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8 Hartford Business Journal • November 5, 2018 • www.HartfordBusiness.com FOCUS: Banking & Finance By Natalie Missakian Special to the Hartford Business Journal A lex Shkolnik says he's built a better engine — one 10 times smaller and lighter than a diesel, and twice as fuel efficient as its conventional gas-powered cousin. His Bloomfield company, LiquidPis- ton, had a promising prototype, media buzz (they'd been written up in Forbes) and a cult-like following among tech geeks and green-energy fans alike. But propelling its high-efficiency rotary engine out of the lab and into the commercial market would take more money, and though he'd attracted large investors and federal funding in the past, Shkolnik feared he'd have a tough time getting venture capital firms to bite. "We're not a traditional software company that the VCs love to eat up," he said, noting past attempts to remake the internal combus- tion engine have flopped. So in 2016, he turned to Wefunder, an online busi- ness crowdfunding platform, hoping to tap the company's legions of followers as poten- tial investors. The campaign was a hit, raising almost $1.3 million. "We're an experimen- tal company, so for us the crowdfunding was a bit of an experi- ment," Shkolnik said. "But it turned out to be very successful." LiquidPiston is one of a small but growing number of companies using equity crowdfunding (also known as investment or regulation crowdfunding) to raise business capital, an option legal- ized two years ago under new federal regulations approved as part of the JOBS Act of 2012. Under equity crowdfunding (which differs from donation-based crowdfund- ing made popular by sites like Kickstart- er), companies can offer a stake in their business to everyone — rather than just wealthy, accredited investors — through web portals or broker-dealers approved by the federal government. Participating companies must register with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and are limited to raising $1.07 million a year. "It opened up the whole world of investing to everyone, sort of the Joe six-pack," said Anthony Price, CEO of LootScout, a Hartford-based company that helps businesses raise capital. "It's a nascent industry that's been grow- ing over time and it's going to get even bigger." So far, relatively few com- panies have taken advantage of the new law, with the average campaign raising a modest $229,500, accord- ing to figures compiled by Crowdfunding Capital Advi- sors, whose founders helped craft the legislation. In Connecticut, 10 com- panies have registered with the SEC to run crowdfunding campaigns since the regula- tions took effect in May 2016, raising a combined $2.82 mil- lion, according to CCA data. But Sherwood Neiss, a CCA partner, said the industry Alternative Capital Small but growing number of CT startups turn to crowdfunding Bloomfield-based LiquidPiston, whose employees are shown above, has tapped crowdfunding investment on two separate occasions to help fund development of its fuel-efficient engine. Santander eyes larger CT commercial loan footprint Q&A talks with Robert Cer- minaro, Santander Bank's regional executive of commercial bank- ing for Connecticut. Q. You were recently named Santander Bank's regional executive of commer- cial banking for Connecticut. Previous- ly, you held a similar role for KeyBank covering the Tri-State area. What will you be doing in your new job? A. I am excited to be part of Santand- er Bank and lead our efforts to grow commercial banking in Connecticut. Santander is one of the largest banks in the world with a strong presence in Europe, Latin America and an actively growing presence in the U.S. My role is to grow Santander Bank's commercial banking business and continue to build its overall brand awareness in the Con- necticut market. Q. What is demand like right now for commercial loans in Connecticut? A. In my opinion, there's a demand on new issuance of commercial loans in Connecticut and companies are continuing to take advantage of the historic low interest rate environment. It's still an issuer's market, albeit at a slower pace given where we are in the economic cycle. Q. What's the competitive landscape out there for commercial lenders in the state? Connecticut's economy hasn't been growing like gangbusters for the last decade. Has that made it more chal- lenging to find new borrowers? A. There are great companies in Con- necticut and we think we're the right fit for many of them. You really need to un- derstand each business's hopes, dreams and desires, and then align the value you can bring to them with where they are in their lifecycle today — and where they want to be in the future. We believe that when you follow this principle you are able to build lasting partnerships that lead to more opportunities to grow the relationship regardless of the state of the economy. Q. What are the chief ways commer- cial lenders are competing right now? Is it simply about interest rates? A. Commercial banking is fundamen- tally a relationship business. It requires experienced bankers who have a burning desire to fully understand the needs of the client and a commitment to deliv- ering valuable solutions to them on a proactive basis. Being proactive and solution-oriented needs to be part of your DNA. Q. What's the biggest opportunity Santander Bank has in Connecticut? Robert Cerminaro Regional Executive of Commercial Banking, Santander Mind's social- media interface. 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