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Investment Crowdfunding: Democratizing Investment for the 99%

Crowdfunding is a type of financial support that allows curious or excited individuals to pledge money to companies, people, or products that spark interest. And that interest is BROAD: the world of crowdfunding is incredibly diverse and has garnered some very interesting spinoffs, like equity and debt crowdfunding.

Crowdfunding became really popular about a decade ago: Indiegogo launched in 2007 and the other large platform, Kickstarter, launched in 2009. In the decade or so since, there has been a constant flow of campaigns and projects supporting projects both big and small. Some of the most successful campaigns have brought in hundreds millions of dollars, everything from cryptocurrencies, consumer technology, food, smart home items, and games.

Indiegogo and Kickstarter are the two most popular examples of rewards-based crowdfunding. In this type of crowdfunding, consumers will give funds in exchange for a reward, usually the product or service that’s being funding. This allows savvy consumers to give direct support to companies and products that have great promise, and ensures that they are early adopters of cool technology.

In 2017, Impact Hub HNL launched its first crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise scholarship funds for local groups and organizations who needed financial support. In the campaign the community contributed over $10,000, and we able to provide scholarships for 35 memberships, events, and programs, proving that crowdfunding can be a powerful tool for increasing equity.


Another type of fundraising is donation-based crowdfunding, which doesn’t ask for a return product or service. This includes sites like GoFundMe and Crowdrise, which often people use to raise money for themselves and their friends in need.

One of the biggest changes to the crowdfunding world came in 2015 with new rules that updated the Obama-era JOBS Act. This new ruling created exceptions to US securities and investment laws to allow anyone – not just accredited investors (ie: those with $1million net worth) – to become investors: thus, the creation of equity crowdfunding.

Equity crowdfunding allows ‘investors’ to give money to a company in exchange for shares, even if it’s just a small percentage. This created a huge shift in the investment world, and continues to democratize investment for the other 99%. Some examples of equity crowdfunding sites include SeedInvest, WeFunder, CircleUp, and StartEngine.

Another shift was the creation of Debt Crowdfunding (also known as peer-to-peer lending, or P2P lending). This model allows non-accredited investors to support individuals or businesses with direct financing. Examples of these sites include Prosper and LendingClub. These sites offer people a funding route that is not tied to banks, and gives investors an opportunity to support people and projects and earn money in return for their investment.

One of the most exciting things about both equity and debt crowdfunding is that they generate real results for both the investor and company. Debt crowdfunding can bring in returns of about 7%, which is on par with traditional investments. Equity crowdfunding can get startups off the ground with significant capital without the hassle of investors taking over the day-to-day of the company, it can be a great way to build a base of supporters, and offers a range of other benefits.

Of course, with any venture of this sort, it’s good to ensure that the company or product you are investing in (or supporting) has a good track record, is poised for successful delivery of product, or has good projections for return on investment. Any equity crowdfunding platform requires due diligence for the companies to be hosted on site, but it’s always good to do your own research before using your money. WeFunder explains that, “Startups either win big or go bankrupt. You could lose all your money. Consider them more like socially-good lottery tickets.”

Beyond just getting a cool, early-adopter product or receiving a good return on investment, crowdfunding is really a way to vote with your dollars for the world that you wish you see. This democratization of investment is key to building a world beyond traditional investment structures – most of which exclude women, people of color, lower income and otherwise marginal investors.

Voting with your dollars, whether for a product, service, or investment, allows you to expand your social impact and support businesses that align with your core values, which is has the potential for huge social, financial, and economic impact – something we can definitely support!

 

ImpactART 2019: Interview with Visual Artist Boz Schurr

We are so excited to announce our second ImpactART event featuring local artist Boz Schurr.

Boz is a Honolulu local artist, muralist, and teacher known for her brightly colored large murals throughout the city. This event will be held March 15, from 6pm-8pm. It’s a free reception with pupu and drinks provided. Learn more about the event here.

We got to chat with Boz ahead of the event to learn more about her history…. and her future!

Andrea B, Impact Hub HNL (AB): Tell us a little bit more about yourself and your work, both as a prominent local artist and as a teacher at Kamehameha Schools.

Boz Schurr (Boz): I feel so very lucky to be able to not only share art with the community but with these amazing kids I get to teach. It really keeps me busy, and when you see that “ah-ha” moment when a kid tries something new or gets to express themselves in a new way, it’s the ultimate reward. I really enjoy getting to teach the “fun” subject (except, like probably every teacher, I hate grading, no one told me about the grading!).

As far as art in the community goes I am so happy to finally be in a position where I can give back when I want to. I do have less time than I’d like (but who doesn’t?) and now, when there is a passion project, I can focus on what’s important and how it makes me feel, rather than how much it will cost. I still charge fees – I am still running a business – but it’s more about beautifying spaces and building relationships and figuring out how we can come together and make an idea a reality.

It’s tough having two jobs, but at the end of the day it’s the best problem to have.

First large mural commission for Island Distillers in Hawaii Kai in 2016

AB: This event features new works that are pretty different from your other body of work, which tends towards colorful, bright, and whimsical. Can you talk more about the shift that you felt happening that is allowing us to see this other aspect of your capabilities?

Boz: The look, feel, and concept of my work has been in transition for a while. When I was younger I felt very strongly that I would not allow anyone, myself included, to see my mental difference as a weakness, or as something I was “overcoming.” It was really important to me that I was seen as not being successful “in spite of” my situation. In fact, I would go so far as to say that how I think and feel has really been a helpful influence and inspiration on my process. So in previous work, that is really what I tried to focus on, the fact that differences are challenging but also beautiful and necessary. I would often refer to myself and other individuals as falling anywhere and everywhere on the spectrum (referring to the visible color spectrum). You can’t pinpoint an exact greens, or reds, or purples and say yes, THAT’S purple, when there is a perfectly good purple right next to it. It’s all one shifting, overlapping and subtle color gradation. How could you say your green is healthy (right) and mine is sick (wrong)? They are both okay, just different.

So my older work has often included bright colors, fun creatures, and rainbows to highlight what I believe are the benefits of living with mental difference. However, in the summer of 2017 I was at an artist residency in Iceland and I experienced a severe depression and had frequent and severe anxiety attacks with I had not experienced since college. But it was also the first time I really understood what was happening. It was a completely surreal, almost out-of-body experience to be aware of what you’re going through and still be completely unable to change your feelings in the moment.

So the current work is addressing that experience – the ebb and flow of our mental stability and how it really affects everyone. The earlier work was celebrating the sunrise – the rainbows and the joy of the experience. This new work is learning to embrace the sunset side and to acknowledge that both are equally necessary.

“(Ísland to Island) Korpúlfsstaðir and The 23hr Sunset” in 2018 at the Honolulu Museum of art Spalding House, was the first exhibition that started to address the sunrise to sunset experience of living with mental difference.

AB: What are you most excited about for this event?

Boz: I am excited and nervous to talk about some personal things that I haven’t addressed before. In the last few years I realized that while I might have reached a healthy understanding of myself and how I operate, it’s not enough. While we’ve made great strides in de-stigmatizing the conversation surrounding mental health there are still gaps in the dialogue. So while I have a fear of speaking honestly about my experience I also know it’s necessary because someone else might need to hear it in order to find the courage to speak for themselves. I can only speak for me, but if my voice can cause a tiny ripple or encourage someone else or shift the preconceived notions, then it’s worth it.

I’m also very excited to make new connections and hopefully continue to build my community. There are good people out there and I want to meet them!

AB: Tell us a little bit more about the partnerships you have for this event – why are these important to you?

Boz: The collaboration I am most excited for is the live mural! I’ll have set up a station with a wall that’s ready for audience participation. The colors, brushstrokes, how you paint – the choice is yours. I’m hopeful for this project (which is the first time I’ve tried anything like this) because it’ll be a fun bridge to chat about our own experiences. Plus you get to color stuff and I don’t have to grade it, how great is that?

AB: What other big events are on your horizon for the year? 

Boz: There is a lot going on! I’ll be doing a mural for Aloha Beer Co, a mural in Kailua, Ewa Beach, and Kaimuki! Plus upcoming collabs with Beanabouttown, Pena People, Friends of Haiku Stairs, UHU Conservancy, and AXIS Chinatown. Also, I am going to be a speaker for Civil Beat’s Storytellers series all about mental health February 22 at Ka Wai Wai (currently sold out). And I have a hope for a new coloring book I’d like to put out before the beginning of summer. Whew! It’s a lot but at the same time, I get to make work with amazing people and talk about art and design all day long. Like I said earlier, it really is the best problem to have.

If you want to keep up with what I am doing please sign up for my mailing list HERE or follow me on instagram HERE. I am always ready to find time for coffee and a collaboration chat. Cheers!

What is ImpactART?

ImpactART supports Hawaii’s artists by creating an equal exchange of artwork for studio and exhibition space. Co-created by Impact Hub HNL and Honolulu Biennial Foundation in 2017 to address the need for art studios and the proper valuation of artists’ work. Last year we hosted our first ImpactART event with Lauren Hana Chai.

Anne Weber, Impact Hub HNL Community Manager, explains, “The idea for ImpactART was inspired by our commitment to creating community impact. When we opened in August 2017, we had huge blank walls and wanted to figure out a way to beautify the space, support local up and coming artists, inspire a new audience of art lovers, and show the business community how they too can support local arts in a creative way. It is a win-win.”

To inquire about art space or to learn more about Impact Hub HNL, email us.

 

Technology Update from our Co-Founder & Chief Geeky Officer

Nam VuAloha Everyone! Chúc mừng năm mới! (Happy New Year!)

It’s been a while since I have sent a message out and a lot has happened… Wait, that’s what I said last time! We have some great news about our technology and our facilities and we wanted to be sure to share some details with you.

New Copiers are Coming

We’ve ordered three new copiers that will be delivered by the end of February. The current printers have (mostly) served us well, but as anyone with a Chromebook knows, it’s not perfect. The new printers will support printing from all current platforms and provide more reliable performance for all of us. These new printers will also add security and privacy of documents – you will need to enter a personal code to release the documents in the print queue. Additionally, the printers will be on a service contract which will ensure uptime in case our resident copier repair tech (ahem, that’s me) is out. And YES, these new printers will have scanning capabilities. Copies, printing, and scanning will remain free for members.

New Door Locks

We will be installing a new door lock system. August (the current app-based lock system) has been really good to us and was a great starting option. However, the time has come for a more robust system. The new system will feature an access pad – to gain entry, you just need to hold your smartphone up to the access pad and do a little twist of your wrist. The new locks will not have a delay, so when the door closes after hours, it will immediately be locked. This will increase the security of our members and our shared space. As usual, this is only applicable to Unlimited Members who have access 24/7.

New Member Dashboard

In the coming months, we will be rolling out a new member management system to replace our current system. The new system will have a web-based and mobile platform so you can choose whichever option is more convenient. Like any new program, there will be an adjustment period to learn the new system, but we are optimistic that it will be significantly better overall. The primary driver of this change was for improved backend management: as we have grown, the current system became increasingly difficult to manage. Finally, apologies in advance – everyone will need to re-enter your credit card information when the new system goes live due to credit card privacy rules.

New Thermostats

You may have noticed that we’ve been changing out all of the thermostats for improved energy savings and comfort. The old thermostats could not be programmed efficiently or easily, which meant that the inside blower units were running every Sunday even though the building chiller was not providing us with cold air. The new thermostats give us complete flexibility in scheduling and gives us control of all of the thermostats from afar – all 14 of them. We will be changing the thermostats in Suite 200 very soon. Thank you for your patience – we know, it is COLD!

VoIP Phones

You may have noticed the addition of phones in the Small Meeting Room and the Boardroom. These are voice-over-IP (VoIP) phones and are for you to use like a regular phone – there is no need to dial any codes to get an outside line. Do you want us to install phones in the red London phone booths? Let us know.

Internet Connection and Wi-Fi

We’ve upgraded our connection to a full 1Gbps/1Gbps (that’s gigabytes per second, and yes, that’s REALLY fast)! Previously we had a 100Mbps burstable to 1Gbps – this means that it normally operated at 100Mbps, but if there is a need to go higher because of usage or demand, then it would burst up higher. This was super confusing because when you ran a speedtest, it would not show 1Gbps causing some of you to ask me, “What’s Uuuuppp?” I’ve recently transitioned to cloud storage for my personal files and photos and have been uploading 3TB of data to the cloud, which would have taken me 733 hours to do at home, which is about one month! Instead, it took me a total of about 24 hours to upload everything at Impact Hub HNL! For the fastest speeds, you can use the wired connection downstairs and in offices.

We also have a 300Mbps backup connection that automatically kicks in if our main connection goes down for any reason. We were careful to make sure that the two connections do not share facilities upstream to provide redundancy. Which means if there is a power outage at one of the facilities it should not affect both connections. Super geeky, I know.

We recently needed to move the main connection to a new server rack which required us to take the main connection offline. The backup kicked in as designed and no one even knew anything was being done.

The Wi-Fi access points we use are stadium grade/carrier grade. Translation: it’s the same equipment many stadiums use for Wi-Fi to provide service to a lot of devices in a confined area. It will easily provide access to 500 devices concurrently in our space.

All of this for you, our valued members! As always, if you have any questions, or comments, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly.

Nam, Co-Founder and Chief Geeky Officer

Meet the Women’s Personal Finance Group

Do you have a retirement plan? How do you manage your holiday spending? Does your budget and balance sheet align with your core values?

No doubt, these are really big questions, and something that many people – especially women – don’t talk about often enough. Our Women’s Personal Finance workgroup is a casual bi-monthly meetup for any woman that wants to learn more about finances, better understand their own financial habits and needs, and get more comfortable asking questions and learning about this big subject.

The group started in mid-2018 with a few financial professionals as an expert-led session, but has shifted into a workgroup format: using books and worksheets from popular finance books, apps, and blogs, the group together discusses ideas about and solutions to common finance issues. All are chosen to help attendees on their own financial learning journey, wherever they might be starting!

The group is facilitated by our Marketing Coordinator Andrea, who’s passionate about learning everything about finance. We are lucky to have Tania Fukuda as a member of the group. Tania is a professional financial planner who brings years of personal insight and passion to the group.

Some of the books, worksheets, and tools that we’ve used previously in workshops include:

  • The Art of Money: The Life-Changing Guide to Financial Happiness by Bari Tessler
  • You are a Bad** at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth by Jen Sincero
  • The Heart of Money: A Couple’s guide to Creating True Financial Intimacy by Deborah Price
  • Overcoming Underearning: A Five-Step Plan to a Richer Life by Barbara Stanny
  • The Compound Effect: Jumpstart your Income, your Life, Your Success by Darren Hardy
  • … along with various tools, videos, worksheets, and excerpts from these books and others.

We are always open to additional books, websites, apps, tools, and ideas for future groups.

And in case you’re wondering why this group is just for women, there are lots of good reasons! Women are traditionally excluded from many investment and finance opportunities, both as professionals and personally. Added to that, women historically (and currently) make much less money than men, and they take more time off caring for families– risking their jobs and losing out on income in vital growth years.

This means that women are in a very different financial situation than men at almost all stages of their lifetime, which means that women have very different financial needs. This necessitates a space where women can learn from their peers as they become more comfortable talking about finances – and we think our Personal Finance workgroup is the perfect place to start!

If you want to join the conversation, please join us on the second Tuesday, every-other month. The next event is February 12, from 12pm-1pm. Check out the Facebook group and join the conversation!

What is Mindfulness & How Can You Begin a Regular Practice?

You might know that meditation can help bring calm and clarity into your mind and body, but have you been able to put these principles into practice?

Mindfulness expert Noah Pomeroy is hosting a 4-part series starting February 5 that allows attendees to experience the expansive benefits of mindfulness for themselves. The series (which can be attended as one class or a series) will help you learn the basics mindfulness training and develop your own practice over the month.

Noah is a certified professional mindfulness teacher by the International Mindfulness Teacher Association and he completed his training in mindfulness facilitation at UCLA. Noah draws on mindfulness teaching experience from a variety of contexts working with individuals and groups, including teaching this practice at the University of Hawaii, UCLA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Halawa State Prison. The classes will be a combination of lecture, discussion, and guided meditation exercises.

I chatted with Noah about his coming workshop so that we could learn more about this practice, his background, and the upcoming classes.

Andrea B. (AB): What’s the quickest way to describe mindfulness to someone that has never heard of this concept before?

Noah Pomeroy (NP): Mindfulness means directing your attention to the present moment experience with openness and curiosity. It sounds simple enough, but it’s not easy. We all have the capacity to do this to some degree, but we can get much better at it by practicing mindfulness meditation.

AB: What originally (or continues) to keep you excited about mindfulness?

NP: Mindfulness is simply the best tool I have come across to actually engage with each moment of life, rather than being passively carried along on auto-pilot as we are so prone to do. This is why mindfulness is such a game-changer for both our personal and professional lives. As we practice, focus improves and what matters to us and our work becomes clearer. We’ve known for decades that training the body is good for our health – we now know that training our minds is critical as well.

AB: Tell me a bit more about your certification? How long have you been teaching?

NP: After 10 years of a personal practice and 2 years of guiding mindfulness sessions at work, I decided to complete a year long training in mindfulness facilitation at UCLA. As mindfulness has become a wellness buzzword, “2-day teacher certifications” are popping up; the UCLA program grew out of a need to thoroughly train teachers to meet the growing demand for mindfulness training. The program is rooted in the growing body of science that supports the benefits of mindfulness and proven techniques for working with different communities. I’ve worked as a meditation guide at the University of Hawaii for the last 2 years, coaching individuals and groups and delivering lectures for UH’s popular mindfulness classes.

AB: What can people expect in the workshop? What if they are totally new to mindfulness, meditation, and other practices like this?

NP: These classes are designed for people who are new to mindfulness practice, and over the 4-week class series, students will have the opportunity to develop their own daily practice with the support of my guidance and fellow participants. While anyone can take each individual class to learn about a particular aspect of mindfulness practice, participants that choose to do all four will get the most out of the series. Beginning any new daily habit (even for 10 minutes) a day sounds easy, but we all know it is not. In order to experience the benefits of mindfulness, you must practice regularly. I want people to actually start a daily practice that will serve them the rest of their lives. I welcome people who think mindfulness is “woo-woo” or “soft–” through this practice one learns quickly that this practice takes courage, discipline, and the spirit of adventure to meet your experience of life exactly as it is… and those who bring these elements to the practice will be rewarded accordingly.

AB: What is the goal of the workshop – after the workshop, participants should be able do what?

NP: After each class, participants will takeaway their firsthand experience with guided mindfulness practice and an understanding of a particular aspect of practice. Participants that are able to commit to 2-4 weeks of the series will have the best chance to establish a daily mindfulness meditation practice that will allow them to experience the benefits of mindfulness in their lives, work, and relationships. They will have a grasp the fundamentals of practice and how to overcome common obstacles. They will have a taste of the freedom and joy that comes from regular practice that will fuel the momentum of practice they have built through the course.

Thanks Noah for sharing your thoughts! Register for the classes here; members can use discount code MEMBER to get 15% of ticket prices for either the full series or individual classes. 

Join our Membership Discount Program

As a member of Impact Hub HNL you are eligible for discounts from other members and neighborhood businesses. From movies to mortgages, skincare to services, we’ve built a very cool network for our Members. Learn more about currently available member discounts here.

Do you have a discount that you’d like to offer our members? GREAT! We are happy to create partnerships with both member and local businesses. Please see our flyer below, and contact us to learn more or get started.