Investment Platforms and Marketplaces

July 14, 2015 @ 10:28 am By JD Alois  |  

Leading direct lender Lending Club (NYSE: LC) is now available to investors in three new states: Iowa, Oklahoma and Arkansas.  This brings the total number of states allowing individuals to lend to borrowers now at 33.  Lending Club CEO and founder Renaud Laplanche said his… Read More

July 14, 2015 @ 10:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Global equity crowdfunding platform OurCrowd has continued its international expansion with the opening of an office in Toronto, Ontario.  The new location will be managed by David Shore, an established Canadian VC executive with over 20 years of experience in the investment industry.  OurCrowd has… Read More

July 14, 2015 @ 9:18 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

New Zealand’s equity crowdfunding platform, PledgeMe, has met the minimum goal for its second funding round, securing the company at least $250,000 of investment last night. PledgeMe CEO, Anna Guenther, stated: “We are extremely happy to be able to grow crowdfunding in New Zealand with the… Read More

July 14, 2015 @ 7:37 am By JD Alois  |  

“We are on a mission to democratise the venture capital investment business” In a pivotal offer, VC firm Venrex will raise £ 1 million in capital on equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs allowing ordinary investors to join an investment fund that is typically reserved for the wealthy… Read More

July 13, 2015 @ 5:02 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Equity crowdfunding platform, CircleUp, recently revealed that it has secured $22 million so that it may invest in consumer brands that previously received funds through its site. According to TechCrunch, CircleUp’s funding round, The Consumer Growth Fund, is set to match investments made on its platform by others, but does… Read More

July 13, 2015 @ 3:45 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Now offering community shares, Crowdfunder’s first issue, Positive News, has raised £263,000 from its readers, supporters and journalists. The public support for this project reflects the growing trend for social investment across the UK – where communities are coming together to save their local pubs, develop community… Read More

July 13, 2015 @ 2:39 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Israeli peer-to-peer lending platform, BLender, recently announced that it has secured $5 million in funding from American venture capital firm, Blumberg. The company, which launched last fall, is looking to use the funds to expand into Western European and Latin American markets. According to its description,… Read More

July 13, 2015 @ 1:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

Direct lender Prosper is now open to investors in the state of Indiana. This makes 32 states and the District of Columbia where individuals may lend money directly on the platform.  Aaron Vermut, CEO of Prosper said;   “We are very pleased to bring the… Read More

July 13, 2015 @ 10:18 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Commercial real estate crowdfunding platform, Selequity, announced that it  has formed a strategic alliance with Virtual Realty Enterprises, LLC, (VRE) a St. Louis-based CRE lender and operating company that has managed more than $500 million in assets. Now, Selequity’s clients and project sponsors will have access to interim financing… Read More

July 13, 2015 @ 8:05 am By JD Alois  |  

Dubai based Beehive, the first peer to peer lender to set up shop in the UAE, has announced surpassing AED 12 million in loans ($3 Million USD) to 25 SMEs. Beehive has been in business less than one year. According to the company borrowing businesses… Read More

July 13, 2015 @ 7:59 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Continuing to find success, sources have revealed that crowdfunding platform Tilt has raised around $30 million during its recent funding round. Co-founder and CEO of Tilt, James Beshara, told TechCrunch: “We weren’t in fundraising mode – there was strong outside interest with minimal dilution, and… Read More

July 11, 2015 @ 4:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

Real estate crowdfunding may be the hottest sector within the crowdfunding industry – at least in the US. Real estate and crowdfunding, be it debt or equity, is a perfect marriage of pairing technology to an out of date process of matching investors to projects. In the past,… Read More

July 11, 2015 @ 12:11 pm By JD Alois  |  

One of the interesting (and helpful) aspects of marketplace lending is the volume of data that is made readily available. Many direct lenders are noted for their exceptional transparency with more than a few publishing data on their loans including default rates.  Orchard, the company… Read More

July 11, 2015 @ 8:00 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

This week, global crowdfunding platform, Indiegogo, announced a new feature that is now available for all backers. “Shipping Now” is described as a new way to explore perks from popular Indiegogo campaigns. The platform shared: “We know individuals contribute to campaigns for several different reasons, one being… Read More

July 10, 2015 @ 3:08 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Continuing to build up some hype for its online premiere, the Con Man crew hit up San Diego’s Comic Con this week alongside global crowdfunding platform, Indiegogo. Earlier this year,  Firefly duo, Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk took to Indiegogo with a mission to raise funds for the web… Read More

July 10, 2015 @ 12:39 pm By JD Alois  |  

In 2014 Prosper, a leading direct lender, originated over $1.6 billion in loans – a 350% increase from year prior. This week the marketplace lending platform said it had topped $4 billion in total loans as it registered another “record quarter” as it delivered $912… Read More

July 10, 2015 @ 12:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

Open Energy is now offering “fast and direct” lending for your solar project. The new marketplace lending platform is matching institutional / accredited investors with renewable energy projects in the form of debt between $500,000 and $10 million.  The site draws a direct comparison between… Read More

July 10, 2015 @ 11:09 am By JD Alois  |  

RocketClub, a platform that has created a new model to invest in early stage companies. The platform matches early users to startups and allows them to earn shares in the company – all for providing valued feedback.  Launched in June, RocketClub just saw its first campaign… Read More

July 10, 2015 @ 10:01 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

SeedInvest, an equity crowdfunding platform, announced on Friday that WayBetter, which runs the social dieting website, DietBet, successfully conducted one of the first “testing the waters” fund-raising campaigns under the new mini-IPO rules, which went into effect on June 19th. The company received $9.3 million of investment interest… Read More

July 10, 2015 @ 9:32 am By JD Alois  |  

Flendr, a social lending platform that launched a couple weeks ago, wants to make it easier to borrow money from friends and family.  A bit of a hybrid peer to peer lending platform – where you know the “peers”, Flendr sees opportunity in the estimated… Read More