The Crowdfund Better® Team
“If you are fortunate enough to meet, hear or hire Kathleen my advice is to listen intently – you will learn a lot you’ll not find anywhere else.”
–Barry E James, Founder
The Crowdfunding Center & TheCrowdDataCenter (UK)
Kathleen Minogue
Kathleen Minogue is a recognized leader for her pioneering work in community funding education. In 2012, she founded Crowdfund Better®, the leading crowdfunding education and training organization in the U.S. For over a decade, she has guided small businesses, nonprofits, creatives, and communities in using crowdfunding strategically to unlock the financial support of their networks. Kathleen is passionate about crowdfunding as a tool for strengthening communities from the ground up and is excited to work on projects that encourage entrepreneurship, economic development, and wealth creation in communities large and small.
Kathleen is the creator of The Crowdfund Better® Process, the first crowdfunding curriculum built to increase campaign success while strengthening business fundamentals, and the Crowdfund Better® Certified Advisor program, the first professional development training program for advisors. In partnership with the National Coalition for Community Capital (NC3), she supports the creation of community investment funds that give local residents the opportunity to become investors in their neighborhoods using crowdfunding tools.
Her expertise has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Crowdfund Insider, and PwC Women Unbound Report, and she been invited to present at the Director’s Guild of America, the AWBC and ASBDC National Conferences, IEDC Economic Future Forum, and Crowdfunding Deep Impact UK. Prior to Crowdfund Better®, Kathleen spent many years in the field of education and worked in the investment banking division of JPMorgan Chase. She sits on the board of With Love Market & Cafe, SPC, in Los Angeles.
Scott Madsen directs the programs, communications, customer experience, and marketing operations of Crowdfund Better®. He has over 20 years in customer service, spanning from the early 2000’s at Gap.com to Wells Fargo in 2009 before switching gears and focusing on working with small business owners and startups in developing their grassroots marketing. His expertise of simplifying complex marketing strategies down to the “nuts and bolts” has been essential in working with Crowdfund Better’s clients.
Scott served two consecutive years in AmeriCorps NCCC, which opened his eyes to the power of community and how government can both potentially assist and hinder communities of all kinds. From there he wound his way through three degrees – International Relations, Spanish and Latin American Studies – including living abroad in Mexico and Spain for nearly two years. Scott brings his worldview to every encounter, helping bridge the divide with Spanish speaking communities (¡se habla español!), which are often overlooked by the U.S. crowdfunding industry.
He created the first ever online Spanish language crowdfunding course developed for small business owners and entrepreneurs based in the United States, “La Oportunidad de Crowdfunding“, in September of 2020 (in conjunction with Kathleen Minogue’s curriculum). After 10+ years working with nonprofits and small business owners, Scott “downloaded his marketing brain” to create the online course “Market With Community: Get Your Systems in Shape” for anyone looking to build their digital marketing system foundations with a focus on community at the heart of their operations, whether they’re looking to crowdfund or not.
Scott is a proud Chicoan ( having grown up in Chico – three hours north of San Francisco – aka. the real NorCal). When he’s not glued to his computer, Scott can be found working in the garden (he finds his zen helping things grow) and pursuing a deeper knowledge of preservation carpentry (restoring what was built in the past to continue on into the future).
