Irvine, U.S.A. — For those with fingers on the pulse of the business world, Entrepreneur magazine reveals the biggest trends of 2013 and the directions they’ll take various industries in the future. These movements reflect the wants and needs of a changing demographic in the United States and what’s necessary for entrepreneurs to keep in mind when considering consumers, employees and how business is getting done around them.

“Whether you’re running an established company or hope to start in the new year, it’s crucial to stay in-the-know with what’s happening in business right now to stay competitive—and more importantly, what to expect next,” says Amy Cosper, VP and editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine. “Being savvy about modern expectations and consumer tendencies can make or break a business, and we’ve got a great look at what 2013 has in store.”

The list looks at the booming trends that will help anchor a business moving forward and thinking ahead:

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On September 13, 2012, Eurogamer and GamesIndustry International announced that global crowdfunding platform Indiegogo is to deliver the keynote session at Games Invest 2012 on Thursday 27th September.

John Vaskis, Gaming Vertical Lead at Indiegogo, will host a session at Games Invest 2012 entitled “Harnessing the Crowd: How crowdfunding is shaping the gaming ecosystem” which will discuss how crowdfunding is quickly becoming an essential tool for game developers and that anyone seeking funding can now harness the power of the crowd to bring their games, projects and ideas to life.

“Raising capital through friends, family, colleagues and perfect strangers, has not only opened up the financial floodgates, but the creative possibilities in the game industry,” said Indiegogo’s Gaming Vertical Lead, John Vaskis. “Crowdfunding is so much more than just raising capital – it gives developers direct access to customer feedback and the ability to gauge public interest early in a project’s life cycle, which can save a lot of time and money.”

The exclusive Indiegogo session will include essential tips and tricks on how to create a successful campaign, including:

• What are the components to a great pitch (campaigns with videos raise 114% more than those without)?
• What are perks and why are they important?
• How do you set your fundraising goals and plan ahead to ensure you’re on track?
• How do you engage your audience for success?

“It’s really exciting that Indiegogo has chosen Games Invest and the Eurogamer Expo for its first major conference session in the UK,” said Eurogamer Managing Director Rupert Loman. “This is an amazing opportunity for indie developers to find out essential campaign tips and advice directly from a major global crowdfunding platform.”

Other investors and speakers confirmed for this year’s Games Invest include We R Interactive, GAMESBrief, Standfast Interactive, Octopus Investments, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe XDev, Sheridans, SEGA and Ian Livingstone OBE, Life President, Eidos and Chair of the Access To Finance Group on the Creative Industries Council.

Tickets for the event are strictly limited, so if you’d like to book your place for this year’s Games Invest at £99 (plus booking fee) and find out more about the process for applying for games investor meetings, visit http://gamesinvest2012.eventbrite.com/.

Image Courtesy of  Indiegogo

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What can we learn from Apple, Groupon, and Facebook? That it pays more than a billion dollars to be the first team off the starting block. They have been rewarded with billion dollar IPOs by successfully predicting market behavior. Three years ago, WealthForge began developing their own prediction model focused on the idea that “crowdfund investing” would be legalized in the U.S. and only moments ago, their prediction came true.

President Obama just signed the JOBS act into law, signifying new legislation that will lift several SEC restrictions on soliciting investors, while permitting “crowdfunding” the ability for entrepreneurs to raise equity capital from larger groups of small investors.

Investments must be made through an SEC registered “funding portal” or website and investors may be limited in their total crowdfunding investments based on their net worth. (For detailed JOBS act information) click here.

Mat Dellorso and Fred Bryant co-founders of WealthForge are glad to see this day come, but neither are surprised about the overwhelming approval of the JOBS act. The two former University of Richmondstudents founded WealthForge in 2009 with the idea that smaller businesses should have greater chances of raising capital.

“Being a startup ourselves, we experienced the challenges of fundraising,” says Dellorso. “Our goal was to create a more efficient and simplified marketplace where entrepreneurs and investors could locate funding opportunities and complete the fundraising transactions in one place.”

It took almost 3 years for WealthForge to prove the model and register with the SEC. However, it appears their due diligence has paid off. While the JOBS act awaits the SEC’s 270 day review period, WealthForge stands ready to handle “crowdfund investing” NOW.

At WealthForge, entrepreneurs create a business profile and outline their funding objectives in a secure environment. Once the business is ready to fundraise they can use the platform to expose their business and funding objectives with a community of potential investors. This isn’t your typical Kickstarter project where entrepreneurs seek donations, rather where entrepreneurs raise equity capital for their business.

“WealthForge vets company profiles for strong investment opportunities,” Dellorso remarks, “we also vet investors to ensure they are a good fit for the company who is seeking capital and guidance.”

A new marketplace for small business fundraising has emerged and WealthForge is armed and ready. Create your profile at http://wealthforgeonline.com.

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