Tag: Oscar Jofre

Oscar Jofre to Speak at LSI 2023 Emerging Medtech Summit

Posted on by Oscar Jofre

The LSI 2023 Emerging Medtech Summit is an upcoming four-day conference that will provide attendees a detailed look into the current Medtech industry. From March 20th to 23rd, in Dana Point, CA, attendees can join experienced professionals and investors as they discuss topics such as data dilemmas, how to monetize the digital revolution, and raising capital for your Medtech company. Oscar Jofre, CEO of KoreConX will also be present throughout the event offering his expertise for companies looking to raise capital through JOBS Act regulations. With sessions moderated by highly esteemed individuals in their respective fields and panel discussions led by experts, this promises to be a worthwhile experience for all who attend.

 

Throughout the event, panels include “Precisely Practicing Medicine with a Trillion Points of Data,” “Powering Up Innovation in a Digital, Connected World,” and “What are Medtech’s Leading Investors Looking for Right Now?” The event will include a wealth of opportunities for networking through breakfast, dinner, cocktails, and more. On the third day of the conference, Oscar Jofre will participate in a panel discussion, with a title yet to be announced.

 

The Summit will be an informative event to learn about the various regulations, trends, and challenges in the Medtech space.

Oscar Jofre Shares Thoughts of Banking Reform with StratCann

Posted on by Oscar Jofre

Oscar Jofre, the President and CEO of KoreConX, has long been a proponent of expanding access to capital for cannabis companies in the US and Canada. He recently spoke to StratCann about the current state of banking for these types of companies in both countries. Despite conversations within the US proposing changes to how banks handle working with cannabis companies, Oscar says: “Even with the SAFE Act, the bigger banks aren’t going to put it under their risk profile. They’re going to do the same thing our banks are doing in Canada. They’re not looking at it from the legal point of view anymore. They’re looking at it from the optics point of view. They’re big banks and don’t want to be seen doing business with cannabis.”

His thoughts are that smaller US banks could be a likely partners to both US and Canada-based cannabis companies. Still, a widespread banking reform within the US is unlikely to relieve much of the challenges Canadian cannabis companies currently face. Read the rest of the article at StratCann to see what Oscar and other thought leaders predict if the SAFE Act were to pass.

Oscar Jofre Speaks at Franchising Event in Denver, CO

Posted on by Oscar Jofre

We are always looking for ways to help our clients and the franchise community grow and succeed. That’s why we’re excited that our CEO, Oscar Jofre, got a chance to speak at the “Living in the Roaring 20s: Looking Ahead to a Wild Decade in Franchising” event in Denver, Colorado this week. The event featured dynamic panels of industry leaders. It was a great opportunity to take advantage of a hands-on learning experience, designed to help franchise businesses reach new heights and share key lessons learned from a global pandemic, tools and strategies for risk mitigation, and explore critical trends and new opportunities on the horizon.

 

Oscar was there to share his valuable expertise regarding raising capital. He joined two panels to discuss how crowdfunding can be used by franchisees and franchisors and how NFTs and cryptocurrencies are permanently altering the franchise landscape.

 

In addition to Oscar’s presentation, the event also featured panels on franchise strategy, industry outlook, sustainability, post-COVID best practices, navigating mergers and acquisitions, and much more of interest to anyone in the franchise industry, from those just starting to explore franchising to established professionals looking for ways to take their businesses to the next level. 

 

KoreConX is proud to have been a sponsor of this event, and we hope to see you at the next one!

A Distributed Workforce And How To Trust Your Employees

Posted on by Oscar Jofre

At the Virtual Communication Mastery event on May 26th, 2022, Oscar Jofre, KoreConX President, CEO, and co-founder, was invited to participate in a talk on the importance of building a team from a distributed workforce and how to trust your employees. He spoke about the company culture at KoreConX, which is based on trust and empowering employees to make decisions and how it benefits operations, and how we are seeing more companies embrace the remote model of working.

 

During the interview, the Virtual Communication Mastery hosts spoke to Jofre about how the crowdfunding concept in the US changed how fundraising works and who stakeholders are. “Venture capital is not the only way, there is nothing wrong with not being a venture, and because of COVID, online crowdfunding investment in the US has grown and has become more popular than ever,” said Jofre. He reiterated how there is lots of money sitting available, over $30 trillion, waiting to be invested, but it was difficult for people to support companies they believed in. Now with the JOBS Act regulations, KoreConX does everything compliantly to empower the private capital market so everyone can invest in innovative private companies.

 

This idea of inclusion does not only apply to its investors but also to the company’s employees. KoreConX is seeing companies embracing the distributed model “because it is about productivity.” You want your company to have the best product possible, and by getting the best people to believe in and execute that vision, it does not matter if they are in the same room as you. 

 

In fact, nearly 61% of Americans choose not to go into the workplace, a stark change from earlier in the pandemic.  “In 5-10 years,” says Jofre, “offices will not be the major hub for where people work.” He continued, saying that “with distributed working, we will see more small communities becoming hubs of people working remotely, and we are seeing more traveling because of remote working. Remote work is a very different environment where you do not lose things when you leave.” This allows a company and its employees to stay connected no matter where they are constantly. 

 

A significant concept Oscar believes in is providing to all employees is trust. He believes that “for a distributed team to work productively, there must be trust” between the employer and the employee. The employer trusts that the job will get done, and the employees trust that they can do their job without being micromanaged. By trusting your employees to make business decisions, you empower them to be as invested in the company as you are and improve productivity.

 

KoreConX CEO Oscar Jofre was Recently Interviewed on DNA Podcast

Posted on by Oscar Jofre

Recently, KoreConX President and CEO Oscar Jofre had the pleasure of joining Jason Fishman on the Digital Niche Agency podcast. Jason and DNA are valued KorePartners and their podcast Test. Optimize. Scale. feature actionable insight for industry leaders on how to grow and optimize brands. 

 

In this episode, Jason and Oscar discuss how he was able to test, optimize, and scale KoreConX. In addition, they discuss the growing potential of Regulation Crowdfunding (RegCF) and the impact it will have on the private capital markets. 

 

The full episode can be listened to on Spotify or YouTube. 

KoreConX CEO Oscar Jofre’s Interview on Recent EINBLICK Podcast

Posted on by Oscar Jofre

Recently, KoreConX President, CEO, and Co-Founder Oscar Jofre had the pleasure of joining Christian Klepp, Co-Founder of EINBLICK Consulting, on their podcast B2B Marketers on a Mission. 

 

With Christian, Oscar discusses empowering and transforming the private capital markets through pivotal regulations enabling them to better raise capital. Along with these changes, companies need the education and tools to manage their data and shareholders. No longer are private companies limited to a VC or fund to raise capital, they have the power to leverage their customers and shareholders to raise needed capital. However, they need to keep learning to understand their options and responsibilities. 

 

You can listen to the full interview with Oscar Jofre here.

 

KoreSummit RegA+ 2020

Posted on by Oscar Jofre

KoreSummit is all about education,  We are pleased to be able to offer you the opportunity to receive first-hand knowledge from leading thought leaders to help you in your journey to capital raising.

The KoreSummit RegA+ 2020 online event was a huge success because of you who attended and shared it with your friends.  As promised here are the video segments.

Complete Live Stream

 

RegA+ Verticals

 

Legal RegA+ Global Companies

 

Investor Acquisition/Distribution

 

PR/IR/Social Media/Press

 

Research, Ratings

 

Role of FINRA Broker-Dealer

 

RegA+ Success, the CEO’s

 

The Main Event

 

Digital Securities for RegA+

 

Compliance for RegA+

 

Shareholder Management & Communications

Forbes interview with KoreConX founders

Posted on by Oscar Jofre

Start-Up KoreConX Launches A New Blockchain Network To Connect The Private Capital Market

Robert AnzaloneContributor 

Crypto & Blockchain

Do you know how to invest in the private capital market?  Not many people do.  It is complicated, requires a lot of paperwork, has low transaction volume, comes with risk and volatility, and not very liquid.

Could distributed ledger technology (DLT) be used to reduce back-office fees and expand the market for this asset class?

I interviewed Oscar Jofre, CEO and co-founder of KoreConX, who believes his platform and infrastructure can help.

KoreConX is a company working to change how businesses raise capital.  Mr. Jofre is an advocate for using DLT to bring transparency to a fractured process.  Mr. Jofre mentioned, “There are over 90,000 companies in our platform from around the globe who have raised more than $6.6 billion. Companies who use the KoreConX platform raised capital working with broker-dealers or direct offerings on their own. We are purely providing the technology to make sure they are fully compliant and to manage the entire process.”

What is the private capital market?  What are the problems?

The private capital market represents companies not publicly traded on stock exchanges. Private funds, venture capital investors, and some mutual funds are typically the main buyers.  Investments can be in new start-up enterprises, mature business, or sometimes struggling firms. This type of asset is considered to be highly risky.

One critical problem, the team at KoreConX explained, was the lack of market access for small firms. Dr. Kiran Garimella, KoreConX’s CSO and CTO, said, “The majority of participants in private capital markets are smaller entities who are closely connected with local companies and investors. They cannot afford huge expenses for integrated systems.”  KoreConX specializes in connecting all sizes of firms rather than limiting their scope to more mature enterprises.  Interestingly CEO Oscar Jofre’s background is crowdfunding, which is a driving influence in his business.

Jason Futko, CFO and co-founder, said, “It is often difficult for companies in the private capital markets to identify investors to present their opportunity. The fragmentation in this market can make it difficult to find investors or other professionals to help you grow your business.”

On June 26th, 2019, Broadridge bought from Northern Trust a similar blockchain platform.  There is competition in this space from many players. Mr. Jofre said, “There are companies like Carta, Capshares, ComputerShare, AST, and Link Group that offer some of the features KoreConX provides in our all-in-one platform. We have a much different view of the market. To truly transform it, we need to make sure all participants have all the tools they need. If they don’t, then we will never see any great change in the private capital markets.”

KoreConX launched on October 11th, 2019, their new blockchain ecosystem for fully compliant digital securities worldwide.  Their mission is to ensure compliance with securities regulation and corporate law.  The KoreConX platform includes securitized token issuance, trading, clearing, settlement, management, reporting, and corporate actions.

As explained to me by the management team, the lack of data integrity and regional knowledge of jurisdictional compliance can restrict investment opportunities offered to the public.  Mr. Futko continued, “Obviously part of the solution under KoreConX has to be around connecting document fragmentation, providing access to professionals and creating trust through our blockchain, which ensures both business and regulatory logic.”

Why can blockchain technology help now?

The KoreConX team stated that the private capital markets serve over 450 million private companies worldwide today.  They have a lack of document transparency and high fees. Compare this to public capital markets, which have established listing standards and rules.  Furthermore, open markets are used every day and can handle many transactions.  Dr. Garimella said, “Blockchain offers technology that provides solid mechanisms for trust through immutability and consensus among parties.”

I asked Mr. Jofre to explain why his work was different from larger companies, like Broadridge? He responded, “KoreConX is entering a market with many providers who have a single feature or application. For private capital markets to be as efficient, as public listed markets, it needs an infrastructure layer and an application layer.  KoreConX brings both.  We do not exclude anyone because of size or geography.”

Wefunder Interviews Oscar Jofre co-founder KoreConX

Posted on by Oscar Jofre

WeFunder the #1 Equity Crowdfunding platform in the USA interviews Oscar Jofre co-founder of KoreConX.

(1) What is a Transfer Agent? 

This a great question. As each entrepreneur enters the world of raising capital, new responsibilities are brought on.  In many instances, the company will need to engage with a registered transfer agent to manage the corporate records of the company.   This can seem like a disconnect since as entrepreneurs know their business best. However, in order to bring confidence to investors, you appoint a third party Transfer Agent, to ensure your book of records are up to date and accurate. 

So what is a Transfer Agent?  

A stock transfer agent or share registry is a third party company, which records all entries and manages all transactions of the company’s equities.  We are holding the book of records for the company and to make sure all trades, transfers and corporate actions are undertaken properly.

(2) What are the requirements for companies that run Regulation Crowdfunding campaigns, with respect to Transfer Agents. 

Once you decide to do a Regulation Crowdfunding (RegCF) or RegA+ you will need to undertake a number of regulatory activities before you can get started first, you will need to apply and receive regulatory approval from the SEC.  Wefunder provides you all the guidance you need to make sure it’s done correctly and timely.

As you prepare for your offering, you need to start planning for how you will manage and report to all your new shareholders post your capital raise.  This can seem overwhelming but we are here to provide you the platform that will help you with all that.

Since you need to appoint a transfer agent, here is what really sets us apart from a traditional transfer agent. We not only provide you the services as mandated, but we also provide a whole platform where you can manage your shareholders, communicate with them, report to them, send them updates, hold your annual shareholders meeting including an included evoting feature and has a free portfolio management feature for your equity and debt holders to always see their investment information and updates. So you can pick a traditional transfer agent that will operate in a silo with none of the above features, or you can select KoreConX that not only meets your regulatory obligations, but also provides you access to an all-in-one platform to help you manage your business. 

(3) What are the other services provided by KoreConX? 

When we launched KoreConX to serve the JobsAct. It was designed by founders to help founders of a business and to bring everyone together, thus giving companies more control while spending less time doing redundant paperwork.

KoreConX provides the world’s first all-in-one platform providing companies: cap table management, document management, boardroom tools, investor relations, AGM planner, eVoting for shareholders, dealroom, reporting, valuations, and for their shareholders’ a free portfolio management to manage the investments in the company.  

The KoreConX all-in-one platform is for by entrepreneurs, CEO, President, CFO, COO, CCO, board of directors, corporate secretary, investor relations, legal counsel, auditors, and shareholders. 

One platform to serve the entire company.

(4) What are some of the biggest mistakes you have seen companies make with respect to Transfer Agents?

Having spent over 20 years in the public listed company world, it was not a surprise for us to see some of the issues private companies are facing.  For private companies today adding the role of Transfer Agent can be very difficult. 

The biggest mistake we see is not disclosing the full captable of the company.  This is often because of the way securities have been issued to other shareholders, founders, etc.   As the Transfer Agents, the only way to provide proper records is to have all the securities that the company has issued: shares, options, warrants, debentures, SAFE, Digital Assets, Loans, Promissory Notes, etc.

The second biggest mistake we see is that there is no documentation for the securities that have been issued prior to the RegCF offering.  

(5) What advice would you have for founders using Transfer Agents?

Like any relationship your company needs to have in the growth of your company, a Transfer Agent is very important.

Find a Transfer Agent firm that not only serves your needs but the needs of your shareholders, and provides you a way to be connected to them in a very effective and efficient manner so you don’t have to keep duplicating your efforts.

A Transfer Agent of the 21st Century needs to grow with you and understand the private company, and how you are going to use regulations to raise your capital.

(6) Why is KoreConx better than Carta? 

The major difference with KoreConX and companies like Carta, we design and built KoreConX from the ground up from the founders and the company’s perspective. Most people in the finance industry build products from a transactional and/or a dealermaker perspective.   

KoreConX emerged from the creation of the JobsAct and we knew the demands for Transfer Agents would be very difficult to undertake, given the size of the new shareholder bases and that capital raises would be too small to support the added cost of compliance. 

We created a platform to help a company who is just getting started through to full maturity.

The KoreConX all-in-one platform is there to help companies of all sizes and providing a journey for an entrepreneur to grow on the platform.

(7) How much does KoreConX cost?

Understanding the Regulation Crowdfunding (RegCF) and RegA+ we knew that pricing for this service would need to be aligned with the company. The service of transfer agent should not be based on the metrics of the past but rather what the companies of today need to operate and meet their regulatory obligations

Our pricing model is there to help companies not punish them.

For RegCF we have a 3 tier pricing model, and this is not based on how many shareholders they will have but rather how much capital they raised:

  • $0-$250k $25.00/month
  • $250-$500k $50.00/month
  • $500k- $1M $75.00/month

All our programs include all the same features:

  • Dedicated Agent
  • No onboarding fees
  • Unlimited transactions
  • Investor Relations
    • Ability to send reports to shareholders
    • Ability to send news releases to shareholders
    • Manage your Annual Shareholders Meeting
    • Give your shareholders the opportunity to vote online for company Annual Shareholders Meeting
  • Free Training for you and your shareholders

Global Crypto Twins one on one with Oscar Jofre co-founder of KoreConX

Posted on by Oscar Jofre

The Crypto Twins are well-recognized faces in the blockchain space and have been advocates and the voice for those who are supporting the global ecosystem of digital securities formation.

This was a great interview by the Crypto Twins to gain insight from a global leading authority on where the market is moving towards.  What is the private capital markets, this is one interview if you are looking for insight you want to make sure you watch.

Midas Letter James West interviews CEO of KoreConX

Posted on by Oscar Jofre

The Midas Letter show is hosted by personality James West, who gets right into things with his guests. He is an advocate of the capital markets. This interview was a great insight for James and his viewers to learn about the great opportunity in the private capital markets that is emerging.

Facebook’s Libra Reboots the Crypto World

Posted on by Oscar Jofre

Facebook Libra Project set’s to rebook the crypto world.

Since the announcement by Facebook of their Libra Project, everyone in the world came out with their take on what Facebook was up to. Thousands of articles and interviews with everyone jumping in. 

It’s safe to say that what Facebook has done, no other company has been able to do on a global scale and receive such global exposure. Today, the only places where crypto is discussed is Medium, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the crypto rags. But now, we are talking about major global media exposure like CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, BBC, etc.

Facebook today has 2.4 Billion (Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp) users that is 31% of the world’s population.

In one announcement, Facebook woke up every central bank, bank regulator, government, and various officials in the world. Now they can’t pretend they don’t know what crypto is and how it would impact them, a huge achievement by one of the most mistrusted companies in the world.  In one announcement, Facebook created fear most never thought possible in crypto sector. Facebook can overnight be the world’s largest central bank. Think about it.

The World’s Largest Central Bank!

The current turf wars that President Donald Trump is having with China, Canada, Russia, Mexico, France, and Denmark, just to name a few, would be put to a complete halt by one company, Facebook.  That is power!

The crypto sector’s hardcore evangelists see this as validation and are rooting for the rise in the price of bitcoin and other cryptos that nobody on earth knows what they are and have no value in the real world today.

Facebook Libra would bring it to real-world and make it usable instantly to 2.4 billion users globally. No other bank or country can pull off such a stunt.

Are you awake now!

What is the impact of LIBRA by Facebook.

Some are excited its validation. Some see it as a competitor.

Here is what’s going to happen whether Facebook launches LIBRA or not. 

Facebook can and will kill over 98-99% of the crypto companies around the world that have coins which are trading but have no real value.

This will be done in two ways:

  1. Facebook decides to abandon the LIBRA project for lack of regulatory support. This will create global uncertainty that start-up projects will face the same demise as Facebook.  Investors will be asking themselves if Facebook can’t pull it off, how is this new start-up going to accomplish it?
  2. Facebook is denied by regulators to proceed. This is the worst one of all.  Today, countries like Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, and more are shutting down companies in light of what Facebook has launched.  Facebook is a threat to central banks, governments, regional banks, and many others who will not allow them to proceed, forcing even those who are supportive of crypto to side with regulations to shut them down.  This is the killer if Facebook goes all the way only to be shut down.  

Either way, this is going to hurt a majority of the crypto players.

As I mentioned, Facebook did what no other crypto company has been able to accomplish:  woke up everyone and bring instant global awareness.

Even the hard supporters of crypto are now wondering, wait a minute, what would happen?

Facebook made the whole crypto business real overnight and now we have a really serious discussion. We got our wish: global awareness. Sometimes, you have to be careful what you ask for!

Yes, we all agree it would have been better if it was not Facebook, as the company faces fines globally for how they manage data, and featured in the latest 2019 documentary, The Great Hack, and how its platform was used to change the outcome of many governments, not just the United States.

Every government around the world is going after this company for its untrustworthy business practice, and then the company adds crypto to the mix just to complicate matters. There is a danger that Facebook could become a Fakebook.

They are the supervillain du jour of business.

Because of their size, they got instant global exposure and has put this at the highest ever scrutiny. So, the reality of crypto becoming what everyone hopes could finally come to a very hard stop.

Politically speaking, what is happening around the world is that every country is protecting its borders and citizens. Even crypto supporters in governments, regulatory agencies, and banks will take a step back.

What Facebook has now shown them is that any of these crypto players can become bigger than any one nation or any one bank.  So best to put the brakes now before it gets carried away.

So get ready for the Great Crypto Reboot.  And it will not look like what you thought!

Reg A+ Webinar: The Highlights

Posted on by Oscar Jofre

In our last webinar, we’ve talked about a very complex topic in the startup industry: The Regulation A+.

For those of you who have never heard of it (no shame in learning, folks), Regulation A+, or Reg A, is a section of the JOBS Act that allows private companies to raise up to $ 50 Million while offering shares to the general public.

This can have a profound impact on how startups work. Unfortunately, there’s still a great deal of confusion surrounding the topic.

That’s why we brought in Sara Hanks, a top attorney with over 30 years experience in the corporate and securities field and Founder of CrowdCheck, and Darren Marble, Co-Founder and CEO of Issuance, with extensive experience in the capital raising process.

Here are some highlights of the discussion:

Sara Hanks: Regulation A+ is a popular name for a series of amendments to existing laws there were made in 2015. The Regulation A was an exemption for full regulation with the SEC, that permits a company to make a public offering, without the restrictions on the security being sold, but not to go through the full SEC process. So it’s an exemption for a public offering.

And that’s important because it’s public, the securities that are sold are not restricted, they can be free traded, if you can find a place for them to trade, you can trade them immediately, after the qualification of the offering. The companies who can use Reg A are U.S. or Canadian companies.

Darren Marble: The most interesting question to me is what companies are ideal candidates to use the Reg A Securities exemption as a capital raising tool. And just because you might be eligible to do a Reg A offer doesn’t mean you should. You know, if there’s a cliff that’s 50 feet above the ocean and you’re on that cliff, and you can see the ocean, doesn’t mean you should dive in. You probably need to be a professional diver.

I say that you don’t choose Reg A, Reg A chooses you. And what I mean by that is I think the Reg A exemption discriminates in that aspect. They will save a very particular type of issuer and it will punish or harm another type of issuer.

We also talked about:
– Marketing strategies that need to be considered for a Reg A+
– Who qualifies for it?
– What are the benefits?
– What does the Due Diligence look like?
– What liability is there for the issuer?
– What liability is there for any who promotes the offering?

To watch the full webinar, click here.

You can also watch the full version of our previous webinars:

Digital Securities Webinar

Marketing Your Raise Webinar

 

Top Questions a Securities Lawyer will Ask an STO Issuer (in USA or Canada)

Posted on by Oscar Jofre

Security Token Offering is a serious business. The days of the ICO are over. These are clear messages not only from the SEC and other regulatory bodies but also from thoughtful and experienced professionals. The SEC, in particular, is delivering this message mainly through regulatory actions and the position of SEC Chairman Jay Clayton. Most recently, a federal judge ruled that the U.S. securities laws may cover ICOs, giving the Feds a much-needed victory in their battle against fraud and money laundering.

Regardless of the nuances and the debate, what should be clear to issuers who have legitimate businesses or startup plans is that investors, as well as issuers, require protection. If anything, legitimate issuers should welcome such scrutiny and regulation which ensures the market is kept free of bad actors and questionable affiliations.

However, companies considering a security token offering need to be prepared to respond to questions that their securities lawyers will ask. To this end, we reached out to top lawyers to learn which information is crucial to them when a client reaches out for advice on their Security Token.

The professionals that contributed to this list are Sara Hanks (CrowdCheck Law, LLP – USA); Ross McKee (Blake, Cassels & Graydon, LLP – Canada), Lewis Cohen (DLX Law, LLP – USA); Rajeev Dewan and Kosta Kostic (McMillan, LLP – Canada); Alessandro Lerra (Lerro & Partners – Italy), and Alan Goodman (Goodmans, LLP – Canada).

Below is the list of items on which lawyers and other advisors will be focusing. There is no particular order, but you should be ready when contacting your securities lawyer or advisors to make sure you are prepared. This list is subject to change as the market develops.

  1. What jurisdiction is your company incorporated in and in what jurisdictions is your company doing or will do business?
  2. In which countries are you planning to offer your security token?
  3. Is the company already a public reporting issuer anywhere or are any of its other classes of securities already listed on an exchange?
  4. Will you be conducting a Direct Offering or a Broker-Dealer Offering?
    1. If a Direct Offering, how will you manage all of the regulatory requirements (including “Know Your Client” requirements)
    2. If you aren’t using a Broker-Dealer and you are selling to retail investors, how will you comply with the requirements of states that require you to register yourself as an issuer-dealer?
  5. Will this be for accredited investors only or will it also be made available to non-accredited investors?
  6. How do you plan to confirm or verify accredited investor status?
  7. How do you plan to confirm or verify investors are not on prescribed lists?
  8. Do you have a method to establish the suitability of the investment for an investor?
  9. What securities law exemptions do you intend to rely on for each jurisdiction you want to sell your security token?
  10. What documentation or certification will investors be required to sign?
  11. What is your investor record-keeping system and how do you plan to handle regulatory reporting of the distribution of securities tokens?
  12. What are the tax implications of the sale of the token for both the issuer and the investor?
  13. If ongoing tax reporting (e.g., FATCA) is required, how will that be handled?
  14. Which blockchain is the token going to be created on?
  15. Does the client understand the differences between public blockchains and closed or permission blockchains?
  16. Does the platform already exist?
  17. Do you know which Security Token Protocol you would like to use?
  18. Does the Security Token Protocol manage the lifecycle, custodianship requirements, and corporate actions of the security token?
  19. Does the Security Token Protocol have the capabilities to be managed by a regulated Transfer Agent?
  20. Has the smart contract code for the token been audited by a code audit firm?
  21. What level of assurance does the code audit firm give in terms of their work?
  22. Is the Security Token Protocol implemented on robust, highly-secure, and enterprise-class technology platform?
  23. Does the blockchain for the STO prevent cryptocurrency fraud, unauthorized mining, and forking?
  24. Does the blockchain for the STO provide guaranteed legal finality for securities transactions?
  25. Does the blockchain for the STO provide for recourse with forking or technical intervention in case of errors, losses, or fraud?
  26. Is there a utility element in the token?
  27. Is the security token coupled with a cryptocurrency?
  28. Does the blockchain have a well-defined and published governance model, and are you confident that the governance processes and governing entities are credible?
  29. Does the blockchain have adoption and recognition from financial institutions?
  30. Will the tokens be immediately delivered to the purchasers?
  31. What is the stated purpose of the offering and what is the business of the issuer?
  32. Is the number of tokens fixed or unlimited? Is there a release schedule for future tokens?
  33. How many tokens, if any, are being retained by management?
  34. Will the tokens have a fixed value?
  35. How many security token holders do you expect?
  36. Are you aware of the requirements for a Transfer Agent?
  37. What are the rights of security token holders?
    1.  Voting?
    2. Dividends?
    3. Share of revenue/profits?
    4. Wind up the business?Will the purchasers be seeking a return on their investment or are they buying the token for other purposes?
  38. Will the purchasers be seeking a return on their investment or are they buying the token for other purposes?
  39. What is the exit strategy for the company?
  40. Does your company currently have a Shareholders Agreement?
  41. Does the company have a board of directors?
  42. Do you have financial auditors?
  43. Do you intend to list the tokens on any secondary markets and are those markets in compliance with regulatory requirements that apply to securities exchanges?
  44. Following issuance of the tokens, are any lock-up periods required or advisable with respect to the token?
  45. Are there any requirements that the tokens may only be traded with persons in (or outside) certain jurisdictions?
  46. Once any lock-up period has concluded, where will the tokens be able to trade?
  47. How will any applicable resale restrictions be implemented and complied with? How will subsequent sellers and purchasers of tokens be made aware of these resale restrictions?
  48. How are any requirements for the tokens to trade on a given market or alternative trading system being handled?
  49. Does the company intend to provide ongoing reporting to investors and if so, how will that be handled?
  50. Will the blockchain be used to facilitate any additional levels of transparency?
  51. What social media platforms are you using?
    1. Telegram
    2. Twitter
    3. Facebook
    4. Medium
    5. LinkedIn
  52. Do you know what limitations on communication or other requirements (such as legending or delivery of an offering document) apply to social media communications?
  53. Are you planning set up a “bounty” or similar program that offers free tokens?
  54. Will you be using airdrops?
    1. How are recipients selected and what do recipients need to do in order to receive airdrops?
    2. Have you made sure the airdrops comply with applicable securities law?
  55. Do you have a white paper?
    1. Has the whitepaper been released?
    2. Does the whitepaper include a clear business plan?
    3. What statements, representations, or comments have been made by management in the whitepaper, any other publication, or orally, about the future value or investment merits of tokens?
    4. Should the whitepaper be characterized as an offering memorandum and if so, does it have the prescribed disclosures and notices?

We hope this can assist you in preparing for your security token offering (STO). Obviously, for those who have already raised their money, tokenizing their securities will require some of the same questions.

Life of a Company

Posted on by Oscar Jofre

I know, the title is odd. But the goal is to show how a company is formed and what is required for it  to be maintained. What most of the public sees is only related to sales or marketing, never the insides of the corporate structure or management.

The first step each of us make is to incorporate our organization, and we are provided with the company’s papers, also known as the “Minute Book”.

The Minute Book
For entrepreneurs, board directors, management, lawyers, auditors, shareholders, and broker dealers, the Minute Book is a lifeline. It is the historical log of all the key decisions and corporate actions made in the company.  Now, some of you will go to your lawyer and get a Minute Book binder, and some will go online and construct your binder.

One very important thing about your company’s Minute Book is that there is only ONE original and you must protect it. At the same time, you are required to provide access to your lawyers, auditors, board directors, shareholders, and anyone who is doing due diligence on your company.

What do you get in your Minute Book:

        • Certificate of incorporation – this provides a unique number to your company
        • The official date of incorporation in your jurisdiction
        • Bylaws: the rules you must follow in operating your company, such as
          • Number of directors
          • How many shares you can issue and class of shares
          • How to conduct board meetings
          • How to conduct shareholders meetings
          • Quorum for board and shareholders meetings

     

  • The Minute Book also has many other tabs for you to insert the ongoing corporate actions in the company.
  • The Minute Book is a living document and it requires that you update it as you are conducting your corporate actions. Those actions need to be recorded in your Minute Book and properly documented, so in the future when you are going through due diligence—for financing, acquisitions, going public, or opening a bank account—this information will be ready so you can move forward.Here is a list of some of the corporate actions your Minute Book needs to have. Some of these corporate actions will be in different sections of your Minute Book depending on how many documents are created.
          • Appointing director
          • Appointing officers
          • Notice of Shareholders Meeting
          • Opening a commercial bank account
          • Appointing auditors
          • Granting options
          • Accepting new shareholders
          • Accepting a loan, debenture, SAFE
          • Name change
          • Merger
          • Acquisition


      For each of these corporate actions, you will need directors’ resolution and/or shareholders’ resolutions and, in some cases, agreements, government filings, and regulatory filings. All of these documents will need to be stored in different sections within the Minute Book.

      This is important to know because as your company grows, more and more of these documents start to add up and the historical tracking becomes even more challenging to maintain.

      If your records are not up to date or properly recorded you will spend thousands and thousands of dollars to get those completed so that you can proceed with a transaction such as raising capital, loan, merger, acquisition, going public, etc.

      Along with managing all the corporate documents, you are also required to manage, report, and track all your shareholders on a timely basis. Depending on which exemption you used, the company would be required to provide quarterly,semi-annual, or annual reporting to your shareholders.

      I know all this might seems overwhelming. Welcome to being an entrepreneur! There are no shortcuts, but there is a way to do it so you are not burdened by all this and end up spending thousands of your hard earn money to fix issues when they emerge.

      As a fellow entrepreneur, I felt this pain. Having all these documents and no central place that everyone (board directors, shareholders, lawyers, auditors, regulators, etc.) could access 24/7, created further strain on my time.

      For a long time, I found apps that did only one thing but were not able to do all that I needed to meet my fiduciary obligations as an officer and director of my company.  It was very frustrating, but finally, in 2015 we launched the world’s first all-in-one platform—yes, an all-in-one platform—that takes care of everything I described above and so much more.

      Once you have a secure and centralized platform to bring your stakeholders, you have the assurance to meet your obligations and focus on growing the business rather than managing paper.

      No more duplicating your efforts – only do it once and KoreConX takes care of the rest.

      As you grow, the platform provides even further enhancement, so if you are a one person company or a company with 500,000 shareholders or more, KoreConX is your all-in-one platform.

What is Investor Relations for Private Companies?

Posted on by Oscar Jofre

While Investor Relations may seem like an all-encompassing term referring to the relationship between investors and the company that they invest in, in practice the definition is more precise.

Investor Relations professionals are tasked with providing investors with up-to-date information on company affairs, so that private and institutional investors stay informed on the goings of companies.

Considered to be a sub department of Public Relations, Investor Relations works to create holistic and financially beneficial communication between investors, shareholders, and the general financial community.

Investor Relations professionals’ are always aware of the key corporate information including in depth knowledge of the product and services offerings, the latest updates on the company’s operational and financial performance, as well as its key performance indicators.

This information is then compiled and presented in a coherent manner so that investors understand how well the company is performing. A description of the company’s financial statements, financial statistics, and an overview of the company’s internal organization is made available to investors. This helps to paint an accurate picture of the company’s private internal workings.

Two-way communication, as opposed to a one-way flow, is essential to investor relations in the modern economic climate that is characterized by periods of high volatility.

Investor Relations has been equated with full disclosure – where only important or relevant information is shared with shareholders. But that is no longer the case.

With the rise in popularity of Alternative Finance Platforms like regulated equity crowdfunding, investors now want, need, and expect so much more: consistent and honest communication between companies and their shareholders. In other words, they want to see full transparency.

It is the responsibility of Investor Relations professionals to integrate finance, communication, marketing, and securities law compliance to enable effective communication between the company and relevant parties.

Why is communication so important? Through transparency, investors are able to get a grasp of the true value of a company’s business. Therefore, the primary goal of Investor Relations is to help investors understand true value of the company and its key performance indicators.

For Investor Relations professionals to be efficient and effective today, they must employ a number of tools to accomplish the above goals and achieving effective two-way communications with investors.

  • Excel sheet to manage shareholders/investors
  • Sales automation tool
  • eMarketing tool
  • Meeting Planner

Time is wasted in trying to combine the data from each of these fragmented tools. KoreConX solves this problem by providing Investor Relations professionals one tool to do what normally takes more than 4. Register today https://bit.ly/2izdVf7

Overview of the features the IR Module will include:

  • Manage Current Shareholders
  • Manage Potential Investors
  • Provide free Portfolio Management tool for investors
  • Meetings (AGM, Shareholders Meeting, One-on-One)
  • Reports (Monthly, Quarterly, Annual, Information Circular, Proxy)
  • Media Releases
  • Social Media
  • eVote (ability for your shareholders to vote online)

and much more

Here is what IR professionals are saying:

“I have been providing investor relations services to private and public companies for 2 decades, and for the first time I’m seeing a tool, KoreConX IR Module, that provides me everything I need to manage shareholders, meetings, reporting and media releases through a single dashboard. This is the tool for every person working in an IR position today.” Kai Blache Investor Relations Professional, Digitz, Cray Pay, TicketSocket, Slyde

Register to pre-launch program. https://bit.ly/2izdVf7

StartUp Law 101

Posted on by Oscar Jofre

Late last year I had the opportunity to collaborate with Catherine Lovrics, B.A., LL.B at Bereskin & Parr LLP, on the inner workings of raising capital for entrepreneurs. Her book, Startup Law 101: A Practical Guide, published last week.

The basis of our conversations surrounded accessing funding at the right time and identifying the the business expenses that are needed most, from capital expenditures to operational costs.

As part of a panel discussion during last Wednesday’s launch event hosted at MaRS Discovery District, I was asked several great questions about funding that I wanted to discuss further.

Q: Securing funding for early-stage companies can be the biggest challenge for founders. What are some of the opportunities that have developed recently in the equity crowdfunding space for early-stage companies?

A: Without crowdfunding, the ability for early stage companies to access capital would not exist in such high numbers.

The emergence of online platforms helping private and public companies access capital from accredited and non accredited investors has literally transformed the investor landscape.Today’s private capital investor can invest as little as $50.00 into a company.  This was not possible five years ago.

Part of this transformation includes the addition of online payments. It has not only increased the speed in which an investor makes a decision to invest, but has changed the perception of how an investor views an investment. All an investor has to do is enter a credit card number using their VISA, MasterCard, American Express, etc.

With this new dynamic, companies need to have a very proactive approach to their new stakeholders.  Your investor relations strategy and tools will be the key to maintaining and growing your company.

Q: What are some of the major changes and challenges we’re seeing in equity crowdfunding?

A: The biggest challenge globally in equity crowdfunding is that companies are not ready.  We see 98 percent of companies stall in their funding process when they engage in online platforms to help startups raise capital.

What companies don’t understand is that nothing has changed from the days of applying to Venture Capital firms, Angel groups, etc.  Sites like like StartEngine, FrontFundr, BankRoll Ventures, MicroVentures, etc., expect you to have your company and critical business documents in order.

The largest barrier and one of the major delays is the lack of up-to-date corporate records. Make a checklist — update your corporate records, capitalization table, signed agreements, legals for the offering, business plan, executive summary, financials, projections, etc.

Q: There has been a lot of buzz this past year with the rise of cryptocurrencies and ICOs. What are we seeing now with the regulation (and potential demise) of ICOs and the rise of token offerings or ITOs?

A: In 2017, we saw the rise of crowdfunding v3.0 with the introduction of Initial Token Offerings (ITO).  For many in crowdfunding, ITOs have proven that people will invest from around the globe if they trust the underlying technology that is managing their investment, i.e. blockchain.  

Out of the gate, many companies took advantage of this type of capital raising and many investors lost billions of dollars. Like any new form of technology, it can be used for good and bad.  

We will see a rise of security token adoption in 2018 as companies begin issuing tokens like selling securities. But, these tokens will also have the capability to trade on secondary exchange.

This just scratches the surface of what we covered and Catherine was generous enough to provide a copy of Chapter 6, “Canadian Startup Funding Sources” for KoreConX followers.

What is Portfolio Management?

Posted on by Jason Futko

Anyone that invests in more than one company or investment asset has a portfolio of investments to manage. With global markets opening up and alternative finance platforms such as P2P (Peer to Peer) or Equity Crowdfunding platforms we are seeing a variety of new investments in private companies becoming available to non-accredited investors (non high net worth investors) and accredited investors. Portfolio management isn’t just for the financially savvy accredited investor types, but rather for anyone who invests their money in hopes of making a future return.

For those rainy days, you want to make sure your investments are all kept in check. A portfolio is a collection of these investments . Your portfolio might include investments in shares (including options and warrants), bonds, loans (including convertible debentures, promissory notes), assets, mutual funds and cash.

Portfolio management is not just about managing the amount and types of investments, but it should also provide you the documents, reporting, schedule of shareholder meetings, news and updates from the companies you have invested in. Typically most investors do this in one of two ways: by hiring a portfolio manager who will then charge fees based on the total investment; or the investor manages their own investments using word, excel, and some form of document storage.

There are numerous benefits to working with a portfolio manager. Fiduciary responsibility often tops that list. These managers have a fiduciary duty to act with care and good faith, always keeping in mind the best interest of their clients. However, the vast majority of people don’t use a portfolio manager because they are not economical, they don’t deal with private company investments, or the investor prefers to manage their own investments. The Alternative Finance sector is evidence that more and more people investing in private companies and this type of investment is something that is not normally managed by the traditional portfolio managers.

Until recently, investors have lacked useful tools to manage and track their investments, forcing them to use Excel and filing cabinets. As you can imagine, this is hard to track and manage manually.

A whole new do-it-yourself mentality has people looking for new ways of doing things. With advances in Fintech, Alternative Finance, Crowdfunding, etc. you are seeing more and more pressure to develop efficient online solutions. There are many great advances and new technology solutions being created to assist people in tracking and managing information, and the Portfolio management sector is no different.

Managing your assets can be complicated. This is why we at KoreConX developed our all-in-one business platform with the investor in mind. Recognizing that there are not any good tools for investors to use to effectively manage their private investments, coupled with the new do-it-yourself mentality, we developed a simple to use and FREE Portfolio Management platform. With the KoreConX platform you can manage your investments in private companies whether they are shares, debentures, options, warrants, promissory notes, SAFE’s or Crowd Safe’s as well as all the documents, reporting, voting, news releases and company annual meetings associated with those investments. Through KoreConX you always stay connected to the company you invested in and always have access to your investment documents.

The Death of the ICO and the RISE of #TAO

Posted on by Oscar Jofre

The term ICO has been very confusing to the investing market, even those selling ICOs have no understanding of it — when you start asking questions people give you a look like a deer caught in headlights. So, what does ICO stand for?

#ICO = Initial Coin Offering

COIN = CURRENCY = MONEY

The most famous coin in the world is the “Bitcoin” there are many others but it’s the one that started it all.

So, the question is, of the 254 registered ICOs how many of them are COIN offerings vs TOKEN offerings?

Over 90% of the ICO’s in 2017 were actually Initial TOKEN Offering (ITO) but in a frenzy the term did not catch on and the market got misled creating confusion between tokens and coins.

Maturing through 2018:

With the banning of ICOs by Facebook and more organizations to follow, the term has become tainted creating both a perception and image issue.

For companies who are going to launch their TOKEN offering then it’s time for the market to be informed properly of what you are doing. Take the first step.

Education

There are two types of TOKEN Offerings and you must clearly identify this. The market has awaken and you can no longer afford to play coy with the market.

Utility Token

(use the term ITO “Initial Token Offering” to reflect your offering, the purchasers of your token will automatically know what you are selling and what to expect)

AND

Security Token

(Use TAO “Token Asset Offering” or STO “Security Token Offering” this will help investors understand the investment opportunity you are presenting

2018 is the year of the TAO and companies like FileCoin, and KodackCoin have shown that the market is ready and prepared to invest in these tokens that are properly structured and articulated to the market.

Shareholders = Customers = Ambassadors

Posted on by Oscar Jofre

Each interview I’ve had in the past two weeks has asked a question about how some companies or outsiders believe that having a large pool of investors is not good for a company and is distracting. I pondered my response on a number of occasions and then I reflected on comments from the founders of the JOBS Act (Sherwood Neis, Jason Best and Douglas Ellenoff) that crowdfunding is the democratization of capital and the “publification” of private companies. They went on to state that when investors invest in companies through these equity crowdfunding portals, the investors become the best ambassadors to the company.

So the creators of the JOBS Act envisioned what really was going to happen, and for it to work, the relationship between the company and its shareholders would change. Since the entire world is being disrupted by this new crowdfunding sector, it makes sense that even the roles of companies and the relationships they have with shareholders would fundamentally change.

Let’s Look at the Attributes of the “Customer” from a Company Perspective

A company cannot survive without customers. In fact, it’s often said the first customer the company receives is really investing in the company. Wow – “investing”.

So how does the company go about getting this customer, attracting new ones and managing them? The company employs a sales and marketing team to attract and maintain customers, and will also provide customer support. I only need look at our own company. At KoreConX we have invested heavily on attracting the best for each of these roles.

These individuals are responsible for learning about the needs of the customers today and tomorrow. Understanding what customers are looking for in a company and where the customers can be found is crucial to effectively marketing to them. It is important to demonstrate your thought leadership in your sector and why your product or service is better or unique.

All the work we do to attract customers and maintain them is truly amazing. All of these activities are being managed by a number of tools such as HubSpot, Salesforce and Lynkos that can manage all your activities with the customers and documents you send, tracking tools to see if they read it, etc. Companies around the world spend billions in this area because they understand that the more automation we add, the better we are at serving our customers.

The justification for the cost or investment by the company is simple. Companies do all this so the customers will keep buying, in essence re-investing in the company.

Great companies like Google, Inc. ($GOOG) have shown the world that every person is a customer and a shareholder that can eventually become your ambassador, and that is priceless to your brand and company.

The New View of a “Shareholder”

The first investor in a company is often a customer who sees the great opportunity and vision the company is building.

The problem is that companies see shareholders as a burden, and make no effort to apply the same logic or business sense as they do for their customer acquisition and maintenance. In reality, shareholders are even bigger brand ambassadors than customers, and should be afforded the same care and consideration. Since shareholders identified the company as being worthy of investment, and they have a vested interest in the success of the business, they will always be the best brand ambassadors.

Yes, I said Shareholder = Customers = Ambassador!

Think of a time when you have either heard from a friend or told a friend the following: “Wow, Apple ($AAPL) iPhone and Apple Watch is a great combo, and see all the great things it does? If you use it so often and talk about it so much you must own shares.” This implies that if you are a true brand ambassador you must be a shareholder.

Equity Crowdfunding and the Growth of your Brand Ambassadors

In today’s social media driven world, people are connecting on a much more personal level to businesses and/or products that they are interested in. The emergence of equity crowdfunding presents an amazing opportunity for companies to capitalize by turning their loyal and dedicated ambassadors into shareholders and vice versus.

Because in today’s world, they will be connected with you and your company and your team using all the social media properties that they can find you in so they can feel connected. They want to be cheerleaders for your company because they believe in what you are doing.

The interesting thing that companies have severely overlooked with shareholders is that these individuals invested in their company and did not receive a product, and that these individuals will sell more of your products/services than any new customer you attract to your business.

Companies need to apply the same principles they have for operating the front lines of their business to the way they deal with their shareholders. Spending time cultivating, converting, empowering and managing shareholders will yield exponential returns. Which means you need to see both customers and shareholders as equally vital to the company’s success and be vigorous in using tools like KoreConX.

KoreConX provides you with the missing piece to efficiently and effectively bring the companies together with their shareholders, to manage them, empower them, connect them, and make them the best ambassadors of your company. Equity Crowdfunding is about disrupting how things have been done, not just for raising capital, but for creation of legal documents, due diligence processes, and most importantly how you manage those valuable new shareholders/ambassadors.

So embrace the 50, 100, 1000, or 4000 new shareholders! I’ve never known any company that does not want customers to help them grow their business. What is great about equity crowdfunding is that the more shareholders you have, the more ambassadors for your brand, and the more new customers they will drive to you to help you grow your business.

I say welcome and embrace equity crowdfunding, and make it work to your advantage.

Register today to manage your new ambassadors:

https://koreconx.com/user_signups/new_signup

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