June 13, 2015 @ 3:32 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

Glimmering just ahead, summer offers the hope of beach days, picnics, hikes, ice cream until it hurts and, if the petsitter is available, travel. The minor (major) hassles of transportation–airplane delays or cancellations, a sea of brake lights–will be worth it. Certainly. But if one could reduce… Read More

June 11, 2015 @ 12:26 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

The Malta Business Bureau and the University of Malta have signed a agreement to collaborate on developing a crowdfunding platform to finance local business ideas and projects, according to a recent story on the University of Malta’s website. The country’s Ministry for the Economy, Investment and Small Business will… Read More

June 9, 2015 @ 2:03 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

Promising to be “more than just a crowdfunding platform,” but also “an engaging community,” a new UK crowdfunding platform for businesses and investors has just launched, according to a recent press release from London Stock Exchange’s RNS. InvestDen is disrupting traditional finance by providing a unique crowdfunding… Read More

June 8, 2015 @ 2:35 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

Depending on the ultimate goal, just maintaining a company’s current position can be success enough — a bit like treading water to keep from drowning. But the trouble comes when the company loses momentum. The latest update for tech blog ReadWrite has taken a “darker turn,” writes TechCrunch, en route to the… Read More

June 6, 2015 @ 5:17 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

A new crowdfunding and giving days model from crowdfunding platform Charidy has developed an increasingly popular equation for success: heft of major donors + 24-hour-only campaign + all-or-nothing funding contingency = 100 percent campaign success rate (according to the crowdfunding platform), notes a recent story in the… Read More

June 5, 2015 @ 3:16 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

Today, National Doughnut Day, New York City real estate adds yet another attraction to the likes of the Statue of Liberty and the Metropolitan Museum of Art: It’s home to America’s best doughnut, according to a recent survey from city guide app Foursquare. Not for nothing… Read More

June 4, 2015 @ 2:50 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

Swipe right on Tendr, and a beguiling bio of a company that converts footsteps into electricity might greet you. If you’re just not in the mood to help save the planet with this crowdfunding campaign, swipe left for a new prospect: Hummus Bros, a chain of restaurants and pop-ups… Read More

June 2, 2015 @ 2:13 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

In a move that’s among “the first tie-up[s] of its kind,” corporate finance houses including FinnCap and Grant Thornton will list early-stage equity deals on crowdfunding website InvestingZone, according to a recent article in the Financial Times. Brokers also include Nexus and CMR. Brokers plan to offer individual investors… Read More

June 1, 2015 @ 11:00 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

lis     Among the infinite possibilities for online investing–from mobile apps, to clean energy, to an overseas prince who wants to make you fantastically rich, deep technology startups–defined as those founded on a true technological innovation or scientific discovery–are not among the top five. It’s… Read More

May 29, 2015 @ 7:33 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

  Skim the peer-to-peer lending headlines over the last few months, and Funding Circle is a regular part of the news cycle. This year alone, the 5-year-old company received a capital boost to the tune of $150 million (the equity funding round was led by DST Global with participation from Baillie Gifford,… Read More

May 29, 2015 @ 12:54 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

Valuation Placed at $100 Million. You might not expect a taxi to win on the racetrack, but Australian taxi app Ingogo is setting records for making the (funding) rounds. The company, launched in 2011, just announced that it closed A$12 million in a new funding round through… Read More

May 28, 2015 @ 12:40 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

A major Chinese peer-to-peer lender, Dianrong.com, now claims a valuation of “around” $1 billion, due to its latest round of fundraising, according to the company’s CEO, Soul Htite, in a conversation with CNBC (Reuters also contributed to the story). U.S. investment firm Tiger Global was the source… Read More

May 27, 2015 @ 1:34 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

From lolcats to Tiny Hamsters Eating Tiny Burritos, the cute, fuzzy and furry meowing at the door or loopily chasing their tails outside have a special draw on the Internet. Now, PetFundr, one of the first crowdfunding sites solely dedicated to animal welfare, is live, thanks to a successful partnership with… Read More

May 26, 2015 @ 2:30 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

Pavegen is turning footsteps into electricity–yet another reason to get in those 10,000 steps per day. The King’s Cross, London-based company’s technology converts footsteps into electricity, making it possible to power services in high-footfall locations, as well as provide real-time data for analytics. And Pavegen is now… Read More

May 25, 2015 @ 10:37 pm By Midori Yoshimura  |  

2015 may be the year of the great British cherry, according to the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, but the trade body overseeing the UK peer-to-peer lending industry is getting ready to introduce a rule against allowing institutions to “cherry-pick” the most desirable loans at the expense… Read More

May 25, 2015 @ 5:08 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

Like so many great products, Red Witch Analog Lt began in a garage–not in Silicon Valley, but in Paekakariki, New Zealand. The company, currently raising funds on Snowball Effect, produces boutique analogue guitar and bass effects pedals, used by the likes of Sting, the Arctic Monkeys, Guns n’ Roses, Andy Summers… Read More

May 22, 2015 @ 8:30 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

“Get smart, fund art”: With a playful slogan (translated) and name that reminds this writer of a children’s toy, Tumblbug, a South Korean crowdfunding platform, is taking big steps in its development. The company just announced that it has raised KRW 17 billion (just over US… Read More

May 21, 2015 @ 2:54 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

One of Israel’s largest banks, Bank Leumi, recently announced that it will launch a new peer-to-peer lending service, according to PandoDaily. Theirs may be the first planned launch of an entire new P2P service from a bank with international stature, notes the publication. Lemur would receive a fee… Read More

May 20, 2015 @ 3:01 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

A New Zealand peer-to-peer lender recently dubbed the first P2P lender in the country to specialize in secured lending has delayed its launch, according to Interest.co.nz. The delay is due to the company, LendMe’s, planned talks aimed at forming an alliance with a New Zealand bank. LendMe founder… Read More

May 15, 2015 @ 2:45 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

  Provincial securities regulators in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia announced Thursday that they will permit startup and early-stage companies to issue shares to investors through crowdfunding websites, according to the Globe and Mail. However, Ottawa stated that it will not take… Read More