understand Seedrs success and how they’ve developed.

Jeff Lynn (Seedrs.com) – American pioneer of equity latest stage equity crowdfunding.  Seedrs is an online platform for discovering and investing in great startups. (Full Bio)

11.30 – How crowdfunding can bring the benefit of high finance to investors

  • How platforms assess whether a company could produce a return to investors
  • How platforms pick sophisticated companies for sophisticated investors
  • Calibre of company – selecting a company suitable for investment
  • What you should look out for

James Codling (Co-founder, VentureFounders) – Highly experienced in private equity, investment banking and startup experience.

12:15 New Models, Fast growth (Case Study)

  • As a new entrant into the market, how has Syndicate Room created a model which engender very fast growth?
  • Part hands-on angel investor, part crowdfunding facilitator, Syndicate Room offers a combination of management expertise, investor knowledge and liquidity.
  • Unique take on crowdfunding

Goncalo de Vasconcelos, Co-founder and CEO, Syndicate Room, one of the fastest growing platforms in the UK. Chris Sier, MD of KAS Bank (invited), investor and crowdfunding sceptic.

 

13.00  – Lunch
Hosted by Brian Basham, executive chairman, Archover

14.00 – The crowd as publisher – media disintermediation

  • An insight into digital disruption in the world of publishing
  • The power of the crowd beyond the financial
  • Replacing publishing body with the cloud

Martin Baker, Paul English (Wet Zebra Media)

14.15  – Crowdfunding’s new horizons

  • Why the future of crowdfunding is debt over equity
  • How SMEs generate growth and provide excellent yields

Nicola Horlick Chief Executive, Money&Co

14.30 – Benchmarking UK growth against Europe and the United States

  • The shift to UK and Europe from the United States
  • Emerging trends  in the UK and Europe
  • Which firms are coming to market? Differences between countries
  • Moving mainstream – How alternative finance is changing the financial services world

Bryan Zhang Policy and Operations Director, Centre for Alternative Finance, Cambridge Judge Business School – leading academic, ground-breaking research into European market

14.45 – The regulatory implications – what you need to know

  • Navigate the path through the regulatory minefield for borrowers, lenders and investors alike.

Karen Butler – King Wood & Malleson LLP

15.15 – Panel discussion

Get your questions answered

  • As an investor, how do you build a portfolio of equity and debt assets?
  • How do you assess risk? Are platforms doing enough to assess risk and share information with investors? What to do when the defaults come?
  • What are the likely exit routes for equity investors?
  • Will institutions squeeze the crowd out of crowdfunding?
  • How to respond to the inflated valuations accusation?

Chaired by Julia Groves (UKCFA & Trillion Fund): Adam Braggs (Crowdknetic), Karen Butler, James Codling + Gordon Rae, Another Crowd and other leading figures

16.20 – Closing remarks – Martin Muncaster

16.30 – Drinks and networking

Book your place here.



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Disclaimer: Money&Co.™ is the trading name of Denmark Square Limited, Company Number 08561817, registered in England & Wales, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The company is identified on the Financial Services Register under Reference Number 727325. The registered office is 58 Glentham Road, Barnes, London, SW13 9JJ where the register of Directors may be inspected. Denmark Square Limited (ISA manager reference number Z1932) manages the Money&Co. Innovative Finance ISA.