Investment Platforms and Marketplaces

December 9, 2015 @ 2:00 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Wednesday, marketplace lending platform Payoff, Inc. announced it will provide members of its site monthly access to FICO Scores for free beginning January 2016. Scott Saunders, founder and CEO of Payoff, shared: “We are committed to helping people understand their financial health. By providing free… Read More

December 9, 2015 @ 12:14 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Wednesday, marketplace lending platform BorrowersFirst announced the appointment of Lending Club’s former SVP, Zhi Zhou, as Chief Risk Officer and Head of Enterprise Analytics. Dave Tomlinson, BorrowersFirst’s CEO, stated: “Zhi is an accomplished and well respected leader who has been at the forefront of the marketplace… Read More

December 9, 2015 @ 11:48 am By Erin Hobey  |  

National Funding, a private lenders of small business loans, announced that it signed a $75M lending facility with CapitalSource, a division of Pacific Western Bank.  The platform also forecasted a record-breaking 2015 in revenue, funding, employee count and office growth. The company also “This past year has been a robust… Read More

December 9, 2015 @ 8:43 am By JD Alois  |  

RateSetter has been working with the British Business Bank since July of 2014. Since that time RateSetter has facilitated approximately 1000 loans to sole traders and partnerships. Now, according to a report from RateSetter, the relationship will expand into SME lending. Rhydian Lewis, CEO of… Read More

December 8, 2015 @ 4:30 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

With the holiday season already in full swing, Crowdcube unveils its 2015 holiday gift guide. The UK-based equity crowdfunding platform shared: “We’ve a whole host of fantastic present ideas for you this year, compiled entirely from companies that have funded on Crowdcube during 2015. This… Read More

December 8, 2015 @ 2:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

Fundrise’s eREIT product sold out in hours when it launched launched. The first $1 million portion was swamped by demand that exceeded the subscription amount by 503%.  Tomorrow, according to Fundrise, the platform will open up the next $2 million investment round to fund the eREIT…. Read More

December 8, 2015 @ 1:01 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, crowdfunding platform focused on Healthcare Innovation, MedStartr, announced the winners of the MedStartr Momentum 2015 Conference. More than 200 attended the conference held at NYC’s Microsoft Technology Center generating 12 million impressions on Twitter with hashtag #MedMo15. Speakers at the first full-day conference included:… Read More

December 8, 2015 @ 1:00 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Quote 2 Fund announced that it has become a signatory to the Small Business Borrower’s Bill of Rights, a public commitment to ensure small business owners have access to funding that is both transparent and fair. By signing, Quote 2 Fund joins a coalition of industry… Read More

December 8, 2015 @ 12:35 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

First State Super will invest tens of millions of dollars into fintech start-ups over the coming years, in partnership with H2 Ventures, a specialist fintech VC fund, according to the Sydney Morning Herald‘s James Eyers.  The launch of the First State Super-H2 partnership was attended by Prime… Read More

December 8, 2015 @ 11:52 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Lemonade Inc., experts to serve the world’s first peer-to-peer (P2P) insurance company,  just stepped out of “stealth mode” and into the limelight, to launch as the first P2P insurance company in the world.  The NYC-headquarted startup has secured $13 million funding in a round led by Aleph and Sequoia Capital…. Read More

December 8, 2015 @ 11:34 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Showing exactly how popular crowdfunding has become, Seedrs post some snapshots of people reacting to the funding method on social media website, Twitter. The Seedrs team shared: “Crowdfunding is growing quickly, and it may never have been possible without the widespread adoption of social media… Read More

December 8, 2015 @ 11:12 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Companisto, the German market leader in equity crowdfunding, has now become the first equity crowdfunding platform in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland to raise a total of over €25 million. Globally, equity crowdfunding is growing rapidly. This type of financing, based on private individuals’ teaming up and investing… Read More

December 8, 2015 @ 10:59 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, UK equity crowdfunding platform, Crowdcube, announced that it was named most prolific investor by research firm, Beauhurst. The website stated: “According to Beauhurst’s recent report into the growth the e-commerce sector, Crowdcube have made the most investments, by deal numbers, into this sector during 2015…. Read More

December 8, 2015 @ 6:24 am By JD Alois  |  

ThinCats, a UK based peer to peer lending platform focusing on SMEs, has been acquired by European Specialty Finance (ESF) Capital.  The purchaser has taken a 73.4% of the firm.  ESF’s CEO, John Mould, has been appointed as CEO of ThinCats with overall responsibility the direct lending platform…. Read More

December 7, 2015 @ 5:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

StreetShares, marketplace lending platform that connects small business owners with investors, has filed a Regulation A+, Tier 2 offer to raise up to $50 million in debt securities. The filing was posted on December 4th. In using Regulation A+, StreetShares will be allowed to solicit… Read More

December 7, 2015 @ 2:11 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Monday, Kickstarter unveiled a new independent analysis that examined its project fulfillment. This report was conducted by the University of Pennsylvania’s professor, Ethan Mollick. The description of the analysis reads: “Kickstarter is a new model for bringing creative projects to life. Compared with other… Read More

December 7, 2015 @ 1:03 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Seeking to make #GivingTuesday more than just a one-day event, crowdfunding platform YouCaring announced a new initiative called the Give Back Campaign.  Every Tuesday throughout the month of December, the website will be offering a total of $10,000 to its fundraiser community.  The campaign’s description reads:… Read More

December 7, 2015 @ 10:47 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week the government announced the US economy had delivered 211,000 new jobs in the month of November with the unemployment rate holding at 5%. The announcement set off a new flurry of debate and discussion regarding whether or not the Federal Reserve will finally… Read More

December 7, 2015 @ 10:29 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Last month, crowdfunding platform Tilt shared details about its expansion in the UK. It first surfaced in the country this past July. The Tilt team revealed: “Back in July, we nipped across the pond to bring Tilt to the UK for the first time. Now, as… Read More

December 7, 2015 @ 10:04 am By JD Alois  |  

Investment crowdfunding platform aescuvest, has inked a new partnership with the Eastern Bavarian Technische Hochschule Amberg-Weiden (OTH Amberg-Weiden) to assist medtech / healthcare startups in their quest for funding. Commenting on the signing of the agreement, Dr. Patrick Pfeffer, CEO and co-founder of aescuvest stated;… Read More