Investment Platforms and Marketplaces

August 27, 2015 @ 10:47 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Y Combinator has named partner Qasar Younis, who has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Kettering University and an MBA from Harvard, as its inaugural chief operating officer. As Y Combinator grows into more than just a traditional incubator, the company sought more structure and leadership around operations, creating the COO opportunity for… Read More

August 27, 2015 @ 10:21 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Wealth Migrate, the tenth-largest global real estate crowdfunding platform as reported by Massolution, today announced the opening of their newest office in Shanghai, China. The decision to open a second office in Asia is based on the exponential growth of crowdfunding in that region, their… Read More

August 27, 2015 @ 1:25 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

  Every field has its familiar terms, and crowdfunding is no different. Words and phrases such as “innovate,” “disrupt” and “raise $___ to transform the ___ industry” are often standard in campaigns and product descriptions, usually for good reason. That said, one of the newest launch videos from pre-order platform Celery… Read More

August 26, 2015 @ 10:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

The investment crowdfunding push is a global movement. In the US multiple platforms have cropped up to take advantage of the evolving regulatory environment regarding general solicitation.  Across the border in Canada things have moved a bit slowly.  But earlier this year Canada took a… Read More

August 26, 2015 @ 4:43 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

American Homeowner Preservation (“AHP”) secured its first institutional investment. Scarab Funds, a socially responsible investment fund, recently invested in AHP’s Series 2014B, providing capital to purchase nonperforming mortgages from banks and then offer viable solutions to struggling homeowners. AHP has purchased close to 500 mortgages… Read More

August 26, 2015 @ 3:29 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

CrowdStreet, a crowdfunding platform enabling commercial real estate developers and operators to efficiently and effectively acquire, convert and manage investors for their projects, today announced the sale of Stonecroft Health Campus, a senior health care property crowdfunded through CrowdStreet’s marketplace and developed by Mainstreet, a developer of… Read More

August 26, 2015 @ 9:32 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

CityFunders, the real estate crowdfunding platform dedicated exclusively to offering properties in New York City, today announced the launch of the first investment in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn available to the crowd. The property, centrally located at 99 Scott Avenue, Brooklyn, is a 22,000 SF… Read More

August 26, 2015 @ 8:39 am By JD Alois  |  

Indiegogo sent out an email this week, and updated their crowdfunding rulebook, explaining they will now offer campaign backers the option to request refunds prior to the campaign end. This rule change goes into effect September 1st.  This is an important shift in policy as… Read More

August 26, 2015 @ 1:27 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

  London-based Angels Den, an angel-led equity crowdfunding platform, has now successfully raised $1 million from a Mexican family office to launch their angel-led crowdfunding model across Mexico, with bases in five major cities. Following two years of preparation, Angels Den Mexico has ambitious growth plans… Read More

August 25, 2015 @ 3:54 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

It’s that time of the year again! On Tuesday, Kickstarter announced details for its fifth annual film festival that is set to kick off on October 15th. The crowdfunding platform shared: “Not just Brooklyn. Not just L.A. For the first time ever, we’re bringing the… Read More

August 25, 2015 @ 2:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

Newly minted crowdfunding platform InvestDen has partnered with NYC based Crowdnetic to “make the sector morally accountable for the deals it offers to investors,” this according to Tech City News. InvestDen just launched in June and is an investment crowdfunding platform that offers both debt… Read More

August 25, 2015 @ 2:09 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Seeking to change crowdfunding as we know it, game developer Pixeljam has launched a new platform dedicated to developers and other creative types. According to Cult of Mac, Pixeljam’s co-founder, Miles Tilmann, stated that the new “crowdfunding project’ is an experiment that’s an alternative to other… Read More

August 25, 2015 @ 12:53 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Last year, LOVESPACE, a distinctive storage company founded by Streetcar co-founder and entrepreneur Brett Akker, won the Startup Awards’ Crowdfunded Business of the Year in 2014 after capturing over £1.2 million in early-stage funding and £1.6 million during its equity crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube. Since… Read More

August 25, 2015 @ 12:36 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Sweet returns: Sawade investors who have their interest paid out in chocolate will receive annual interest of 12 % instead of 8 %. Last week the Berlin chocolatier Sawade embraced a new approach to growth financing, offering venture loans on Companisto. Venture loans are a new asset class for the… Read More

August 25, 2015 @ 11:32 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Of course readers want to know what’s in your portfolio! Fundrise’s CEO Ben Miller just posted that he indeed invests in Fundrise’s offerings, 28 deals to date. “As a developer myself, I understand that there are risks in any real estate project and not everything… Read More

August 25, 2015 @ 11:00 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

  Propel(x), a platform for investing in deep technology startups, is making it easier for angel investors to participate in a wide range of deep technology investments with the introduction of Propel(x) LLCs, lowering the initial threshold from a typical minimum angel investment of $25,000, to as… Read More

August 25, 2015 @ 10:49 am By Erin Hobey  |  

As a result of the partnership with the financial and economic date platform Quandl, FinTech Sandbox residents have access up to six months for development, testing, and customer demonstrations purposes. “We are excited to provide FinTech startups with reliable and easy access to quality financial data such… Read More

August 25, 2015 @ 10:37 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

EarlyShares, a crowdfunding platform that gives accredited investors direct access to commercial real estate opportunities, has launched an equity investment offering for East 3rd Street, a Manhattan investment opportunity from Magnus Capital Partners. The deal, featuring 14.46% estimated investor IRR and 7.0% preferred return, gives EarlyShares… Read More

August 25, 2015 @ 10:01 am By JD Alois  |  

Zopa, the first peer to peer lending platform in the UK, recently announced having passed £1 billion in lending.  The lending platform has a trajectory to more than double the total volume of loans versus year prior as more and more consumers go online to… Read More

August 25, 2015 @ 8:30 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

  As the co-founder and CEO of CityFunders, a New York-exclusive real estate crowdfunding platform, David Behin leads a team of seasoned real estate experts who bring neighborhood knowledge and relationships to each deal. Within the tri-state area and Pennsylvania, David has been involved in more than $3… Read More