Investment Platforms and Marketplaces

December 7, 2016 @ 12:54 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Small business online lender OnDeck (NYSE: ONDK) and entrepreneur Barbara Corcoran announced on Wednesday the winners of the 2016 OnDeck Seal of Approval Contest. It was revealed that the winners were chosen from over 1,000 submissions. Each will receive a $10,000 cash prize from OnDeck and a one-on-one… Read More

December 7, 2016 @ 9:35 am By JD Alois  |  

Manhattan Street Capital has entered the Reg A+ crowdfunding space with its first offer for Blue Marble Biomaterials. The platforms is accepting investor indications of interest now. Manhattan Street Capital has positioned its platform as a Reg A+ specialist. This updated securities exemption was created… Read More

December 7, 2016 @ 9:01 am By Jessica Pham  |  

The London Crisp Company describes itself as “An amazing brand, with amazing crisps and popcorn, that showcase the most amazing city on Earth”, and it just raised 338 percent of its goal on Seedrs — £337,910 out of a goal of £100,016 (approximately $428K out of $127K).  The… Read More

December 7, 2016 @ 7:50 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Wednesday, Crowdfunder UK announced it, along with Ethex and ThinCats, will be partnering with Big Society Capital for a new £10 million Crowd Match Fund, which will allow the public to invest directly in charities and social enterprises. The trio will help connect people with the… Read More

December 6, 2016 @ 7:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

Peer to peer lender Folk2Folk has received full approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).  While many prominent peer to peer lenders are operating under interim approval, Folk2Folk points out it is the lagest P2P lender to receive full authorization to date. Folk2Folk has lent… Read More

December 6, 2016 @ 4:01 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

LendInvest, a leading online mortgage lender in the UK, announced last week new dates for its Property Development Academy course. According to the LendInvest team, interest in the lender’s first Property Development Academy course was impressively large, with 200 people applying for the 25 slot…. Read More

December 6, 2016 @ 3:04 pm By Jessica Pham  |  

Senior Fellow at Harvard Business School Karen Gordon Mills along with VP of Strategy at Fundera, Brayden McCarthy, have recently posted a working paper on SME lending. Mills is also the former Administrator of the Small Business Administration – a post she held during the Obama administration just… Read More

December 6, 2016 @ 12:33 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Finstar backed peer to peer lender Viventor announced last week the launch of its new mobile app. Users of the lender’s platform may now be able invest wherever they are. According to Viventor, the mobile app, which is available on both iOS and Android phones,… Read More

December 6, 2016 @ 12:20 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Indiegogo and its partner, General Assembly, announced on Tuesday their latest flash funding challenge. The crowdfunding platform revealed General Assembly gathered three Indiegogo projects whose missions align with their community’s focus on education, cause, and tech, and now the partners are collecting votes on which idea you’d like… Read More

December 6, 2016 @ 11:38 am By JD Alois  |  

Orchard Platform has inked a partnership to provide Sandler O’Neill with access, data, analytics and insight to the global online lending industry. Sandler O’Neill is an investment banking firm and broker-dealer that targets the financial services sector.  Orchard is the nexus of institutional money flowing… Read More

December 6, 2016 @ 11:19 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

PALMco, a family-owned and operated energy supply company, announced on Tuesday it is set to match donations to all environmental science education projects in Connecticut schools in partnership with crowdfunding platform, DonorsChoose. This partnership’s “Double Your Impact” initiative, is notably the fourth initiative between PALMco and… Read More

December 6, 2016 @ 10:30 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, UK peer-to-peer lender Zopa announced it was rebranding. The company stated that the “new identity” will give it a springboard for its ambitious plans to bring its products to even more UK consumers, and create personalized services for all users. Sharing details about… Read More

December 6, 2016 @ 10:09 am By JD Alois  |  

Last weekend, Crowdfund Insider reported that Zopa was curtailing retail investor participation in peer to peer loans. We have now received a copy of the email that was sent out to Zopa investors explaining that current volumes of money transfers, combined with seasonally lower demand… Read More

December 6, 2016 @ 9:14 am By JD Alois  |  

Research indicates that Britons are in the dark about the funding options available. According to new research by Crowdfinders, UK entrepreneurs turn to their personal savings, friends/families and banks first.  This is despite the fact that many (64%) believe that its a dead end. Crowdfinders… Read More

December 6, 2016 @ 9:05 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

UK peer to peer lender Assetz Capital announced on Tuesday it has appointed Rob Pailin as its Chief Commercial Officer and member of the board of directors. Pailin reportedly joins Assetz Capital from RBS Corporate, where he was managing director of the bank’s corporate business in… Read More

December 6, 2016 @ 8:03 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Monday, RealtyShares announced it completed the initial close of its diversified marketplace equity fund. According to the real estate crowdfunding platform, the fund is set to enable investors to access a diverse portfolio of real estate investments through a single contribution. RealtyShares revealed that… Read More

December 6, 2016 @ 7:19 am By JD Alois  |  

Global equity crowdfunding platform OurCrowd is planning to hold the worlds largest equity crowdfunding event this coming February in Jerusalem.  The gathering is also being described as the biggest investor event ever in the Startup Nation. OurCrowd will showcase the evolving the face of investing… Read More

December 5, 2016 @ 1:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

Insurtech company Lemonade has closed a $34 million Series B funding round. The investment was led by General Catalyst and included the participation of GV (aka Google Ventures), Tusk Ventures and Thrive Capital. Existing investors Aleph, Sequoia, and XL Innovate also participated in the round…. Read More

December 5, 2016 @ 1:01 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Monday, commercial real estate marketplace lending platform Money360 announced it has provided financing of $1.9 million for a single-tenant retail building in Dayton, Ohio. The building, which is currently 100 percent leased to Panera Bread, is reportedly located next to the Dayton Mall. Money360 reported… Read More

December 5, 2016 @ 11:25 am By JD Alois  |  

Leading New Zealand based peer to peer lender Harmoney has been fined $292,00 for a misleading marketing campaign. The announcement  by the Commerce Commission of New Zealand stems from an ongoing investigation regarding letters sent by Harmoney in 2014 and 2015. Harmoney has previously acknowledged its… Read More