Jim Rudnick launches Hamilton, Ontario-focused crowdfunding site

By Nicel Jane Avellana

Feb 20, 2014 11:54 AM EST

Jim Rudnick has rolled out a crowdfunding site aimed at helping entrepreneurs in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, The Hamilton Spectator reported.

Rudnick is a serial entrepreneur who owns SEO optimization firm KKT Interactive and is one of Snap-pay.com's founders. As someone who knows startups and Internet platforms, Rudnick said what matters for crowdfunding sites is not only what they can do for local startups as of this time, but what they can do for these entrepreneurs later on.

He told The Hamilton Spectator in an interview, "I've been watching a lot of interactions on crowdfunding sites and I didn't intend to provide a platform where it ends up just being a buffer between a startup and a bunch of friends and family."

When the US followed other European countries and loosened rules on equity funding, Rudnick got intrigued, the report said.

Equity funding is under the jurisdiction of provinces in Canada. The Ontario Securities Commission held a meeting last year to get inputs on the matter, the report said.

Crowdfunding sites work when an entrepreneur possesses a business idea or needs to raise capital for expansion or growth and undertakes a crowdfunding campaign. At present there are over 400 sites of this kind that allow investors to secure the funds they need. Some crowdfunding sites are indiegogo and Kickstarter, which arrived in Canada in September last year, the report said.

The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada or NCAC revealed that as of January last year, there are 45 crowdfunding websites in Canada, the report said.

While Rudnick may have a chance in the future to create an equity-based crowdfunding platform, he is currently focused on rolling out a geospecific site, a website that he said he could not find in any other place, the report said.

The crowdfunding platform is found at FundHamOnt.com. Rudnick told The Hamilton Spectator, "It's going to snowball. I'm so surprised nobody else has done this. This is a city builder."

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