VC, ICO, or Crowdfunding: Which Fundraising Option Is Best for Your Tech Startup?

With the recent rise of initial coin offerings (ICO) and crowdfunding, tech startups suddenly have more viable options to raise funding. However, more options do not necessarily make for an easier decision. To help tech founders select the best fundraising approach for their startup, we're bringing in entrepreneurs, investors, and startup mentors who have experience with all of these vehicles to shed light into the various criteria and situational factors that mean one approach will be more successful for one company versus another.

 

We're thrilled to host VC Najib Khouri-Haddad plus tech founders Brit Morgan and Eddie Lee for this animated discussion moderated by crypto startup advisor Anita Motwani. Co-founder and COO of Hilo — a social platform for crypto traders — Brit is well versed in raising VC funding and is currently working on an ICO project. As co-founder and CEO of Podo Labs, Eddie has successfully raised funding from traditional investors, four Kickstarter campaigns, and has a token sale pending! Our panelists will discuss the pros and cons of crowdfunding, VC, and ICO. They will also share stories and lessons learnt guiding startups through the process of raising capital through these vehicles.

 

As always, we will open the discussion up to the audience. Please bring your questions for our panelists!

 

5:30 - 6:00 pm | Happy (Half) Hour

6:00 - 6:30 pm | Panel Discussion

6:30 - 7:00 pm | Audience Q&A

7:00 - 7:30 pm | Networking

 

 

By registering for this event, you agree that you may be contacted by RocketSpace for future events and announcements. Your details will never be shared with third parties. Attendees must be 21+.

 

Eddie Lee is the president and co-founder at Podo Labs, a consumer technology company based in San Francisco.

 

Eddie has helped Podo Labs launch four Bluetooth-enabled consumer hardware products while raising over $2.5M via crowdfunding in two years. He is a frequent speaker and writer on hardware entrepreneurship and crowdfunding at events hosted by Kickstarter, Backerkit, Target Open House, Hardware Massive, SF Hardware Workshop, and more.

 

Eddie graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with dual degrees in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business, and Rhetoric.

 

Najib Khouri-Haddad is a General Partner at Sway Ventures with over 20 years of experience in business and corporate development, marketing, and general management.

 

With more than 30 equity transactions closed in M&A, spin-offs, and venture investments valued at multi-billions of dollars, Najib served as Vice President of Corporate Business Development at 3Com (acquired by HP), as well as Vice President of Sales and Marketing Emerging Markets at CA Technologies, Vice President of Corporate Business Development for EFI, Inc., and in product marketing and engineering positions at IBM and Siemens.

 

Najib holds a Masters in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Michigan, a Masters in Business and Engineering Management from Stanford University, and a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. He is fluent in English, French, and Arabic.