How Crowdfunding WILL Grow Your Practice

Kirsty McGregor Twitter: @ACrowdExpert

Agenda• What does she know anyway?• Size of the current UK crowdfunding market• How it interacts with traditional funding• Why should you care?• What makes a successful crowdfund?• Q&A• Membership of The Association of

Crowdfunding Experts – training, support, marketing

Who are ya?!!• Chartered Accountant 20 years; • Trainer then corporate financier 10 years;• Founder The Corporate Finance Network– 9 years ago for regional firms– Coached & mentored 100+ partners– introduced CF to c40 firms

• Created Crowdfunding Options app 3 yrs ago• Author The Crowdfunding Masterclass• Founder Association of Crowdfunding Experts

The Crowdfunding Market

• Crowdlending 12% of all new lending in 2015 in UK to SMEs

• Equity crowdfunding is 15.6% of total UK seed/VC equity market

NESTA & Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance – Pushing Boundaries Report

Old World vs New World

Idea/prototype/ proof of concept

Early stage trading

Establish growth

Major Expansion

Acquisition/Exit

Reward

Reward

Equity

Equity

Equity

P2P

P2P incl bonds

P2P incl bonds Equity

Invoice Trading

Invoice Trading

Invoice Trading

& Supply Chain

Invoice Trading

& Supply Chain

The Next Generation of Business Owners

• c.1m start-ups in the last 10 years– 20% of all businesses in existence

• They expect to use all forms of finance in the market, esp crowdfunding

• They crave advice – not just compliance• Incubators, accelerators, business shows, website

forums, retailers/brands are ADVISING• Does your firm have a future with these clients?

Terminology• Donation Crowdfunding• Reward Crowdfunding

• Peer to Peer or Crowdlending

• Equity Crowdfunding• Angel-led Crowdfunding

Case study of a start-up

• Virgin Start-up loan £7,000 to begin manufacture• Kickstarter £12,000 (Aug 2014)• Angels Den £110k target, funded £150,000

13% equity (July 2015)

What makes a crowdfunding success?Support of

(their own) Crowd

Own activity…it’s a lot of work!!

Your passion & enthusiasm in the

narrative

Credibility & demonstrable

experience

The QualityYour rewards – range;

worth; humour? Or Business Plan

(equity)

The page: video/graphics

Captivating & clear

But I’m an accountant!• Project management & referring experts – Social media & PR– Videographers– Graphic designers

• Writing the page content• Writing the business plan & projections• Throughout the campaign – Offering moral support– Answering queries

The Association of Crowdfunding Experts

• Stand out as an expert• Initial Training – 1 day intensive Crowdfunding Masterclass– An Audience With…

• Updates– Ahead of the Crowd Newsletter updates– Conferences

• Specify which types of crowdfunding you are expert in

Membership Options

• Supporter member (ie in training)– Based on size of firm, from £40 per month– Requires mandatory Crowdfunding Masterclass– http://ace-uk.eventbrite.co.uk– 33% discount ACE2016

• Master member (expert)– Must be able to evidence experience– Lead generation from app and website

Crowdfunding:what accountants need to know

• Free e-book • Dates for courses mid June-mid July– Watford; Swindon; Maidstone; Northampton;

Basingstoke; Gatwick; Harlow– Other locations due to be announced for Autumn

• Membership criteria & pricing• Get scanned!

How Crowdfunding WILL Grow Your Practice

Kirsty McGregor Twitter: @ACrowdExpert