We're Changing the Face of Investing
Here at Equifund, we’ve helped thousands of investors access well-vetted private market investment opportunities not available anywhere else.
Our Story
In the world of finance and investing, two groups have long been underserved, if not largely ignored — emerging companies and the retail investors vying to support them.
Fueled by a passion to elevate, educate, and better serve these groups, Equifund was founded by Jordan Gillissie in 2017. Upholding rigorous due diligence and underwriting processes, our veteran team of capital markets professionals have leveraged the firm’s FINRA- and SEC-registered, tech-enabled private equity platform to successfully disrupt the middle-market investment banking industry — better serving entrepreneurs and investors alike.
Alongside our bi-weekly Private Capital Insider newsletter, Equifund’s investor-first research and educational offerings ideally equip the individual investor to make informed investment choices — whether with our private equity issuers, or a host of other leading assets. Today, we serves over 32,000 individual investors. Collectively, we’ve aided 17 diverse companies in raising over $71 million… and we’re just getting started!
Our Past Offerings
Our Team
Jordan Gillissie - CEO and Founder
Previous to founding Equifund, Jordan founded capital markets consulting and investor relations firm Novea Capital, Inc in 2009. At the helm of Novea, he led dozens of private and Nasdaq-listed companies in the identification of merger and acquisition targets, restructuring and rebranding several of them, and considerably boosting their fundability. Working with both his client companies and their shareholders, Jordan also negotiated strategic domestic and foreign alliances, and built and implemented strategies that greatly boosted shareholder value. In the four before Novea, Jordan was a managing partner at sales and marketing boutique BPGS, Inc. There, he was not only responsible for growing and supporting the business’s operations, including all budgeting, accounting, and financial filings, he also prospected for the firm’s new business, handled strategic partnerships, and analyzed and implemented both B2B and B2C sales channels. As well, Jordan served as an account executive with Protus IP Solutions for two years. There, he generated sales with existing clientele, in addition to analyzing, researching, and proposing IP solutions and professional services for their vertical markets. He also created strategic partner sales channels, which significantly boosted profitability. It’s no wonder he was the firm’s youngest executive to achieve $1M in sales.
In all his years working in finance, and guiding well over 70 companies in both corporate finance and investor relations, Mr. Gillissie has never drawn a regulatory infraction with either the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. He also holds the rigorous Canadian Secret Clearance. Fluent in both English and French, Jordan resides in Ottawa, Canada, alongside his wife and two children. He volunteers as a kids hockey coach, and enjoys the occasional respite at the family’s cabin.
When talking about Equifund, Jordan notes that the firm is “industry agnostic but founder specific.” This means that “the firm’s focus is on companies with strong stewardship first, companies that uphold corporate governance, regulatory and financial compliance, regardless of their developmental status.” He expects all the firm’s issuing companies to “conduct themselves like they’re ready to ring the bell at Nasdaq.” Although the companies “may not know all of the in’s and out’s of operating as a publicly held company, they must be receptive to not only learning, but to be actionable toward consistent improvement.” Finally, Jordan notes that “Equifund rigorously seeks companies with forward-looking management teams, who ultimately seek to achieve an initial public offering in the not too distant future.”
Geoff Gross - Lead Analyst
Although based in Ottawa, Geoff has long worked with companies across both Canada and the U.S. His practice is focused on investment banking services for emerging and middle market companies.
Since 2022, he’s served as a senior strategic advisor with Confederation M&A in Ottawa, a member firm of Cornerstone International Alliance, LLC, a global mergers and acquisitions firm. Geoff is also a partner with Toronto-based real estate firm, Landbank Advisors, Ltd, which holds a team of experts hailing from the private equity, finance, and real estate brokerage segments, and specializes in value creation.
Among many career highlights, Mr. Gross supported multiple micro-cap and mid-market clients in implementing growth strategies, capital stack management, and capital advisory. He was a senior mergers and acquisitions associate for Big Four accounting firm, Deloitte. There, Geoff served mid-market client companies hailing from diverse industries, and in transactions ranging from $5 million to over $500 million. His work with Deloitte included target generation and vetting, financial due diligence, deal structuring, and financing strategy. Geoff also worked with KPMG Canada in both Alberta and Ontario for more than four years, serving both private and publicly held client companies in complex accounting issues. These included stock-based compensation, impairment of tangible and intangible assets, multi-step consolidation, and going concern forecasting.
Mr. Gross holds a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Accounting and Finance from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In addition, Geoff completed the Canadian Securities Course with the Canadian Securities Institute, and Wall Street Prep’s financial modeling course. Today, Geoff and his wife reside in Ottawa, while also enjoying their cottage in Quebec.
With Equifund, Geoff directs all financial due diligence, and works closely with Jordan Gillissie in managing the underwriting for the firm’s issuing companies. In terms of the latter, Geoff works closely with each company, analyzing both the company and its comparables, determining best-case valuations and structures, as well as reviewing their financial projections and model driven assumptions. Of his work, he notes, “What’s really exciting today with tools like crowdfunding is seeing investment opportunities available to retail investors that 10 or 15 years ago, would have been exclusive to institutional or high net-worth investors. Working with some of these great issuers and seeing how both the innovator and the everyday-investor get to benefit from an issuance is what makes what we do worth it.” Despite the relatively young state of the crowdfunding industry, Geoff has already seen a shift in the conversation where VC and PE money are no longer the only option for an early stage or high-growth company looking to raise growth capital.
Laurie Roop - Corporate Due Diligence Analyst, Investor Relations Expert
In Laurie’s early career, she worked with a multimillion dollar-producing Merrill Lynch broker. She went on to serve INVEST Financial Corporation, became a Series 7 licensed broker, and eventually, the syndicate manager for a Denver-based investment bank, where she undertook the firm’s first and all subsequent Nasdaq offerings. Discovering her passion within the world of emerging companies, Laurie went on to work in corporate finance consulting. Shortly thereafter, she joined forces with an investor relations boutique, for which she later became president in 2004.
In the course of her 20-year tenure as a consulting investor relations officer, Laurie aided select client companies in early and mid-stage capital raises in excess of $120 million, and through both private and public offerings. Working with over 70 companies operating in more than a dozen industry segments, she designed and implemented campaigns credited with widely broadening the investor base and increasing market capitalizations by millions of dollars. Clientele especially valued Laurie’s expertise in thorough due diligence, research and analysis, as well as cost-saving preliminary drafts of offering documents. As 2012 rolled around, Ms. Roop stepped back from the often hectic schedule of cross-country roadshows and investor conferences. Through late 2020, she occasionally consulted as an investment research writer and analyst, while also refining business plans, offering memorandums, and performing investor relations audits.
As early 2021 dawned, Laurie dove back into full time work, this time joining financial publisher, True Market Insiders, where she was promoted twice in under a year. There, she independently assessed the remodel of two investment products; set forth a plan, and led the charge in their redevelopment, later serving as content manager. Coinciding, she served as equity analyst for one of the products, handling virtually all related research and writing, aiding in the production of live webinars, and further developing the brand. In 2022, she was promoted to the CEO’s content manager.
By late summer 2022, things were about to change again. In her own words, “the crowning joy of my career came along with the offer to join Equifund.” Working alongside Jordan Gillissie and Geoff Gross in underwriting, Laurie handles corporate due diligence. She also works with the firm’s publisher, Jake Hoffberg, in research and analysis, as well as investment writing and editing. However, as much as she enjoys handling those tasks, she also relishes working closely with the management of Equifund’s issuing companies, readying them for funding, and later, in assisting them to establish strong investor relations.
Away from work, Ms. Roop has devoted considerable time to volunteerism. She also founded a 501(c)3 charity, for which she authored and implemented a curriculum against dating and domestic abuse. A longtime jewelry designer, Laurie was recently featured in Belle Armoire magazine. Today, while she’s often found working at her keyboard, it’s rarely without music – what she calls “life’s soundtrack.” A mother and grandmother, Ms. Roop resides in the American Southwest, an ardent fan of the high Mojave Desert and her native Colorado Rocky Mountains.
Jake Hoffberg - Publisher
An innate communicator, Jake’s career was launched when he was studying at Indiana University in 2008. All while juggling his college education, he co-founded the Indiana University Campus division of A-List Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based promotions and entertainment company. In this venture, Jake led all marketing campaigns, both traditional and online, and organized multiple musical concert productions.
Immediately after graduating college, Mr. Hoffberg joined Nashville-based Southwestern Company, founded in 1855, and the nation’s oldest direct sales firm, where he worked for four years. During his tenure with Southwestern, not only did Jake consistently rank in the top 100 of some 2,500 sales people, he was also a full-time recruiter, serving several Midwestern college campuses. In 2012, Jake joined Tom James Company, the world’s largest custom clothier, and a direct sales company once owned by Southwestern’s at-the-time majority owner and chairman, the famous Spencer Hays.
Reflecting on his six years devoted to direct sales, Jake estimates he made well over 100,000 cold calls, conducted some 10,000 face-to-face sales presentations, and opened in excess of 1,700 new accounts.
However, in late 2013, Jake was growing tired of the “road warrior” lifestyle that comes with direct sales. Understandably, he wanted to pursue a different opportunity that allowed him to work from home. Leveraging his communications genius alongside his sales expertise, Jake entered the world of financial copywriting.
In August 2014, Mr. Hoffberg went on to found Financial Copy & Funnels, Inc, which he operated through 2020. Among the leading professional financial marketers he worked with were Harry Dent, David Stockman, and Jim Rickards. Jake assisted them in not only boosting their earnings, but building greater followings. He also authored a financial copywriting course, The Short Form Financial Copywriter, still available for sale today.
With Equifund since July 2020, Jake is not only the firm’s publishing chief, he also leads both the firm’s operational and technical teams. In 2023, he founded Equifund’s Private Capital Insider newsletter, which Jake authors and publishes on a biweekly basis. A champion of the retail investor, Jake says his goal is simple, “guiding this often underserved community in learning how to diversify their portfolios, increase passive income, and grow their net worth using private market investments.”
Mr. Hoffberg holds a Bachelor of Music Business degree from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Today, he resides in Tacoma, Washington with his long-time girlfriend and partner. Away from work, and when he’s not busy reading, Jake spends most of his personal time exercising, cooking outdoors, hosting social events, and visiting his family’s farm on nearby Vashon Island.
Natasha Blackley - Customer Success Manager
A sociology major, Natasha has devoted her career in service to others. For nearly 20 years, she’s served as a yoga instructor, energy healer, life coach and fitness instructor, often while successfully juggling work in medical and legal office administration. During the three years prior to joining Equifund, Natasha served in administration and as a medical assistant, while also teaching pilates and fitness at studios in the Ottawa and Kingston area. And for a year previous to that, she served as a medical and legal administrative assistant for a healthcare unit of the Correctional Service of Canada.
Happily, however, in 2020 Natasha found her home with Equifund. She assists with all products and services offered through the platform, enabling investors to make choices with confidence, and through an educated and informed position. Natasha aids thousands of the firm’s customers with their onboarding, verifying that all regulatory compliance information is in order, and answering communications via phone and email. Finally, she also ensures a consistently open and timely line of communication between investors, issuing companies, and Equifund senior management.
Ms. Blackley holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology and Social Sciences from the University of Ottawa, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She also received the Nursing Unit Clerk certification from the Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology, in Ottawa, and completed Business Office Administration, Legal and Health Services at St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ontario. Today, Ms. Blackley resides in Ontario with her partner, where they’re raising a new crop of Polish and other chickens, and preparing to build an in-home greenhouse. On weekends, when Natasha is not teaching pilates or performing reiki sessions, you might find her at one of the local weekend vendor markets, sharing in the beauty of her beloved stones, crystals and homemade items.
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