Maurice Lopes

Maurice Lopes is an expert in building successful businesses. He is currently the CEO and co-founder of EarlyShares.com. Under Mr. Lopes’ leadership, the organization came to the attention of the Start Up America Partnership, which made EarlyShares.com the featured company on their website on April 5, 2012, the same day President Obama signed the JOBS Act into law.

In the mid-90’s, Mr. Lopes developed and formed GICC (Global Interconnect Communications Corp), a company that supplied network services to major U.S. telecommunications carriers such as Sprint, MCI and Frontier Communications. In 1998/1999, he was recruited by the Ministry of Communications to consult on the liberalization of the telecommunications monopoly existent in Peru. Due in no small part to his efforts, deregulation was implemented by 2000 and, along with such carriers as Twlw2000/SouthBell (BellSouth), FirstCom (later AT&T), and the incumbent Telefonica, Mr. Lopes’ new endeavor, Netfax Instatel S.A., was awarded one of the five international long distance operations licenses created under the new legislation.

In 2003, he became co-owner of HotBrick, an internet security operation providing superior firewall routers bridging the gap between usability and network security specifically for the small business owner. The company secured over 500 dealers worldwide in less than three years, with manufacturing in China and operations in Europe, Asia, Brazil and the U.S. Under Mr. Lopes’ guidance, HotBrick became a global company employing more than 100 people.

Mr. Lopes is on the board of directors for the National Crowdfunding Association (NLCFA.ORG).  NLCFA was instituted to support, educate and protect the American Crowdfunding market.  The Association endeavors to “police” the crowdfunding community in an effort to ensure investor protections are in place and both accredited and unaccredited investors have an equitable opportunity to participate in the creation and/or growth of a viable business entity.