August 16, 2013 @ 12:16 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

Earlier in 2013 we reported on San Francisco-based payment startup Celery, who had launched an initiative targeting successful Kickstarter projects. Celery’s Peter Shih recently took to Medium to share 10 things he hates about the city he works in. Kevin Montgomery followed up by completely… Read More

August 16, 2013 @ 11:03 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Candace Klein has stepped down as CEO of SoMoLend. Klein was recently the subject of a notice from the Ohio Division of Securities in relation to fundraising efforts and business dealings on behalf of lending-based crowdfunding platform SoMoLend. Klein says that her decision was made because… Read More

August 16, 2013 @ 10:32 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Do you think the definition of “accredited investor” is flawed? Do you fail to see how net worth and yearly salary has a direct tie to the sophistication of an investor? Are you of the opinion that too few (or too many) of your fellow… Read More

August 16, 2013 @ 10:12 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Two Colorado State University grads are seeking $15,000 in funding via Rockethub. The goal: finalize the details of and launch Benevidz.com, a live cam porn web site with a very interesting aim. Benevidz wants to capture a slice of an estimated $5 billion in yearly… Read More

August 16, 2013 @ 9:22 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Rockethub made news by partnering with A&E for Project Startup, a campaign that aimed to support entrepreneurs using Rockethub to crowdfund their projects by giving them exposure across A&E’s media products. RELATED: The Crowdfunding Success Pattern – Plus an Intro to A&E’s Project Startup Spira Footwear… Read More

August 15, 2013 @ 1:49 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin has taken a public stance on general solicitation, citing it as a risk to potential investors. This is at least in part the reason behind his launching a task force aimed at policing crowdfunding platforms, offerings and their issuers…. Read More

August 15, 2013 @ 12:44 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

In light of recent actions taken against Candace Klein and SoMoLend on behalf of the Ohio Division of Securities, Knox Massey has a simple message to Ohio startups: come to Gerogia! Massey is a managing partner of a private family investment partnership, co-chair of the… Read More

August 15, 2013 @ 12:36 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

Kelly Clarkson is a huge Jane Austen fan. She’s such a fan that she had to have a ring formerly owned by the renowned author, and Clarkson shelled out just over £150,000 to buy it at a recent Sotheby’s auction. The auction house only expected… Read More

August 15, 2013 @ 11:57 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Two campaigns crowdfunding now aim to fund projects that use bioluminescent microbes to light the home. One is called the Biobulb, and it is seeking $15,000 on RocketHub. Three Wisconsin University undergraduate students launched the project as part of the Frontier Fellows program at the… Read More

August 14, 2013 @ 12:53 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

I’m an unabashed fan of some of the satirical crowdfunding content that floats around the Internet. It provides a healthy opportunity to laugh at ourselves from time to time. Let’s face it, the crowdfunding space does occasionally get a little ridiculous! The Above Average YouTube… Read More

August 14, 2013 @ 10:26 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Kickstarter cofounder Yancey Strickler recently took to the Kickstarter blog to express his concern over the ever-increasing use of stretch goals in rewards-based crowdfunding. Stretch goals are funding goals set outside the scope of the primary funding goal. For example, a video game might have… Read More

August 14, 2013 @ 9:33 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Allegations by the Ohio Division of Securities reverberate through the entrepreneurial class & the crowdfunding industry Candace Klein has been an extremely visible figure in the world of crowdfunding. Beyond her role as CEO of lending-based platform SoMoLend, she is also the former chair and… Read More

August 13, 2013 @ 12:37 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

Despite being razzed by Trish Regan on live TV and catching flack from others, Spike Lee has successfully raised over $1 million on Kickstarter for his new film. His campaign seems on track to hit his $1.25 million goal by the time the campaign ends in… Read More

August 13, 2013 @ 9:35 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Ronald Kleverlaan is the CEO of WEBclusive, a crowdfunding solutions provider based in Amsterdam. He is also the co-founder of the European Crowdfunding Network, which has been a great resource both for us here at Crowdfund Insider and for the industry as a whole. He was… Read More

August 13, 2013 @ 9:24 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Wattpad is a company that provides users of their app with millions of free stories to read via mobile devices and tablets. They have just announced the addition of a crowdfunding service that will allow authors to ask the crowd to fund future works. The… Read More

August 13, 2013 @ 8:28 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Today Wisconsin GOP lawmakers are expected to introduce a bill that would legalize intrastate crowdfunding in the state. Wisconsin is set to join Kansas, Georgia, Washington and North Carolina in either considering or adopting rules legalizing in-state crowdfunding. The bill will be proposed by Representatives… Read More

August 13, 2013 @ 7:40 am By Charles Luzar  |  

UPDATE: The city of Cincinnati is suspending its relationship with SoMoLend pending resolution to the case described below. SoMoLend previously had a partnership with the City in order to facilitate loans for local businesses. Cincinnati.com is reporting that Ohio’s Division of Securities is investigating SoMoLend for… Read More

August 11, 2013 @ 10:55 am By Charles Luzar  |  

In one of the more bizarre things I’ve seen covering the wonderful world of crowdfunding, a video promoting a Kickstarter campaign features a very naked Lady Gaga. Serbian performance artist Marina Abramović was the subject of a documentary entitled The Artist Is Present, which followed her… Read More

August 11, 2013 @ 10:05 am By Charles Luzar  |  

In a joint letter sent to SEC Chairman Mary Jo White on July 22nd, 2013, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) raised serious concerns over the proposed implementation of Title II and the lifting of the ban on general solicitation for private… Read More

August 7, 2013 @ 6:12 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

Precinct was a video game crowdfunding on Kickstarter. I say “was” because the campaign has since been shut down after the project creators realized that there was little hope of the campaign meeting its funding goal. Now the team has rolled their own crowdfunding solution… Read More