CNW | NCFA Canada Release | Feb 17, 2015

TORONTO, Feb. 17, 2015 /CNW/ - In just two weeks, the inaugural 2015 Canadian Crowdfunding Summit (#CCS2015) will kick off on March 3rd at the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto, Canada.  With over 40+ expert speakers confirmed, the 2015 Summit is a not to be missed first annual event where Canadian and international crowdfunding leaders, mentors and successful companies are gathering to showcase financial innovation, accelerate industry growth and bring crowdfunding markets to life.

Over 50% of the tickets are sold out and the summit organizers are anticipating a full crowd in attendance.  #CCS2015 is attracting attendees from a wide cross-section of industries from both the private and public sectors including start-ups, small-to-midsize enterprises (SMEs), innovators, investors, industry platforms, service providers and government officials.

The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada recently announced the full day educational and networking program that covers the range and reach of this dynamic industry from social causes, rewards, pre-sale and impact investing to the hotly debated crowdfinance models of equity crowdfunding and P2P lending.

Limited Tickets Register Today with 'NCFA_NETWORK' 10% Discount Code

With almost 30 panels, workshops and fireside chats planned, #CCS2015 is the premier destination to gain access to the movers and shakers of industry and learn from experts how crowdfunding is transforming the way organizations are raising capital online while unlocking the potential of early stage customers and investors in the funding ecosystem.

The Summit features an impressive industry led speaker line-up including opening keynote by Jon Medved, CEO of OurCrowd, the global equity crowdfunding platform leader that has raised more than $95 M for 56 portfolio companies since launching in February 2013.

Freshly announced full list of featured speakers and participants at #CCS2015:

Adam Spence, CEO, SVX
Alixe Cormick, President, Venture Law Corp
Andrew Gardner, Founder and Chief Designer, Polar
Andrew Graham, CEO, Borrowell
Apostolos Sigalas, Founder, GreedyGiver
Avi Goldfarb, Professor of Marketing, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto
Benjamin Webster, CEO/Founder, Mass Fidelity
Brendan Dellandrea, Director, Marketing and Communications, Digital Media Zone
Bret Conkin, Founder, CrowdfundSuite
Brian Koscak, Partner, Cassels Brock
Carlos Pinto Lobo, Chief Compliance Officer, The SVX, MaRS
Christopher Charlesworth, Co-Founder, HiveWire
Craig Asano, Executive Director, NCFA
Darrell Etherington, Technology Writer, Techcrunch
Daryl Hatton, Founder and CEO, FundRazr
Diana Yazidjian, President, DFY Consulting
Douglas Cumming, Venture Capital Professor, York University, Schulich
Erin Bury, Managing Director, 88 Creative
Gil Michel-Garcia, CEO, Wafu
Gimmy Chu, CEO, Nanoleaf
John Wires, Startup Legal Advisor, NCFA Canada, Founder, Wires Law
Jonathan Medved, CEO, OurCrowd
Klever Freire, CEO, DreamQii
Marcus New, Founder and CEO, InvestX
Mark Evans, Principal, ME Consulting
Matthew Atkey, Capital Markets Associate, Torys LLP
Matthew McGrath, CEO and President, Optimize Capital Markets
Neil D'Souza, Co-founder / Director Operations, Mass Fidelity
Nik Badminton, Regional Director, North America, Freelancer
Ontario Securities Commission Representative
Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, CEO, Silver Maple Ventures
Raphael Bouskila, Co-founder and President, CoPower
Richard Remillard, President, Remillard Consulting Group
Robert Wakulat, Co-founder, Wakulat Dhirani LLP
Rose Spinelli, Founder, The Crowdfundamentals
Rubsun Ho, Chief Crowdpleaser, Crowdmatrix Inc.
Sean Moffit, Managing Director, Wiki-Brands
Sean Stanleigh, Report on Small Business and Globe Drive, The Globe and Mail
Steve Tam, Steve Tam, Hardware, Tech and Design Lead, Indiegogo Canada, Indiegogo
Tabitha Creighton, Co-Founder and CEO, InvestNextDoor
Tim Jackson, Executive Vice President, Corporate and Community, MaRS
Tonya Surman, Founding CEO, Centre for Social Innovation (CSI)
Victoria Lennox, Co-Founder, CEO, Startup Canada

For a complete list of conference participants, speakers and event schedule visit the 2015 Canadian Crowdfunding Summit site.

12 Startups pitching live at #CCS2015:

Chris Jansen, Founder, Textbooks for Change
Corey Rosenfield, Founder, Qoints
Daniel Bida, Founder, Zooshare
Dwayne Wanner, President, Highlander Brew Co.
Ewart Newton, Founder, JUMP Math
Frank Bouchard, Founder, Wipebook
Frank Pears, Founder, Makerbloks
Henry Chong, Founder, Revelo Electric
Milan Baic, Founder, Pinch VR
Pigeon, Keith Beckley, Founder
Timothy Booth, Founder, Arts Funding
Tricia Lee, Founder, A Film Monkey Production Inc.

To learn more about the pitching companies click here.

There are a limited number of media passes available.  Please contact sunny@ncfacanada.org by Feb 25 if you would like to request a media pass.  More info click here.

About the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada

The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is the leading, and only, national non-profit trade association actively engaged with both social and investment crowdfunding stakeholders across the country.  NCFA Canada provides education, advocacy, leadership, support, and networking opportunitites to over 950+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community, and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry across Canada. For more information please visit: www.crowdfundingsummit.ca or ncfacanada.org.

For further information: Media Inquiries: Craig Asano, 416-618-0254, casano@ncfancanada.org; Sponsorship Inquiries: Lauren Linton, 416-569-4349, lauren@ncfacanada.org