Presented by the Center for Entrepreneurial and Technological Innovation

 

Crowd Sourced Funding: Kickstarter Undressed
Natalie Brown & Philippe Herndon

Wednesday, July 18, 6:00 p.m.

300 Senate Street, one block off of gervais at the Congaree River.

 

Ever heard of crowd funding?  If not, you will.  Join CETi as we delve into the new trend of crowdsourced funding for startups.  How does it work?  Who's raising money?  What can you fund?  What are the feds doing to support it?  

We’re bringing together some Columbia entrepreneurs that have “kicked” their ventures into high gear through Kickstarter, a crowdsourced funding platform for creative ventures.  Learn the good, the bad, and the ugly of using Kickstarter and find out if your venture has what it takes to take the Kickstarter challenge. The event will feature Natalie Brown and Philippe Herndon for a no holds barred war room strategy session on Kickstarter success.

Natalie and her troupe Delirium Tribal teamed up with fire performers and hulahoopers based in the Columbia area to form Alternacirque in 2007. Natalie is a dancer, dynamic entrepreneur and a Katrina transplant with a vision for launching an “alternative” entertainment experience for the world to enjoy. Alternacirque strives for a high-quality, cohesive collaboration of alternative art forms and hopes to contribute to the cooperation of the arts community in Columbia, SC. Alternacirque is now in its fourth full season, with a cast of dancers, fire performers, hoopers, actors, poets, stilt walkers and guest artists from across the country.

Philippe is the successful founder of Caroline Guitar Company. He is a former touring musician and graduate of the IMBA program at the Darla Moore School of Business. He and his team at Caroline Guitar Company hand-craft guitar effects pedals. A member of the USC Columbia Technology Incubator, Caroline is proud to say their products are dreamed, designed, and created here in Columbia, South Carolina. Carolineʼs first product, the Wave Cannon™ overdrive, received the Platinum Award for Excellence and was named to the “Buzz Bin” by Guitar World magazine.

 

 

Special Guest: John Barnes, WHM Capital Advisors

John Barnes is the Chief Operating Officer for WHM Capital Advisors. John is a Certified Financial Planner™ and oversees implementation of clients’ financial strategies. He also has duties in portfolio management, operations and regulatory compliance.  John will provide thoughts on crowdfunding, recommendations for companies seeking to crowdsource startup funds, and an analysis of the JOBS Act and its implications on startup funding.   

 

 

Join us as we breakdown Kickstarter and learn from those with first-hand experience. We'll uncover the good, the bad and the ugly, and see if you have what it takes to fund your startup to success using Kickstarter.

 

Why Come? What's in it for me?

Free, but limited seating

Light hors d'oeuvres

Cash bar

Networking with some of Columbia's coolest startups

Insight, wisdom and some great stories

 
About the Series:  
The Start! Innovation Series is a new series that invites aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators to connect, learn, and grow their ventures.  The Start! Series hosts seasoned entrepreneurs with lessons from the trenches, highlights startups on the move in the Midlands, and brings in relevant topics trending in the startup scene.  The goal is to bring unfiltered startup discussion to the Midlands.  We talk tech, talent, innovation, entrepreneurship and our formula is simple: Great Content.  Great Speakers.  Great Connections.  

CETi is The Center for Entrepreneurial and Technological Innovation.  It is powered by USC Innovista and located at the USC/Columbia Technology Incbuator.