Tag: Harvard Business School Club of New York

A Downpour Of #CrowdfundingRealEstate Advice And Ideas

On By crowdfundattnyIn Crowdfunding, Crowdfunding Real Estate, Entrepreneurs, Harvard Business School Club of New York, Investing, JOBS Act, Real Estate, SEC, Securities Exchange Commission, Title II Crowdfunding, Title III CrowdfundingLeave a comment

Thank you to the panelists and audience members who braved a biblical downpour to attend the SOLD OUT Harvard Business School Club Innovations in Real Estate: Crowdfund Investing program last night at the UJA Federation of NY Conference Center. Former New York Governor David Paterson kicked off the evening with his typical wit and insight before our panel of Crowdfunding industry experts shared their experiences and knowledge with an extremely engaged and thoughtful audience.

Our panelists:

  • Jason Fritton of Patch of Land and William Skelley of iFunding, two of the earliest Crowdfunding innovators and most successful Title II portals
  • Elvin Ames of Golden Eye Investments and Erin Wicomb of Mavrix Group, two experienced and successful real estate developers who have recently turned to Crowdfunding to raise capital
  • Scott Lichtman, a real estate investor who has himself invested in Crowdfunded deals and did a super job putting the conference together

Thus, all sides the Crowdfunding triangle were represented: portals, developers, and investors. And Jason, William, Elvin, Erin, and Scott – not to mention Governor Paterson – acquitted themselves with flying colors, demonstrated why they have been so successful generally and specifically why they have been leaders in Crowdfunding.

Some of the issues discussed:

  • The build-out of the Title II portal market, and how it is likely to segment into verticals
  • How portals successfully distinguish themselves
  • What investors look for in a portal and a project sponsor
  • The legal basis for Crowdfunding, and its significance in the marketplace
  • Why Crowdfunding is attractive to developers
  • How portals can participate in community development and “do well by doing good”
  • How portals market and price their services
  • How developers distinguish their projects
  • What due diligence means in a Crowdfunded environment

Judging by the number and quality of questions from the audience following the presentation, there are likely a few dozen more Crowdfunding entrepreneurs this morning than there were yesterday. Including one statistician, who asked about the standard deviation of Crowdfunding investments.

Thanks again to everyone. I hope to stay in touch with all of you. Questions? Let me know.

Innovations In Real Estate: Crowdfund Investing

On By crowdfundattnyIn Crowdfunding Speaking Engagements, Entrepreneurs, Investing, JOBS Act, Real EstateLeave a comment

Attention New Yorkers! On Wednesday, April 30th, I will be moderating an expert panel hosted by The Harvard Business School Club of New York, Inc. to discuss the rapidly-growing market of Crowdfunding in NYC.

The event, “Innovations in Real Estate: Crowdfund Investing,” consists of a panel of heavy-hitters in the Crowdfunding industry.  Tickets are cheap and can be purchased here.

Below is more information on the event. Please contact me directly if you have any questions.

Date:

Wednesday, April 30th, 2014

Time:

6:30 -8:15 pm

6:30 -7:00 pm registration

7:00 -8:00 pm panel

8:00 -8:15 pm audience Q&A

Venue:

The Conference Center, 130 E. 59th St. (between Park & Lexington Avenues)

Price: $15/Members of the HBSCNY, HBS Angels, Harvard Real Estate Alumni Organization $15/Member guest (limit one) $35/Non-member alumni $50/Non-alumni

RSVP:

Click here to register!

Event Overview:

Learn how crowdfunding will affect fundraising by developers/operators, alternative investment opportunities for individuals, and community development initiatives in cities.  HBSCNY, with the Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater New York, and the Harvard Real Estate Alumni Organization, invite alumni and all interested individuals to an evening panel and networking event, where real estate operators, entrepreneurs, an investor and attorney discuss the impact of real estate crowdfunding.

The federal Jumpstart Our Businesses (JOBS) Act has made it easier for web entrepreneurs to facilitate wider participation in private investments.  As a result, over a dozen websites are in a race to become leaders in the RE crowdfunding space.  Real estate is poised to join consumer lending, angel funding and other asset classes – which together generated over $5 billion in online transactions last year – that are that are undergoing fundamental changes in fund-raising.

Though promising, RE crowdfunding will no doubt face questions along the way.  Do the newer investors appreciate the risks they are taking on?  What will happen when a project first undergoes foreclosure? How do the projects’ operating agreements, as well as the corporate structure of the crowdfund websites, affect future performance? And, which sites will emerge on top?  The evening is an entrée to meet those leading this field and understand opportunities for participation.

Speaker Biographies:

Mark Roderick, Flaster/Greenberg PC:  Flaster/Greenberg (flastergreenberg.com) is a full-service commercial law firm with offices along the mid-Atlantic corridor.  Markley Roderick concentrates on representing entrepreneurs in technology, real estate and other fields, and is an acknowledged expert in crowdfunding, with a blog at www.crowdfundattny.com.

Elvin Ames, Golden Eye Investments:  Via roles as a broker, loan officer and most recently a real estate developer, Elvin has completed more than 300 real estate transactions.  This includes over 60 house refurbishments he has led. He also owns leased properties, with a focus on New Jersey.  The company does business via webuyraggedyhouses.com.  Mr. Ames is a US Marine Corp. veteran.

Jason Fritton, co-founder and COO, Patch of Land: The company (patchofland.com) is a pioneer in the real estate crowdfunding industry, focused on highly-attractive debt investments.  Jason oversees the company’s due diligence practices, legal compliance and client services. Previously, Jason ran digital marketing at a national retail company and managed a major technology project for the US army.

Scott Lichtman, Heartland Real Estate: Scott is a real estate investor and software entrepreneur.  He has invested in five properties through crowdfunding, interviews crowdfund CEOs for a blog at realheartland.com, and serves in a user-feedback role for several of the sites.  Scott has worked at Oracle, Deloitte and startups involving online collaboration and research.  He graduated from Harvard Business School, the London School of Economics and MIT.

David Paterson, former Governor of New York, and Director of Community at iFunding: David A. Paterson became New York’s 55th Governor in 2008, the state’s first African-American governor and only the second legally-blind governor in the nation’s history. Throughout his career, Governor Paterson has achieved bi-partisan change, leading the charge on issues ranging from renewable energy to championing minority and women-owned businesses.  He currently works with the crowdfund company iFunding on matters of community outreach and development.

William Skelley, CEO of iFunding: The company (ifunding.co) is a crowdfund leader that focuses on institutional quality deals with commensurate returns, scalable investment amounts and asset types, and global access.  Prior to founding iFunding, William was a principal at Rose Park Advisors, a hedge fund founded by Harvard Business School professor Dr. Clayton Christensen.  He also has worked at General Electric and Bain Capital.

Alex Twining, CEO of Twining Properties:  The company (twiningproperties.com) is a developer focused on urban use green projects at transit nodes of the Northeast Corridor.  They have over 4 million sq. feet under development and are pursuing a first deal with crowdfund participation.  Previously, Alex was CEO of MetroNexus, a Morgan Stanley real estate funds enterprise, and a director at AvalonBay Communities, a $4bn REIT.

Questions? Let me know.