Early Investing Podcast

Dreams.Build is a crowdfunding platform with a mission to help entrepreneurs see their dreams come true. They are starting out with rewards-based projects with plans to quickly evolve more into equity crowdfunding. The difference, we hear, is in the community that they are creating among founders and funders alike.

TEDCO is one of the most successful examples of how governments can participate in the business of startup companies. In this episode we talk about what TEDCO is, what they do, and the plans for the future of startups in Maryland.

You have certainly heard of Indiegogo and perhaps you are one of the 9 million backers that have helped fund the 700,000 projects that have been on the platform so far. Now you can go beyond rewards and into equity investing via Indiegogo. This is a big deal and you will want to know more!

It would be hard to find someone with more experience in crowdfunding than Dr. Richard Swart. He has been in the realm for 20 years and agrees that we are STILL just getting started. We discuss the state of the early stage investing world six months after the implementation of Title III. The future is bright -- bring shades.

Red Crow is an equity crowdfunding platform that is focusing on "quality over quantity" in the words of its founders Brian Smith and Jerry Harrison. Wait, Jerry Harrison? The guy from Talking Heads? Yes, that's the one. You always knew they were a smart band, but did you know Jerry is a Harvard graduate? Did you know he was a founder of GarageBand.com? Did you know that he has been to the best restaurants in York, Pennsylvania many times? Are you wondering what is going on with this new venture? Then listen to this episode.

There is no doubt that legal cannabis is going to be a big business, but how can early investors get into it without getting burned? On this episode, we learn a lot about the business from one of the very first research analysts to specialize in this fast-growing field: Vin Maru from investinmj.com. Here we learn that we no longer look south to Mexico, but north to Canada to find the leadership in this industry.

This episode features Kendrick (Ken) Nguyen, a founder of Republic.co and a former legal expert at AngelList. Republic is new to the equity crowdfunding arena, but it has a very established pedigree. This venture is part of the AngelList family and has tremendous potential to popularize equity crowdfunding. Don't miss this one!

This episode features updates from two guests who have appeared on the podcast previously. First, Steven Dresner from DealFlow tells us about the Crowdfunding Conference the company is producing in New York October 6-7, 2016. Then we check in with Ron Miller of StartEngine to see how the early stages of crowdfunding for non-accredited investors are going thus far.

Already four states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for adult recreational use, and there are over 20 states with medical cannabis. This is a huge trend and a big opportunity, but how do you take advantage? In this episode, we speak with the founder of the leading trade publication for “cannabusiness” and take a look at the business opportunities that are emerging in this rapidly growing industry.

As one of the more active angel investors you will ever meet, Joanne Wilson – aka “The Gotham Gal” – has invested in more than 90 early-stage companies – and you can see what most of them are right on her website. We discuss her investing thesis, current and future trends (including cannabis as an investing opportunity), and the future of agriculture. And we were just getting started. Enjoy!

Asheem Aggarwal is a veteran tech entrepreneur. After taking a break for a few years, he is back in the game with Pairable, a very interesting, very early-stage company that wants to bridge the gap between your physical world and your digital and mobile world. Pairable is not just a product but a platform for developers to build their own applications to provide a more seamless connection between the physical and the virtual. 

In this episode we travel to the Pacific Northwest to speak with Josh Maher, a leader in the Seattle angel investing community and author of Startup Wealth: How the Best Angel Investors Make Money in Startups. He also has a new book, How to Make Money Investing in Pre-IPO Stocks: An Investors’ Guide to Building Wealth in Private Companies. We discuss the Seattle startup investing scene and explore the emerging opportunity of investing in legal marijuana businesses.

Every industry needs an association to further its agenda, and crowdfunding is no exception. On this episode we get to hear from the front lines about current and pending crowdfunding regulations and situations that can affect you and your investments.

Ross is the founder and CEO of Angel Kings, a Washington, D.C.-based seed round investment firm, and the author of Kings Over Aces, a book in which he shares his experiences and expertise on angel investing. We had a wide-ranging and lively conversation, and you will enjoy his perspective.

Mike Belsito is an entrepreneur and author based in Cleveland, Ohio. In this episode, we discuss his startup adventure, what he learned and why he decided to write a book to help others raise money for their businesses. Mike is also in the interesting role of "Entrepreneur in Residence" for the town of Lakewood, Ohio.We talk about what that means and why more cities should have this kind of program.

TruCrowd is a crowdfunding platform that has embraced Title III crowdfunding for all. Investors can get in on deals with investments as low as $100. They also announce a brand new project in this episode, Fundanna...which will specialize in fundraising for companies in the CannaBusiness.

When you already have a highly successful film and video production company and international digital marketing firm, what do you do next? In the case of R/GA, it launched R/GA Ventures to help fund new companies. Based in New York City, R/GA Ventures has nurtured dozens of new companies already, including through an accelerator program that focused on connected devices and the Internet of Things. Dylan Boyd, the director of R/GA Ventures, joins us to discuss how they operate and what they see for the future of the Internet of Things.

Oscar Jofre is a passionate believer in and promoter of equity crowdfunding. His website KoreConX.com is a free all-in-one solution that helps companies navigate the process of raising equity capital. It also helps simplify shareholder communications to reduce risk. In addition, KoreConX offers a number of features that are helpful to investors in startup companies. Most are free, and there are some premium services offered as well. KoreConX also provides a free e-book, Equity Crowdfunding 101, that you can download from the site.  

There are a lot of investing platforms out there, but CircleUp has carved out a very lucrative space by choosing to focus on consumer goods and retail ventures.The company is growing rapidly and so far has helped more than 120 companies to raise capital.I talk to Jay Moon, CircleUp’s Director of Marketing, about how rigorously they evaluate companies before allowing them onto the CircleUp platform and the results they have seen so far. In addition, we touch on the potential impact of the JOBS Act Title III rules that were recently approved by the SEC. Jay also tells us about an innovative new service CircleUp is offering, which addresses the biggest pain point we see at Early Investing.

Electricity changed the world. Ever since Edison and now Tesla - there have been innovations in the generation of electrical power. Fred Ball and his team at Independent Energy have a big idea. An idea that has the potential to revolutionize electrical power generation and distribution.  Everyone wants to know about innovations early, right? Well, this idea is at a very early stage and we think you will enjoy hearing about the concept and the 10-year plan to change the way we light up our world.