Investment Platforms and Marketplaces

April 14, 2015 @ 12:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

LendKey, an online lending platform that connects local banks to borrowers, announced it has received a “conditional” commitment of up to $1 billion for student loan consolidation originated on the LendKey site.  The financing was from MidCap Financial, managed by a subsidiary of Apollo Global… Read More

April 14, 2015 @ 10:10 am By JD Alois  |  

Investment crowdfunding platform Crowdcube is predicting a “record breaking” year following the success of Q1 funding.  The first quarter of 2015 saw 36 businesses raising £17.5 million.  During the quarter total investments topped £24 million (some offers are still crowdfunding). Crowdcube touted some of the… Read More

April 14, 2015 @ 9:37 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Lending Club (NYSE: LC), the largest online marketplace connecting borrowers and investors, and Citi  (NYSE: C) are launching a pioneering new partnership with Varadero Capital L.P., an alternative management firm focused on specialized credit investments, to facilitate up to $150 million in loans designed to provide more affordable credit to underserved… Read More

April 14, 2015 @ 7:33 am By JD Alois  |  

Investment crowdfunding platform CannaFundr, one that targets the nascent cannabis industry, has formed a partnership with Deutsche Cannabis AG. The agreements is described as facilitating investment into the Cannabis industry internationally while boosting entrepreneurship and the infrastructure to support it. Deutsche Cannabis is said to… Read More

April 13, 2015 @ 6:21 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

  Real estate crowdfunding platform Fundrise has shared a bit of history.  The first ever crowdfunded real estate project has opened up as a “communal food” and retail market in the H Street corridor in our nation’s Capitol. Maketto, located at 1351 H Street NE, was… Read More

April 13, 2015 @ 12:51 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Well, it’s official: Con Man and Super Troopers 2 have not only hit the record books at crowdfunding platform, Indiegogo, they each have become two of top most film projects in the funding methods history by beating out Zach Braff’s Wish I was Here.  Last week, Con Man finished its… Read More

April 13, 2015 @ 11:18 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

In an effort to increase transparency and trust, popular reward-based crowdfunding platform Indiegogo has launched new feature: campaign profile cards. Sharing details about the feature, Indiegogo’s Julian Wong stated: “At Indiegogo, we routinely gather feedback from users and use this information to help determine what features… Read More

April 13, 2015 @ 10:18 am By Erin Hobey  |  

New Sydney fintech hub Stone & Chalk has appointed Alex Scandurra as its CEO to lead the platform as it garners startup clients seeking to disrupt banking.  The London Business School MBA Scandurra was Head of Strategic Partnerships & Barclay’s Accelerator Program, which is powered by… Read More

April 13, 2015 @ 10:17 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

A medical crowdfunding platform called Right to Live is looking for donors to help those struggling with healthcare expenses in India. The Bangalore-based platform is on a mission to create a transparent healthcare network that will enable financial donors, organizations, the corporate section and the government to come together to… Read More

April 13, 2015 @ 10:07 am By JD Alois  |  

The largest peer to peer lender in the US, Lending Club (NYSE: LC), has scheduled its first quarter earnings call for Tuesday, March 5, 2015 after the markets close at 5PM EST / 2PM PT.  The San Francisco based marketplace lender will be presenting Q1… Read More

April 13, 2015 @ 9:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Former Citigroup executive Vinayak Gurjar has joined marketplace lender CommonBond as Chief Risk Officer.  Gurjar joins a growing number of traditional banking managers switching over to new, fast growing financial firms.  While the banking industry has suffered years of slow growth, crushing regulations and a… Read More

April 13, 2015 @ 8:56 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Gridmates announced a new donation-based, energy crowdfunding site that will allow donors to browse through a directory of distressed electricity customer profiles and then donate energy assistance. The site seeks to help low-income customers such as single moms with young children, elderly couples, disabled veterans, storm/hurricane survivors and… Read More

April 12, 2015 @ 4:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

CreditEase, a China based peer to peer lender and wealth management company, has partnered with US based Wellington Management to invest in pre-IPO stage companies, according to a report in the China Daily. The agreement is described as one where CreditEase will provide the capital… Read More

April 11, 2015 @ 12:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

Equity crowdfunding platform SeedInvest opened up operations in Atlanta, Georgia last week and organized a launch party to introduce their investment platform to the local crowd. This is a continuation of their strategy to create local hubs in key markets across the United States by… Read More

April 11, 2015 @ 12:11 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Earlier this week, GoFundMe pulled the plug on a campaign that was dedicated to South Carolina police officer, Michael Slager, after he was charged for the murder of an unarmed man, Walter L. Scott. The charges were filed after a video of the event revealed Slager shooting… Read More

April 10, 2015 @ 12:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Portland, Oregon based Crowd Supply has announced seed funding in the amount of $585,000 led by the Portland Seed Fund with participation from SOSVentures, Inspiration Ventures plus several Angels. Launched in 2013, Crowd Supply is a “full service crowdfunding and product development platform for hardware… Read More

April 10, 2015 @ 8:52 am By JD Alois  |  

The very first peer to peer lending platform to grace the UK has announced a new milestone. Zopa has announced topping £800 in loans (over $1.16 billion for the yanks) and has returned £50 million in interest to investors.  Over a third of the interest… Read More

April 10, 2015 @ 1:50 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

  JustGiving, a UK-based fundraising platform, has just gone live with its crowdfunding capabilities, offering crowdfunders the chance to be part of the JustGiving community of 12 million, according to a recent press release by the company. Since launching in 2001, JustGiving has enabled over 22 million people across 164… Read More

April 9, 2015 @ 11:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

On April 7, 2015, P2P industry pioneers: Lend Academy Investments and Nickel Steamroller announced that they had a completed a merger that resulted in the creation NSR Invest, a new P2P analytics and investment platform designed to support the distinct needs of financial advisors their retail… Read More

April 9, 2015 @ 2:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

San Francisco based ApplePie Capital, an internet funding portal that wants to “democratize access to capital and help franchise entrepreneurs achieve their dream” has raised $6 million in a Series A funding round as the stampede to invest in the future of finance continues.  ApplePie… Read More