Cricca Concierge

In the world of publicly traded stock, there are companies that are known as “transfer agents”. Their purpose is to facilitate transfer of stock ownership from one shareholder to another. It is really record-keeping process, and every non-bank transfer agent must be registered with the SEC. These registration requirements are meant to keep out fly-by-night operations which may disappear with important records of who owns a company.

Investor relations firms also occupy the post-investment space. Rather than acting merely as a conduit for the transfer of securities, investor relations firm focus on communicating with investors. The communication can be something as simple as sending a proxy forms, or something as complex is putting together annual reports are other items for investors.

Crowdfunding is different. With respect to our clients, we’re talking about consumer-facing businesses, which have thousands of customers. These are the companies that successfully raise money using crowdfunding. As a result of those efforts, they all of a sudden have hundreds of shareholders. The fact is that these relatively small companies now have an extra operational hurdle. Plus they still need to activate these new owners as part of their marketing strategy. Even more than during the funding campaign itself, the period post-crowdfunding creates both traps and opportunity. These crowdfunded companies can’t be relegated to choose between a company that merely acts as a transfer agent or produces annual reports.

That is why we introduced Cricca Concierge. We enhance the power of your crowd – the owners of your business – and turn them into something much more than just owners. We turn them into high-frequency, high spending, and evangelical customers. These are the type of people that you want to communicate with often, ensure that they are receiving answers to all the questions, and are encouraged to use their social networks to promote the business. These are also the same people that you want to plan special events around and provide perks that are a natural part of the business. Cricca Concierge provides exactly that service.

We also help navigate secondary markets, transfers of shares, and other things that a traditional transfer agent would do. We also work with you to produce annual reports for your new owners. We do this all through one of the funding portal partners or through a branded website that is only accessible to your owners. We also have live support, both online chat, email and live person via Skype or telephone. Depending on the type of business you have, this type of concierge service is necessary for you to get the true “bang for your buck” that crowdfunding promises.

Our services are primarily directed toward the companies after we’ve helped them raise money, but we also accept a select number of companies that have been crowdfunded without our help. Do not hesitate to contact us regarding your specific needs. Our services are both powerful and flexible.

Jonathan Frutkin is CEO of Cricca Funding, LLC. He’s written a new book called “Equity Crowdfunding: Transforming Customers into Loyal Owners” which was published in May, 2013.

October 2, 2013 0

Why Equity Crowdfunding is NOT a Terrible Idea

Jeff Wald wrote a piece that was published in Entrepreneur earlier today. The article is called “Why Equity Crowdfunding is a Terrible Idea“. He argues that the process for raising capital is “time tested” and the current methods assist startup companies that help build our society. He also suggests that there is a great deal of value contributed to these startups by venture capitalists, and by implication, argues that the “crowd” is unable to add the same type of value. Jeff is no stranger to the crowdsourcing market. He runs workmarket.com, a web-based platform for managing labor resources including consultants and freelancers. And while you can argue that the crowd is actually able to contribute a much greater amount of value to a startup then a venture capitalist, Jeff has a point. The current structure produces relative stability in the unstable world of startups.

But here is where Jeff (and many are wrong). Crowdfunding isn’t about raising money for startups at all. Let’s face it, if the average venture fund makes ten investments, they would be thrilled to death with one great success and two small winners. An amateur investor doesn’t want that sort of thrill ride; they want predictable returns and the feeling of “investment” that only comes from being an owner. And that’s why crowdfunding is such a huge opportunity for profitable, local companies that benefit from the unique marketing (and corresponding revenue boost) that comes with the crowd.

And it is also the same reason why crowdfunding is a huge opportunity for investors. Instead of being locked into owning the tiniest fraction of a huge multinational conglomerate, the investor gets to become part owners in a local business, and maybe even make an actual impact on the bottom line. They get to brag to their friends and family that they are owners of local businesses that are part of the fabric of their community. And best of all, they get dividend checks that can exceed the paltry returns afforded by some types of alternative investments.

So Jeff gets it half right. Crowdfunding is a lousy tool for startups. But for businesses looking to transform their customers into loyal owners? It doesn’t get any better.

Jonathan Frutkin is CEO of Cricca Funding, LLC. He’s written a new book called “Equity Crowdfunding: Transforming Customers into Loyal Owners” which was published in May, 2013.

September 26, 2013 3

What Exactly Does Cricca Do?

Today we released an “explainer” video to describe exactly what we do. It turns out that merely telling people that we are “crowdfunding consultants” wasn’t quite working. I get it. The problem is that no one really knows what you mean when using the word “crowdfunding”. Let’s face it – the concept is novel and it covers a lot of ground. It can refer to raising money for a good cause (like the victims of a disaster or a terrorist attack) or getting money to launch an art, music or film project (like the high-profile Veronica movie and the production of literally thousands of music albums). It can also refer to rewards based crowdfunding, where the contributor is essentially “pre-ordering” something in exchange for putting up money. And it also refers to debt or equity crowdfunding, an emerging area where crowdfunding participants are looking to receive a financial return on their investment.

OK – we are in the equity crowdfunding space. Meaning, we work with companies that are bringing in small investors with the hope of financial return. So that makes some sense to people, but requires a long explanation.

If the word “crowdfunding” is essentially meaningless, then the word “consultant” takes the cake. A consultant is literally anyone with advice on how to do something. The obvious follow-on question to the statement that we are consultants is – so what do you do exactly?

Fair enough. And for those of you who are interested in learning all about what we do in less than two minutes while watching a cartoon – we made it happen. Check out our new explainer video and see if it helps.

And let us know if you’re company may be interested in participating in one of the country’s first equity crowdfunding campaign. Although we are incredibly selective about who we choose to work with, we are always looking for the few great candidates that can leverage the greatest marketing opportunity ever – transforming customers into loyal owners.