September 14, 2015 – Financial Policy Council's Hosts "Increasing Marketshare and Profitability through the Crowd—Bringing Main Street to Wall Street"

The Financial Policy Council will host a private briefing with a panel of four crowdfunding experts who will discuss how Wall Street investment firms can strengthen market share and viability through crowdfunding. The speakers Georgia P. Quinn, D.J. Paul, Chris Tyrell, and Joy Schoffler each have unique backgrounds in various industries, but share a common, extensive understanding of the financial technology sector and the effect that crowdfunding will bring to the investment world. Ziad Abelnour, the founder and chairman of Financial Policy Council Inc., will moderate the panel.

Once overlooked entirely by institutional investors, crowdfunding has now become a solid contender in the financial world, eclipsing angel investments and eventually overtaking venture capital as the primary method for funding new businesses.

"Crowdfunding is revolutionizing the type of investors that participate and the way they access deals, as well as the companies raising capital," said speaker Georgia P. Quinn, a securities attorney specializing in crowdfunding, and CEO of iDisclose, a web-based legal disclosure platform to help companies raise capital. "It is reducing costs of capital and increasing access to investments, which has major implications for both Wall Street and Main Street."

Platform "crowd" finance is beginning to create large dents in both the emerging and growth equity fields. This is a critical opportunity for savvy investment firms to use their existing, well-known brands to expand their reach toward new customer bases.

"Traditionally, investing has been a very closed world, with information closely guarded and available at a premium, if at all," said Abelnour. "One of the things we at the Financial Policy Council love about crowdfunding is its openness and transparency. Having data such as this available will assist investors and entrepreneurs as the crowdfunding world booms when equity crowdfunding under Title III of the JOBS Act soon becomes a reality."

As crowdfunding continues to shake up the way Wall Street investors do business, it is critical that investors stay ahead of the curve and use crowdfunding to its full potential, allowing them to make the deals that will increase profits and market share.

Karl Schlegel, Chairman of the Events Committee for the FPC and lead organizer of the event, feels strongly about the impact advancements in crowdfunding can have for institutions.

"Savvy investors and avant-garde Wall Street institutions are beginning to see that crowdfunding is building a tidal wave of demand for advisory, next-level capital, and professional resources across borders," said Schlegel. "The firms that dominate will be the ones that build the right alliances, adding value to the victors of successful crowdfunding campaigns with needed services at affordable rates."

Panelists Include:

Georgia P. Quinn, a securities attorney specializing in crowdfunding at Ellenoff, Grossman & Schole, and CEO of iDisclose, a web-based legal disclosure platform focused on the disclosure needs of small business and startup entrepreneurs accessing capital via crowdfunding.

D.J. Paul, the founder of DJP&Co., a financial services consulting firm specializing in investment crowdfunding regulation, implementation and business development. D.J. is nationally recognized for his expertise in investment crowdfunding, small enterprise capital formation and regulatory issues.

Chris Tyrrell, CEO of OfferBoard, has more than 15 years of experience in entrepreneurship, financial law, technology and capital markets, having managed and founded two private technology companies and been involved in over $20 billion of financing transactions.

Joy Schoffler, founder and principal of Leverage PR, is a nationally recognized author and speaker in the field of innovative financial services marketing and communications. She is an active member within the crowdfunding industry and was formerly a private equity firm director.

Date: Monday September 14, 2015 

Time: 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm 

Where: The Graduate Center / CUNY at 365 Fifth Avenue at The Elebash Recital Hall – On the main floor of the building and on the left as you enter into the main lobby.