#WFSLA
November 17 - 18 | Los Angeles, CA
TESTIMONIALS
2016
“Thank you for the opportunity to speak once again at the Global Alternative Funding Forum. These are some of the most insightful and engaging conversations I have all year on matters of critical importance to small business and capital formation. Always an exciting event.”
R. Cromwell Coulson
“Thanks! It was a productive day for me, from the sessions to the people I was able to (re-) connect with.”
Joe Platnick
“The Global Alternative Funding Forum has emerged as one of the must attend events each year. Dr Silchenko organizes a unique mix of sophisticated Angel investors, VCs, Impact Investors and FinTech disruptors. I will be there every year without question.”
Dr Richard Swart
“High quality of both (sides) – speakers and participants, makes a huge difference. I’ve met amazing people and even sold quite a few of my books!”
Josh Maher
“Thanks again for including me in a great event.”
Dara Albright
“I had a great time learning from the thought leaders in this exciting and developing opportunity for companies (whether emerging or established) to access the capital markets in a way that makes sense.”
Katherine Blair
“Thanks again for putting together a wonderful, and thought provoking event. Looking forward to attending the next one.”
Blake Coler-Dark
“Terrific conference Friday, with very accomplished participants. Thanks for including me.”
Mona DeFrawi
“Thank you very much! It was a very well organized event with high profile participants, and very interesting topics.” Carlos M. Moreno, Consul Adjunto/Deputy Consul of the Republic of Argentina.
Carlos M. Moreno
“Thanks for putting together this wonderful event!”
Celu Ramasamy
“We enjoyed the event very much! Thanks for all your effort in organizing.”
Amy Wan
“I had a great time and felt the speaker line up was impressive, interesting and engaged!”
Matthew Helderman
2015
“One of the best post-JOBS Act conferences we’ve seen. It included many who are active in the legislative process, knowledgeable practitioners and companies looking to raise capital. I highly recommend it.”
Dave Weild
“I thought it was excellent in all respects. Congratulations.”
Arthur Lipper
"To keep it simple, the best most interesting, intelligent, and encompassing perspective on alt investment that I’ve attended."
Tony Quinones
“You put together a truly terrific full day of quality content on a professional, yet cordial and engaging level, which isn’t easy to accomplish especially with such a group of large eclectic speakers and attendees to ride herd over. I’m very grateful to you for allowing me to participate on such a high quality event.”
Michael G. Homeier Esq.
"I had a very good time at the Forum and found my time very well spent. Not only was it educational for me to hear many of the speakers but I have already gotten a new client."
Brett Heimov
“WOW! What an event… Great speakers, great attendance, great venue. EVERY panel was absolutely top notch. Congratulations on a GREAT job! It was an awesome event.”
Dianne Gubin
"I much enjoyed (the forum). Well done for making such a valuable fintech event in Los Angeles!"
Rod Turner
“Thank you for a wonderful and informative event.”
Charles Perera
“Very successful conference… I found every single one of the panels very informative and very engaging. Congratulations.”
Kim Kaselionis
“Great conference. I got much more out of it than I was expecting."
Robert Grosshandle
“Really enjoyed (the forum). You did an outstanding job, great diversity of topics and speakers. Well done.”
Kim Kovacs
“Really enjoyed (the forum). You did an outstanding job, great diversity of topics and speakers. Well done.”
Kim Kovacs
“I wanted to thank you very much. Great event."
Niko DeCesare
“Thank you for the opportunity to participate. Congratulations and best wishes for continued growth!"
Amir Blachman
“Thank you so much for having me at the event, and it was magnificent. I made some wonderful connections.”
Dan Nainan
“The event was fantastic! I know you put a lot of work into it, and it showed! I especially enjoyed the caliber of people you brought into the event – there was one fantastic conversation after another ALL DAY!”
Kara Kennedy
“I’m glad the Forum was such a success. Once again, congratulations on doing a great job organizing it!”
Jim Brandt
“Thank you for the opportunity and allowing us to connect with one another and people in the audience. Was great fun!”
Ben Levy
“It was a wonderful and an educational event. Thanks again."
Tolga Onuk
“I really enjoyed the forum. It informed our LLC of the changing face of business funding, especially with the advent of the JOBS Act.”
John Davis
“Thank you for a great a event.”
Danielle Blackwell
"I thought you put on a great event. Thank you for including me."
David Dobkin
"The conference was very well done, was indeed excellent with a complete roster of interesting speakers."
Alan Stone
"I loved it! I was beyond honored to be in the same presence with some of the most amazing people in the industry. It was incredible to gain greater perspective on where alternative funding is going. I really think that it provides an opportunity that wasn’t available before, to really help people realize their dreams."
Stephen Hargett
2014
“I found the conference constructive and made several meaningful contacts as result of attending. The panel approach, as an audience encouraging technique, works in terms of exposing a lot of people to meeting attendees."
Arthur Lipper
“Congratulations on your event – amazing quality, very important and interesting info and great speakers.”
Bill Black
“I enjoyed (the Forum). It is extremely difficult to put many different types of interest in the same space. But people like you and the effort you put in make it happens. Keep up the good work.”
David Khorram
“I’m interested in the equity crowdfunding space, including both the business and legal implications, and I think the panels were very informative on that issue in particular. I really did enjoy the event overall. Great job!”
Shahrokh Sheik
“I had a great time. Congratulations, you produced an excellent event. Loved finding out about bitcoin. Fascinating. Thank you so much.”
Michael Berk
“Thanks for the opportunity to participate in the Forum. You did a fantastic job getting a bunch of very interesting people in the room and I love the one day format. Keep up the great work!"
Josef Holm
“Metropole Capital’s Alternative Funding Forum provided an array of perspectives from experts across various fields of finance and funding alternatives with big picture and concrete information to help navigate the brave new world of seeking capital. As the world of capital shifts, forums like these are needed to provide for open discussions and to build a community of talented, successful investors and entrepreneurs to network and cross-pollinate new domains as the landscape continues to change.”
Pilar Stella
“The conference was great. These things are a ton of work and you did a great job. Thanks for including me.”
Jon Funk
“I enjoyed the forum and was happy to be part of it!”
Reeve Collins
“I wanted to thank you for having me as a speaker at your forum. It was a great experience.”
Vincent Bradley
“I wanted to thank you for having me as a speaker at your forum. It was a great experience.”
Vincent Bradley
“Thank you for having me. I think the content was excellent and (the Forum) was really well done!!”
Kati Suominen, Ph.D.
“Thank you for the wonderful opportunity to participate (at the Forum). Everyone was so nice and interesting and I found it very worthwhile.”
Maura Kawai
“Thank you. I’d be happy to participate in any future events like this.”
Ian Truitne
“Enjoyed your event very much!”
Mike Panesis
“I was honored being on the stage with iconic guys. I met a few people I quite liked, because they do what I don’t, and approach things differently. Thank you for inviting me!”
Huston Huddleston
“You did a phenomenal job with the conference!”
Jon Nash
“Great event. Thanks!”
Dr. Gerhard Apfelthaler
2013
“I am truly excited to participate in this year event. I look forward to collaborating with peers at this game-changing inflection point in our industry."
Jeff McCarthy
“I learned so much at the Forum… and met many new experts to add to my small business resources. So many good speakers!”
Vivian Shimoyama
“It is a truly rare gathering where you meet remarkable entrepreneurs and investors that communicate together on a respectful and an equally sophisticated level. I left the Forum empowered by fresh knowledge and outstanding contacts realizing that this one day only event helped me to re-shape my own business ideas and saved me months of networking.”
Steve Newman
“Thank you for a fabulous event. I learned a lot. I loved the format you used. I loved everything about it! What a wonderful group of people.”
Michelle K Cameron
“The Forum was terrific, congratulations.”
Donald Haber
“The Forum taught filtered, authoritative new ideas and insights in a short day than I could have gathered in weeks of reading news clips. A great value!”
Richard Koffler
“(The Forum) changed my life by inspiring me to become a successful entrepreneur and crowd funder. I’d recommend this event to anyone with ambition"
Sandro Monetti
“This was my second year at the Forum. The infectious energy pervaded the venue, the content and the networking. It was global AND local at the same time, the panels were intimate enough to allow personal interaction with the audience and among the panelists. I will be back next year.”
Gunjan Bagla
“I have made some valuable new connections and enjoyed the conference very much.”
Josef Holm
“You put on a terrific show – informative, interesting, meaningful.”
Charlie Crumpley
“I really enjoyed (the event), learned a lot and made some amazing connections. It was money well spent and I don’t often feel that way after conferences.”
Mary Cimiluca
“Congratulations! You have done such a wonderful job in putting together the program especially with the number of speakers and attendees involved. Everything went very well and we were able to pick up a few useful contacts. Many thanks for having us."
Betty Young
“The Forum was fabulous! Very informative, and also important was the underlying tone of support and enthusiasm. Congratulations on pulling everything together so successfully!”
Jill Marti
“It was really great. So much energy and passion! Bravo!”
Jennifer Post
“Thanks so much. Absolutely worthwhile forum. Much above my expectations.”
Thomas Baker, Ph.D.
“With the new SEC rules this event is very timely.”
Brian Deagon
“Amazing event! So happy you put this up.”
Ash Kumra
“I’ve been to a lot of conferences but I really thought you did an excellent job in terms of content, timing and value."
Marc Guren
“It was a great conference.”
Michael Feinstein
“It was a good event, productive and enjoyable. Everyone was learning. Thanks, love to do it again."
David Raiklen
2012
“Great job of assembling the top people in L.A.’s tech scene, and they provided some really thoughtful and insightful commentary. Congrats."
Charlie Crumpley
“It was a smash! The attendees were all high quality and the panels very informative. Well done.”
Mark R Ross
“I must congratulate (organizer) for this great success, despite it being the first edition. The audience was invited to participate with questions and comments making the flow of the event very pleasant and dynamic. I attend plenty of conferences and events both in California and internationally, mostly on entrepreneurship and investing, and I can tell this particular one, has been among the best ones I went to in recent years.”
Bianca Dellepiane
“Kudos on a great first year conference! Very nicely done. Keep up the great work!”
Devon Blaine
“Thank you for inviting me to participate in the conference. It was a great event.”
Victor Parker
“Thank you for the exceptional Forum! I believe that the energy that was flowing through the event will transpire into many positive interactions amongst all the participants involved!”
Vince Megaro
“I was glad to participate and from all people I spoke to they were very happy with the day.”
Larry Namer
“It was a real and enjoyable honor to be a sponsor / partner of this inaugural event. Though I was overseas on business at the time, I’ve managed to view the panel discussion via video and there really was some exceptional dialogue among some smart and passionate people from a variety of sectors … quite dynamic, makes for a great event. I look forward to supporting and speaking at the 2013 Forum. Nicely done!”
Colin Mangham
“I enjoyed meeting many new people – and learned a lot!”
Jennifer Post
“Thank you so much for letting me participate!”
David Carter
“Congratulations on your first Forum –excellent event and you should be proud!”
Keith Block
“Congratulations on a great event. Many thanks for inviting us to be a part of it.”
Julia Son
“I really, really liked the Forum. I think it was extremely informative and the quality of speakers was amazing. Congratulations!”
Fernanda Baserga-Rudd
“I enjoyed the event and believe (there was) a terrific collection of speakers and panels!”
Greg Cohn
“I thought that the program was really good. The panelists were excellent and covered a wide variety of perspectives. I think the networking happy hour at the end was a great idea as well.”
Don Crawford
“Not only was the Next Generation Entrepreneurship & Global Crowdfunding Forum useful for stellar networking. As an entrepreneur with a crowdfunding portal, it helped inform my decision-making on regulatory issues that are rarely discussed in front of such a knowledgeable crowd.”
S. Ryan Meyer
“I greatly enjoyed attending the event. Many panelists spoke from their own extensive experience as entrepreneurs and I really appreciated the quality of the contacts I made through the networking breaks and am looking forward to following up on some really engaging conversations.”
Vincent Kapur
“I thought the Forum was great. I was very happy with the program and I made some good contacts. Thanks!”
David Sperling
“It was a very enjoyable experience. I was able to get a handle on what exactly crowd funding has to offer and how it works. Also I was able to make some interesting contacts for funding my film ventures. I would certainly attend the next Forum.”
Frank E. Johnson
“I really enjoyed the event – it was an eye opener for me. Thank you!”
Dina Vukmanovic
“You did a wonderful job with the Forum – congratulations!! I made some great contacts and the speakers were top-notch. Everything you need to know was covered and I left the conference with a ton of new information. Well done!”
Linhard Stepf
“Heartiest congratulations on putting together such a well-attended and interesting Forum. We were pleased to have been a part of it.”
Ed Sauve
“The entrepreneurship opportunities and crowdfunding strategies presented and discussed at the Metropole Global Forum gave me hope and ideas for returning to secure and profitable investments.”
Jay Wertz
”Nice job with the event. We need a lot more of these for LA!”
Hale Boggs
“I enjoyed the event and believe you put together a terrific collection of speakers and panels!”