Investment Platforms and Marketplaces

April 25, 2019 @ 9:13 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week Crowdcube published a quarterly report providing additional insight into the crowdfunding platforms operations. The UK based platform published the following comparative metrics indicating significant growth versus the same quarter year prior: Key metrics for Q1 2019 compared to Q1 2018 £1.8 million revenue; an… Read More

April 25, 2019 @ 9:10 am By Erin Hobey  |  

With less than a week left on its Wefunder campaign, San Diego-based brewery Modern Times has tapped more than $1,069,830+ from just over 1715 investors. Good times at Modern Times. Now pre-money valued at $265M, in 2013 Modern Times opened a 30bbl production brewery and tasting room in… Read More

April 25, 2019 @ 7:55 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

FrontFundr, a Canada-based online investing platform, announced on Wednesday it has appointed David R. Beatty C.M., O.B.E., F.ICD, CFA the Chairman of the Board of Directors. According to the funding portal, Beatty was on the board of the Bank of Montreal (BMO Financial Group) for… Read More

April 25, 2019 @ 4:40 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Fairafric produces certified organic chocolate, from bean to bar in Ghana. Chocolate, with its reported per capita consumption of approximately 5kg per year in most of Europe, is ready for disruption and more ethical production. Kickstarter alum Fairafric aims to increase income per bar five-fold and create… Read More

April 24, 2019 @ 11:13 pm By Therese Torris  |  

In 2050, the world will need to feed 50% more people than today. By the same time, however, the planet’s farmland will have grown only by 4%. The reasons for the shortfall are many: urbanization, climate change, water pollution, and the soil degradation caused by… Read More

April 24, 2019 @ 3:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

SeedInvest, an online capital formation platform that claims over 250,000 registered investors (50,000 accredited), is planning a significant expansion. SeedInvest is a full stack crowdfunding platform leveraging all three securities exemptions to raise capital online from seed stage an up. In the fall of 2018,… Read More

April 24, 2019 @ 2:19 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Fintech unicorn SoFi is reportedly seeking to raise $500 million from the Qatar Investment Authority. The company, which has a valuation of $4.3 billion, has previously raised $2 billion from investors, which includes Manhattan Venture Partners, RSC Capital, SoftBank, Silver Lake Partners, and DCM Ventures. Founded… Read More

April 23, 2019 @ 12:32 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

The gay travel platform misterb&b has just surpassed $800K with the help of 1240+ investors, easily bypassing its minimum target last month, with its $1M Wefunder campaign target goal in site. Last year the 500 Startups alum celebrated an $8.5M Series A round, raising $13.5M USD… Read More

April 23, 2019 @ 12:15 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The Japanese agency responsible for overseeing the country’s banking, insurance and securities sectors conducted flash on-site inspections last week at local offices of the Huobi cryptocurrency exchange and at the FISCO Virtual Currency Exchange (formerly Zaif), Reuters Japan reports. Regulators from the Financial Services Agency… Read More

April 23, 2019 @ 9:43 am By JD Alois  |  

Beginning today, LendingClub (NYSE: LC) will connect small business borrowers seeking a loan on their online lending platform with both Funding Circle and Opportunity Fund. The initiative is being pitched as a collaboration designed to substantially increase small business owners’ access to transparent, affordable and… Read More

April 23, 2019 @ 9:11 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

RiverNorth Marketplace Lending Corporation, an established and currently operating as a closed-end interval fund dedicated to the marketplace lending asset class, announced on Tuesday it has declared a Series A Preferred Stock cash dividend for the second quarter of 2019 of $0.3672 per share of… Read More

April 23, 2019 @ 1:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Peer-to-peer investment platform RateSetter has been recognized with a prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise for excellence in innovation. Established in 1965, the Queen’s Award for Enterprise is the most prestigious business award in the UK. The Award recognizes the success of innovative businesses which are… Read More

April 22, 2019 @ 3:43 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Money transfer service Western Union (NYSE: WU) announced earlier this month that its cross-border payments and foreign exchange risk management division, Western Union Business Solutions, has formed a new partnership with October, European lending platforms for small and medium enterprises (SME) to support international expansion… Read More

April 19, 2019 @ 2:40 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

St. Louis, Missouri based crowdfunding platform Nvsted announced on Thursday it was celebrating its first birthday. As previously reported, Nvested claimed its platform as the “first hyper-local regulation crowdfunding portal” around. Regulation Crowdfunding, or Reg CF as it is commonly called, enables issuers to raise… Read More

April 19, 2019 @ 2:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

CrowdStreet, a real estate investment platform providing direct equity investments for investors in commercial real estate (CRE), has surpassed $500 milion in aggregate online investment. The milestone comes following a record quarter for the platform where over $75 million was raised and the number of… Read More

April 19, 2019 @ 11:13 am By JD Alois  |  

Leading marketplace lending platform Prosper has settled fraud charges for misstating returns, according to a release from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  Without admitting or denying the allegations, Prosper has consented to an SEC order finding it violated an anti-fraud provision of the Securities… Read More

April 18, 2019 @ 11:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

Smart Valor, a Swiss blockchain based startup, has listed its native crypto “Valor” on South Korea based Bithumb. Earlier this week, Bithumb apparently hosted an Airdrop for Valor and distributed 1 Valor per 2,000,000 KRW to its most active traders. Smart Valor announced last fall… Read More

April 18, 2019 @ 1:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

The largest marketplace lending company LendingClub (NYSE: LC) will report Q1 2019 results after the bell on Tuesday, May 7, 2019. According to the Q4 report, the following guidance was provided: Net Revenue to be in the range of $162 million to $172 million Consolidated… Read More

April 18, 2019 @ 8:40 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Lendified, a lending platform for small businesses and a SaaS technology platform providing AI-enabled credit origination and analytics to financial institutions, announced on Wednesday it secured $15 million through its latest funding round with institutional and private investors. The investors include CI Financial Corp., Windsor Private… Read More

April 18, 2019 @ 2:24 am By Erin Hobey  |  

When Bee Good, a British business using local honey, wax and propolis to create award-winning natural skincare, synced with Crowdcube, Co-Founder Simon Cavill set the initial goal for £100,000.  Over 465 Crowdcube investors quickly helped the skincare company pre-valuated at £1,785,348 surpass £258K for 12.69%… Read More