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Press Release:The K-HERO Project Wants You to Join the Fight Against Cancer.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 8, 2013 – Chicago, Illinois – K-HERO Clothing a Cancer awareness brand launched an  Indiegogo.com crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to support it’s fight against Cancer.  Indiegogo an industry-leading crowdfunding platform gives a unique opportunity to K-HERO to further it’s goals of; Increasing Cancer Awareness, and Funding Cancer Research.  The campaign can be found at http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-k-hero-project-join-the-fight-against-cancer. Through this campaign K-HERO hope to increase it’s profile and it’s ability to help raise cancer awareness and fund cancer research.

“The more t-shirts K-HERO sells, the more money we can give to the people doing the most important research to cure cancer.”  Said Brent Magnussen K-HERO founder “Wear a statement, and make a difference.  Join the fight against cancer!”

With the funds raised K-HERO will update it’s eCommerce system and build a cutting edge interactive website, increase standing inventory and create new designs for men, women, and kids. These designs will be done by young hungry designers who are just starting out and have not had a chance to shine in the industry. K-HERO will give them that chance. K-HERO will offer new designs on  t-shirts, hoodies, socks, hats, and other apparel by May of this year.

K-HERO also intends to purchase the necessary equipment to print it’s own shirts. As a company we want to give you the best product possible and by controlling every step in the t-shirt printing process we know you will be getting the highest quality apparel. This will save K-HERO money and increase the increase the funding we can contribute to the people doing the most advanced work in cancer research.

Tell your friends and co-workers about The K-HERO Project. Tell anyone you know that has been affected by cancer and make some noise about our campaign.  Join the Fight, and help support K-HERO and the fight against cancer.!

ABOUT K-HERO CLOTHING COMPANY

K-HERO Clothing Company was inspired by Karen Magnussen who fought stage 4 cancer for 4 years. She was amazing and her fight inspired her son Brent to start K-HERO Clothing to continue her fight against cancer in the same way. Fearless, with a smile, positive, and never quitting… in 2009 after a courageous struggle Karen Magnussen lost her fight with cancer, but the memory of her struggle lives on in K-HERO Clothing .

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Crowdfunding portals try to get the word out as they wait for the SEC to set rule

By Phyllis Furman

A local startup is looking to get a head start as it waits for the SEC to spell out rules on crowdfunding.

Rye-based iCrowd, started by former Wall Street portfolio manager John Callaghan and Brad McGee, the ex-chief strategy officer of Tyco International, is one of dozens of companies lining up to get in on the crowdfunding bonanza.

McGee was one of a group of Tyco employees who were handed unauthorized perks by disgraced ex-Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski, who was convicted and thrown into jail.

The iCrowd co-founder, who was not charged, left the company in 2003 and has since been advising small businesses.

Now he’s waiting for the SEC to set down crowdfundng rules that will allow small businesses to raise up to $1 million a year from Main Street investors. Once that happens, iCrowd intends to become a registered crowdfunding portal.

These types of crowdfunding sites are expected to charge companies anywhere from 8% to 15% of the money they raise.

In the meantime, iCrowd is looking to assemble a community of small business owners and potential investors. The startup has just launched a free social network to connect entrepreneurs with peers, mentors and experts.

Full Story Here

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Crowdfunding Is About Creating Jobs For The Right People

By Devin Thorpe

Crowdfunding is not just about creating jobs, it is about creating jobs for the right people. In April of 2012, President Obama signed the JOBS Act into law, authorizing crowdfunding of equity and debt for the sake of creating jobs. The more time I spend studying crowdfunding and working with the leaders in the crowdfund community, the clearer it becomes that not only will crowdfunding create jobs, it will create jobs in the right places.

Recently, I sat down in a hidden valley near Park City, Utah with Candace Klein, CEO of Somolend and founder of the nonprofit Bad Girl Ventures, who explained that overwhelmingly, the people were polled about crowdfunding indicating a desire to raise capital are women, African Americans and Hispanic Americans. In other words, crowdfunded capital will flow to entrepreneurs in the communities that have been most disadvantaged in America.

According to Klein, women own over 50 percent of the businesses in the United States but receive less than 5 percent of “traditional capital” and less than 3 percent of venture capital. Klein notes that she founded Bad Girl Ventures specifically to address this problem. BGV has funded 45 women-owned businesses with a total of $5 million, but also had to turn away thousands of women. This inspired Klein to launch Somolend so that she could provide capital to thousands of women owned businesses. This also allows “women investors to build their own wealth,” she notes.

FULL STORY HERE

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Peak Energy Company Commits $25 Million to Illinois Basin.

Peak Energy Company follows President Trump’s lead, commits 25MM to Illinois Basin acquisitions, 500 jobs to be created.  Trump targeted the nation’s infrastructure during his election night victory speech, saying he aims to make it “second to none.” In response, representatives from Illinois and four other states in the Upper Midwest are working to make sure their projects become a priority.

US Energy  is on the rise, according to the Energy Department, U.S. production rose to an average of 8.8 million barrels a day in the fourth quarter after dropping below 8.7 million barrels in the third quarter. The department forecast increases to 9.2 million barrels a day this year and 9.7 million – a possible record – in 2018 in a market outlook issued Tuesday.

In response Peak Energy company has commited 25MM to acquisitions in the Illinois Basin. Founded in 2011, and debt free, Peak uses a conservative Warren Buffet strategy of investing by acquiring producing oil assets at a discount.

“If it’s not on sale, we don’t buy it.” Todd Allen, President of Peak Energy  “The state of Illinois has been hit hard economically and deserves more jobs, this great state needs to get economy moving, we are here to support that effort by hiring local workers.” Peak’s focus is providing income and secure oil investments for its capital partners.

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SEC now says Social Media OK for Company Announcements

The announcement is considered a big win for equity crowdfunding by some equity crowdfunding investors.

Yesterday, the SEC recognized social media as an acceptable way to distribute information to shareholders. In the press release the SEC referenced the company Netflix in which spurred the question of whether or not it was ok to submit company announcements via social media. So what could this mean for equity crowdfunding investors?

Although Netflix is no longer a start up company. The news from the SEC to allow companies to submit company announcements via social media is a great step forward for investing in equity crowdfunding and equity crowdfunding sites. Virtuous Vodka a startup that received funding from the equity crowdfunding site “Funded by Me” out of Sweden currently has a private Facebook group for all equity crowdfunding investors. Below highlights the Pros and Cons of investing in equity crowdfunding companies that utilize social media.

Pros:
– Distributing company announcements via social media can be much cheaper for the company. (no one reads snail mail anymore these days anyway)

–  Quicker distribution. It doesn’t take much to write a facebook post. The CFO could even post from a cell phone to alert all equity crowdfunding investors)

– Additional collaboration with stakeholders all together in one place on the internet can produce ideas, suggestions, and additional resources for increased company success, as an equity crowdfunding investor this can be huge especially in small startup companies.

– Equity crowdfunding sites will bring a lot more investors. Social media announcements could get you the information faster than the competition.

Cons:
– Not every equity crowdfunding investor has a Facebook or wants one either.

– With easy access to investors, companies can send information overload. (Not that we don’t want to hear about the CEO’s grand daughters dance competition, but that might be information overload)

– Security issues can easily arise. While Facebook is actually somewhat secure. It wouldn’t take much for information to get in the wrong hands with that savy equity crowdfunding investor leaves his social media account open on a public computer and forgets to log out.

Full Story Here

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As Crowdfunding Takes Off, SEC Greenlights AngelList’s Investment Platform

The Securities and Exchange Commission is making way for a number of startups and online investment platforms to enable startups to crowdsource investment. Early last week, Y Combinator-backed FundersClub received notice from the SEC that the agency would not pursue action against its crowdfunding platform. But it wasn’t alone: a few days later, AngelList received a similar letter from the SEC. [hat tip to Danielle Morrill]

The regulatory response came after AngelList requested its own assurance from the SEC that the agency wouldn’t pursue enforcement action against its investment platform, AngelList Invest.

In its letter to the agency, AngelList noted that it was going to form a limited liability corporation that would serve as investment advisors, and would operate a platform through which accredited investors would be able to put money into startups. Like other crowdfunding investment platforms that are popping up, under AngelList’s plan, the company would introduce individual investment vehicles for each portfolio company that its users invested in.

According to the filing, AngelList Advisors would determine whether to create an investment vehicle for particular startups, then negotiate the terms of the investment for the larger pool. It would also exercise all voting rights for the investment vehicle and decide on whether it should distribute cash and marketable securities to investors, subject to any lock-up agreements or similar restrictions.

Already, AngelList is being used to help raise funds for some companies and funds, through itsinvesting tool. Open only to accredited investors, the tool lets users put as little as $1,000 each into startup companies that it’s created an investment vehicle for.

The whole idea is to allow a larger number of individual investors to make small investments in interesting startups, but to do so in a way that reduces the friction of most funding rounds today. Under current SEC rules, startups can’t advertise or announce that they’re raising funding, which means that investors might not even know that they can put money into a certain company. And, in a sense, to increase the efficiency with which startups can get funded.

Full Story Here

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Only 5 Days Left to Support K-HERO’s Fight Against Cancer

Chicago, Ill – April 1 2013 To celebrate the end of it’s crowdfunding campaign  effort “The KHERO Project”, http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-k-hero-project-help-us-fund-cancer-research  K-HERO clothing along with the Q Bar is proud to present Blind Reflexx Live,  Saturday April 6th at 7pm.  Money raised will go to Cancer research, walk the Red Carpet with celebrity guests, 11p toast in honor of Cancer survivors and at 9pm watch Blind Reflexx.  All in support of raising money for K-HERO’s fight against Cancer.

In an interview on Fox News Radio Show the BOSS Business Brief K-HERO Clothing Company founder Brent Magnussen discusses how he was inspired by his mother Karen Magnussen who fought stage 4 cancer for 4 years. Her heroic fight motivated Brent to Join the fight cancer in the same way she did, with courage and determination, never quitting. Sadly in 2009 Karen Magnussen lost her fight with cancer.  Listen Here

Moved and determined, Brent decided to make it his life mission to continue her struggle and fight cancer to honor his mother.  In 2009 Brent left a good paying job and started K-HERO Clothing Company with borrowed money and credit cards, he has never looked back. Every year K-HERO gives thousands of dollars to cancer research, and works with helping kids with cancer and their families.

With the funds raised K-HERO will increase it’s inventory and purchase professional equipment to print its own shirts.  Many of these shirts will be new designs for men, women, and kids, designed by young designers who just finished school or have not had a chance to shine in the industry. K-HERO also has plans to open a retail store in the Chicago area we further plans to open a second retail location in Las Vegas in 2014.

“The more t-shirts K-HERO sells, the more money it can give to the people doing the most important research to cure cancer. Wear a statement, and make a difference and JOIN THE FIGHT against cancer!” -Brent Magnussen

Some people just can’t contribute money, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help K-Hero reach it’s goal. Spread the word; tell your friends and co-workers about The K-HERO Project. Tell anyone you know that has been affected by cancer and make some noise about our campaign.  Tweet it, post a message on facebook, or simple use the indegogo share tool. www.khero.org

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Happy First Birthday JOBS Act

By Ryan Caldbeck

It’s hard to believe that it was almost one year ago (April 5,2012 to be precise) that President Obama signed the JOBS Act into law. At the time, Obama noted, “Because of this bill, start-ups and small business will now have access to a big, new pool of potential investors—namely, the American people. For the first time, ordinary Americans will be able to go online and invest in entrepreneurs that they believe in.” Equally hard to believe for me personally is that it’s been almost one year since we launched CircleUp, which has quickly grown into the largest equity-based crowdfunding website in theUS.

However, while the one year anniversary of the JOBS Act is upon us, the law’s key provisions, namely Title II (general solicitation) and Title III (equity crowdfunding for unaccredited investors) are still not written. As a quick refresher, the general solicitation provision will allow companies raising money to broadly advertise their raise to customers, consumers, suppliers, etc. Unaccredited equity-based crowdfunding will allow investors making less than $200,000 per year to invest a limited amount of money into private companies in exchange for equity.

With unemployment still well above 7%, we recognize the urgency of implementation of the JOBS Act; it will provide a much needed boon to the U.S. economy by giving early stage companies access to capital. We are also fervent believers that the financial services industry needs disruption. The primary technology still used in most private company capital raises is email and Microsoft Excel. Fundraising usually takes the lion’s share of an entrepreneur’s’ attention for 6-12 months at a time when her company needs her attention the most.

Full Story Here

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Crowdfunding 101: ‘Reg-D’ vs. ‘Rewards’

Small U.S. investors can donate money to a startup on a crowdfunding site such as Kickstarter, but they won’t get a stake in the company in exchange.

Despite changes in federal law, Americans can’t yet legally put money into a startup in an “equity crowdfunding,” an investment method that is open to ”accredited investors” only.

The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, enacted and signed into law in April last year, was meant to enable this. It eased accounting and disclosure requirements on smaller companies to help them go public, aiming to spur growth and create jobs.

The idea was that eventually, investors of every kind would be able to find startups or small businesses that they want to back online, hammer out deal terms and complete the transaction, all digitally.

Full Story Here

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SEC: Don’t Make Crowdfunding Useless for Main Street

By Scott Shane

Nearly two years ago, I championed the idea of making it legal for entrepreneurs to raise money by selling equity stakes in their companies online. This kind of crowdfunding came much closer to becoming a reality when President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act into law in April. It was one of the few bipartisan efforts to support small business that emerged from Washington in recent years.

The businesses that stand to gain the most from the crowdfunding provision in the law are those seeking small sums—less than $100,000. The goal is for the undercapitalized owners of the local car repair shop or restaurant to be able to inexpensively raise money from individuals without getting engulfed in red tape.

These kinds of investments don’t interest angel groups and venture capital firms. In fact, less than 1 percent of all the small companies in the U.S. get venture capital or angel group funding annually. Moreover, the legal costs of private placements under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s existing rules (which date back decades) are too high to be worthwhile for small raises.

The SEC, which was required to write the regulations for the crowdfunding portion of the law by year end, is still hammering them out. Its staffers have a noble goal—to ensure ordinary investors are protected from scammers. But too much investor protection will make crowdfunding unworkable because the businesses won’t be able to afford to comply. Overdo it, and this new source of financing gets crushed under the weight of its own rules.

Full Story Here