Innovacorp and NCFA | June 16, 2014

A lot of people can’t stand crowds, but most folks are a little more welcoming when the crowd is gathered to provide their start-up with the financing it needs to launch or to reach its next milestone.

Our Business Over Breakfast on June 19 at the Technology Innovation Centre in Dartmouth will focus on equity crowdfunding in Nova Scotia. We’ll cover the various types of crowdfunding, how to determine whether it’s right for your start-up, pitfalls for the funders and the funded, the future of equity crowdfunding in Canada and Nova Scotia, and some crowdfunding stories from the region.

Andy Osburn, Founder and CEO, Equals6 (www.equals6.com) | Atlantic Director, National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (ncfacanada.org) – Andy is a seasoned entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in software engineering and start-up technology ventures. His latest start-up, Equals6.com, is the market-leading student social recruiting platform, connecting students with the three things they need most: funding, career opportunities and mentoring. Prior to co-founding Equals6, Andy was CEO and CTO at Diaphonics, a voice biometric technology company. He previously held various technical and operational roles with the Royal Canadian Navy, primarily in the area of combat control systems. He is also a Certified Information Systems Security Professional and a Certified Information Systems Auditor and is certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT.

Christene H. Hirschfeld, Partner, BOYNECLARKE (www.boyneclarke.com) – Christene’s practice focuses on business and intellectual property law. She is often invited to speak on intellectual property as well as business-related issues such as financing and privacy. Christene's name has been included in the The Best Lawyers in Canada publication since its first edition in 2006 and she has been given Distinguished Attorney rating from Martindale-Hubbell. In 2013, she was named the Best Lawyers’ 2014 Halifax Information Technology Law - Lawyer of the Year, and was also a recipient of a 2013 Lexpert Zenith Award - Celebrating Women Leaders in the Legal Profession.

Abel Lazarus, Securities Analyst, Nova Scotia Securities Commission (NSSC) (www.nssc.gov.ns.ca) – In his role with NSSC’s corporate finance branch, Abel conducts reviews of offering materials and continuous disclosure filings. Previously, he was an investigator with NSSC’s enforcement branch, reviewing and investigating complaints relating to violations of Nova Scotia’s securities laws. Prior to joining NSSC, Abel’s experience included conducting various internal reviews for the Halifax Regional Municipality; working with PwC’s financial advisory services group to conduct forensic accounting, due diligence, valuation and insolvency engagements across various industries in Canada, the Caribbean and the U.S.; working in private industry to perform due diligence reviews and various accounting and corporate finance functions.

Greg Phipps, Managing Director of Investment, Innovacorp (www.innovacorp.ca) – Greg is an investment, finance, and operations professional with extensive start-up and business building experience. He has over a decade of venture investment management, 17 start-ups and 50 equity investment transactions under his belt. At Innovacorp, he is responsible for sourcing investment opportunities, due diligence, and deal structure, closing and governance. He also provides hands-on business guidance to Innovacorp’s investment portfolio companies. For 11 years prior to joining Innovacorp, Greg served as the Atlantic region’s director of venture capital for BDC Venture Capital.

Thursday, June 19, 2014
9:00 am – 10:00 am (light breakfast from 8:30 am – 9:00 am)
Technology Innovation Centre
1 Research Drive, Dartmouth

Note: There's ample – and free – parking at this location!

We're expecting a crowd (baha!) for this hot topic. Make sure you RSVP to Charmaine at ccoke@innovacorp.ca or 424.8674 x 1502 by Monday, June 16.