A Serial entrepreneur who has been pioneering new funding models globally, Markus Lampinen has joined us to speak about his latest project: Crowd Valley.
Hello Markus, thank you for joining us. First, can you tell us a little bit more about you?
Markus: “Pleasure to be here. My name is Markus Lampinen and I serve as CEO of Crowd Valley Inc. Crowd Valley itself is a spinoff out of the Grow VC Group, where I’ve served the past three years as COO. From that vantage point, I’ve had the privilege to work with new funding models, including crowdfunding, on six continents and see what the emerging ecosystem requires to function effectively, but also build our own group with extremely talented individuals and a vast network of partners. All of which we plan to leverage, to provide the infrastructure for the new market“.
What’s your vision behind Crowd Valley?
Markus: “Our vision is that the new online investment market is fundamentally different and requires new underlying infrastructure with back office and social components“.
Tell me something more…What is it? How does it work?
Markus: “Crowd Valley is the One Stop Shop where broker-dealers, local exchanges, startup ecosystem partners, and sector specialists can start their own crowdfunding platform in minutes. It includes the operating infrastructure framework as a SaaS platform, back office packages compliant with US regulation, support services, and the functionality to create and service interconnected networks, enabling users to maintain and operate via single profiles on multiple platforms. Anyone can start its own crowdfunding platform in minutes just by filing a brief form on our website – http://www.crowdvalley.com/get-started/“.
What’s your business model?
Markus: “We have built a monthly subscription model and transaction based fees, with scalable additional premium packages for different customer segments“.
Could you introduce us the other team members?
Markus: “ Yes. We’re a team of entrepreneurs who have already worked together in crowdfunding for several years. Paul Higgins, co-founder & COO, has expertise with early stage companies, b2b software business and sales in Europe, North America, and South America; Alessandro Ravanetti, co-founder & CMO, has built and managed web 2.0 companies with international teams and networks of partners; Dan McNamee is a U.S. trained and qualified lawyer (New York) with experience in capital markets and M&A transactions in the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa; Valto Loikkanen is a serial entrepreneur who has started several companies across Europe and the US in the web and mobile fields; Jouko Ahvenainen is an investor and entrepreneur across the US, Europe and Asia.
“As a team we have invested three years into the crowdfunding industry outside the US, and positioned ourself in the ecosystem globally. In these years we have been part of the US Delegation in Transatlantic Economic Forum, had cooperation with Singapore Government Investment Company, UK Trade and Investment, and we are a founding member of Crowdfunding Regulatory Intermediary Association (CFIRA), Crowdfunding Professional Association (CFPA), National Crowdfunding Association (NLCFA), European Crowdfunding Network, cooperation with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)“.
Do you intend to raise funds?
Markus: “We have various partners we look to include in our endeavors. Partners that share our vision for the future and the value of building the infrastructure for the new market. Anyone looking to get involved as a partner should contact us directly, as we believe this mission requires an ecosystem approach“.
What’s your future plans?
Markus: “We are building infrastructure for the ‘new financial market’ to make it efficient and effective, and to involve ordinary people in building the next big things. We want to include new verticals (asset classes), new customer segments and partnerships particularly from the established financial sector, to build an infrastructure that creates an ecosystem of marketplaces, which can cooperate and leverage one another for a transparent and efficient market. We believe new funding models present an opportunity for various sectors and we invite all pioneers to help us shape our infrastructure, to bring value to their niche“.
FinSMEs
27/11/2012