With 8,157 funded projects, more than $40 million collected from donors and 660,000 users in 140 countries, Ulule is one of the world's biggest crowdfunding players. Even projects in Quebec, such as Mylène Paquette's famous solo crossing of the Atlantic in a row boat, have found funding through Ulule. Since its creation in Paris in 2010, Ulule has been instrumental in organizing fundraising campaigns for a great many audiovisual projects, as well as for entrepreneurial, innovative and community-minded projects.

Until now, the site has had no team in Canada. Monday, April 20 marks the official launch of Ulule Canada, and Alexandre Boucherot, co-founder and chairman of Ulule, has come to Montreal to personally oversee development of the website.

"Ulule is a valuable tool for creators and entrepreneurs, offering an additional source of funding and, for some, an alternative to conventional sources. Beyond funding, however, it serves as a litmus test for an idea and can rally a community around a project. Thousands of entrepreneurial, creative and community-minded projects owe their start to Ulule, and Canada will be a good place to further expand this movement," explained Mr. Boucherot.

A first Canadian partner: National Bank

For its Canadian launch, Ulule will be able to count on a solid partner. National Bank is in fact Ulule Canada's lead partner-a collaboration that attests to its support of innovation, creation and entrepreneurship networks.

"Our partnership with Ulule Canada confirms our belief that "everything starts with an idea" and that, together, we can help individuals or groups take an idea and turn it into a project, whether big or small. In fact, National Bank's new brand signature "Powering your ideas" highlights its commitment to helping clients carry out their projects. Both strong and dynamic, this new signature also reflects the entrepreneurial spirit that has always been central to the Bank's values," stated Lise-Anne Amyot, Vice-President - Brand and Client Experience at National Bank.

Other partners will be following National Bank's lead: Centech, an incubator for technology-based business created by the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS), L'Esplanade, the first collaborative space dedicated to entrepreneurs and community innovators in Quebec, and Jour de la Terre, which is behind the Quebec chapter of the biggest participatory environmental event in the world.

Among the first projects seeking funding: sports, music… and fine food!

Here are a few Quebec-based initiatives that have already registered with Ulule:

● Ça va barder : launch of a creative deli/butcher shop (Montreal)

● Le Défi Gofetch: an odyssey of 3 kayakers travelling from Montreal to the Yucatan

● L'école PGLO au Grand Défi Pierre Lavoie: sports, youth and community

● Les Royal Pickles< /a>: a made-in-Montreal swing album

● Ne m'aidez pas SVP : a documentary about homelessness in Montreal

Many projects are under way, as well as various events to raise awareness of crowdfunding and how it works. Alexandre Boucherot explains that what makes Ulule a recognized brand is its record success rate on this type of platform: "65% of the projects presented on Ulule successfully reach their funding targets. This is partly because of the team's education efforts and unique coaching, but also thanks to our network of partners. What's more, we are now pleased to gain new partners in Quebec."

About Ulule
Created in Paris in 2010, Ulule is a crowdfunding platform that seeks to give power back to creators, entrepreneurs and "makers" all over the world. The site has already helped several thousand creative, innovative and community-minded projects get off the ground in all four corners of the globe. Ulule is multilingual and multicultural, and has offices in France, Spain and Canada.

The premise is quite simple: Each project submitted is reviewed free of charge by the Ulule team. If the project is accepted and put online (for a limited time: 45 days on average), it will only be funded if it reaches or exceeds its funding target. With this all-or-nothing approach, a project owner can also see whether his initiative is supported and whether he will secure sufficient funding to carry it out. Ulule takes a 5% commission (8% after technical and transactions costs are factored in) only for projects that successfully meet their funding targets. If a project does not meet its funding target, the project owner does not collect any of the funding amount he seeks and no pledges are debited from donors' accounts. More than 8,000 projects have been funded via this model, for a success rate of 65%.

Website: http://www.ulule.com
Statistics updated in real time: http://www.ulule.co m/stats
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ulule

About National Bank of Canada
With $214 billion in assets as at January 31, 2015, National Bank of Canada (www.nbc.ca), together with its subsidiaries, forms one of Canada's leading integrated financial groups. The Bank has more than 20,000 employees and is widely recognized as a top employer. Its securities are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: NA). Follow the Bank's activities via social media and learn more about its extensive community involvement at clearfacts.ca and commitment.nationalbank.ca.

Information(The telephone number provided below is for the exclusive use of journalists and other media representatives.):

Jean-François Lauzon
Advisor - Public Affairs
National Bank
Tel.: 514-394-6097

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