Raising Capital with Crowdfunding and ICOs– A Review of the State of the Art

Craig Huey is publisher of the industry newsletter Direct Marketing Update, and president of Creative Direct Marketing Group, Inc., a full-service direct-response advertising agency.

He is the author of several books including his latest called 16 Secrets to Raising Capital from Crowdfunding Under the Jobs Act.

Craig has the distinction of being recognized as one of the nation’s top direct response marketing experts.

His insightful and on-target strategies have generated more investment leads and sales than anyone else in the industry … including helping companies raise over $1 billion in assets.

Over the years CDMG’s marketing programs have garnered 86 major industry awards.

Caleb Huey is Vice President of Creative Strategy. For over 10 years he has been on TV, spoken at conferences and helped provide investment marketers with new ways to expand and grow.

Craig and Caleb have made millionaires out of entrepreneurs and helped grow million-dollar organizations to even higher levels of success.

Michael Mildenberger has over 20 years of executive & visionary leadership and entrepreneurial success in technology & investment banking.

Since 2013, Michael is the Co-Founder and CEO of finfora Inc. a fintech solutions company, providing Technology and Services in the capital formation sector, including, but not limited to securities offerings, including Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) conducted via SEC approved exemptions such as 506(b), 506(c), Reg. CF , Reg A+. His experience contributed directly to finfora rapidly establishing relationships with prospective partners, service providers, and clients.

Before founding finfora, Mr. Mildenberger was the Managing Partner of Corporate Finance Partners USA (now ACXIT Capital Partners), a leading European based Merger & Acquisitions Advisory Firm. In the 9 years he worked with the firm, he established offices in Miami, San Francisco and New York and executed more than 25 M&A transactions worth more than $2B in total transaction value. Among his clients were companies such as American Greetings, Telefonica, NBC, Samsung, Verisign, eBay, Sequoia, Axel Springer and Jamba.

Prior to this, Michael was a co-founder and CEO of two technology companies in the field of e-commerce and mobile commerce & entertainment.

Before spending six years building his own companies, Michael functioned as an independent consultant to Daimler-Benz Interservices, which handled asset management for the automobile manufacturer.

Michael holds a degree in Political Economics with special field in Latin America from the Eberhard Karls University in Tuebingen/ Germany as well as a Degree in Business Administration.

Ziad K. Abdelnour is a Wall Street Financier, Author, Philanthropist, Activist, Lobbyist, Oil & Gas Trader & President & CEO of Blackhawk Partners, Inc., a New York based private equity “family office” that focuses on originating, structuring, advising and acting as equity investor in management-led buyouts, strategic minority equity investments, equity private placements, consolidations, buildups, and growth capital financing in companies and projects based both in the US and emerging markets and the trading of key physical commodities.

Mr. Abdelnour is also Founder & Chairman of the Board of the Financial Policy Council ; a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization designed to give its select group of supporters the opportunity to have direct face-to-face dialogue with the nation’s quintessential powerbrokers and policymakers.

Since 1985, Mr. Abdelnour has been involved in over 125 transactions worth in aggregate over $10 billion in the investment banking, high yield bond and distressed debt markets and has been widely recognized for playing an integral role in those three key market sectors.

Mr. Abdelnour is an astute market player who also serves on the Advisory board of DPG Investments, a recognized premier multi strategy global merchant banking, alternative investment, management and advisory firm.

On a more personal level, Mr. Abdelnour, former President of the Arab Bankers Association of North America, is the author of “Economic Warfare: Secrets of Wealth Creation in the Age of Welfare Politics” ; a best seller manuscript written for investors that need to navigate the troubled geopolitical waters of the post-crisis world and a prolific writer for 100+ entrepreneurial and financial publications advising and educating investors in private equity, hedge funds, crowdfunding, Sovereign Wealth Funds, fund-of-funds, angel networks, venture capital and family offices.

Mr. Abdelnour is also a regular speaker on Private Equity, Physical Commodities trading and Middle East geo-political analysis at industry conferences & TV outlets nationwide including but not limited to Fox News, Newsmax, etc…and a key “influencer” in his own right having a hard core constituency of over 2 million viewers having read his blog postings and analyses since January 2014.

Mr. Abdelnour holds an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Economics, Summa Cum Laude, from the American University of Beirut.

He was recently listed as one of the 500 Most Influential CEOs in the World.