Investment Platforms and Marketplaces

May 19, 2014 @ 9:02 am By JD Alois  |  

Equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube has been joined by peer to peer (P2P) lenders Zopa and Funding Circle in being recognized by the Smarta Breakthrough 50 awards. These awards, sponsored by Santander, are designed to “shine a light” on the most inspiring businesses in the United Kingdom…. Read More

May 18, 2014 @ 1:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

The below presentation was delivered by Equity Crowdfunding Alliance of Canada (ECFA Canada) Co-Chair Brian Koscak a the inaugural conference in Toronto on April 24, 2014.  The deck was delivered in association with a panel that included:  Carlos Pinto Lobo  from MaRS SVX, Sandi Gilbert… Read More

May 17, 2014 @ 8:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey recently announced a significant budget shift that will apparently impact funding for the Arts and Gaming in the country. Cutting federal budgets is never, ever an easy task because one person’s waste is another’s necessity.  There is a bit of… Read More

May 17, 2014 @ 11:52 am By JD Alois  |  

UK based equity crowdfunding innovator Seedrs is up for another award.  The European Tech Startup Awards 2014 have included Seedrs on their shortlist of potential winners.  The Europas are described as the “premier awards for Europe’s hottest tech startups”.  The event focuses on new companies… Read More

May 16, 2014 @ 6:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

In a recent article in the South China Morning Post, shared the challenges of the BigColors equity crowdfunding platform.  BigColors was launched in November 2013 as a combined crowdfunding site with a trading feature.  Investors could actually use the site and trade shares in these… Read More

May 16, 2014 @ 11:18 am By JD Alois  |  

UK based Zopa, one of the largest P2P platforms in existence having loaned over half a billion pounds on their platform, has published a “Moneyfesto” gunning for the usurious financial structure many (not all – mind you) credit card companies employ to squeeze their customers…. Read More

May 16, 2014 @ 8:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Recently I had the opportunity to sit in on a presentation given by equity crowdfunding platform OurCrowd.  This investment portal is one of the largest in the space having facilitated over$43 million in 36 startups since their start “way back” in February 2013.  While nominally… Read More

May 15, 2014 @ 4:21 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Commercial real estate is the ideal vertical for crowdfunding for several reasons, including the industry’s transparency, according to a new white paper from Atlanta-based commercial real estate crowdfunding platform CrowdVested. Real estate crowdfunding enables people to join with neighbors to invest in development projects in their… Read More

May 15, 2014 @ 2:18 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

One of the top medical crowdfunding websites, GiveForward announced on Thursday that it has helped raised a total of $100 million for more than 100,000 medical fundraisers over the past six years. By achieving this milestone, GiveForward has delivered on its mission to empower compassion… Read More

May 15, 2014 @ 11:47 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Bringing all of Kickstarter’s well-known successes to its visitors, New York City’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) announced it is showcasing a curated collection that’s consisted of the many gadgets that have been brought to life in the past five years by the Kickstarter community. … Read More

May 15, 2014 @ 10:54 am By JD Alois  |  

UK based crowdfunding platform GrowthFunders has recently done a site makeover.  The investment site has added a bit of polish to their platform as they continue to grow in 2014.  But not only have they freshened up the site – they are now offering up… Read More

May 15, 2014 @ 9:56 am By JD Alois  |  

UK based Angels Den recently shared some news for 2014.  Since the beginning of the year the equity crowdfunding platform has successfully raised capital for 15 different companies.  Angels Den is a bit of a hybrid platform where they combine angel investing with a crowdfunding… Read More

May 14, 2014 @ 5:28 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Alchemy Global, known as the first investment crowdfunding platform in the sports and entertainment market that matches accredited investors with growth companies, announced on Wednesday Storelli Sports, 110% Play Harder and Apera as its first three client companies on the portal. The three established companies will use… Read More

May 14, 2014 @ 10:15 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Office of Economic Development and Kiva.org have shared a renewed partnership committed to the success and impact of Kiva City Los Angeles today. Launched in 2012, Kiva City Los Angeles is an initiative that gives anyone a chance to crowdfund loans… Read More

May 14, 2014 @ 9:32 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Open Source Capital LLC, a specialty real estate finance company, has launched the first of a series of private placements that are now permitted to be advertised under the JOBS Act. The company is using crowdfunding to finance the acquisition of a vacant waterfront commercial… Read More

May 14, 2014 @ 9:09 am By JD Alois  |  

DiGi Worldwide, a film distribution company, has purchased Distribber from global crowdfunding platform Indiegogo. Distribber is a film / video distribution service that is designed to make it possible for filmmakers to place their work on iTunes, Netflix and Amazon without the loss of rights… Read More

May 13, 2014 @ 11:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

Equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube shared some insightful information this week.  So far for 2014 they have raised £8.3 million funding 38 businesses.  In the month of April alone the portal raised £2.3 million for 10 businesses.  In March Crowdcube funded 8 businesses for £1.6 million… Read More

May 13, 2014 @ 6:04 pm By JD Alois  |  

Zacks and Localstake have announced a partnership where Zacks CF Research will offer valuation and rating reports on Localstake listed crowdfunded issues. “Localstake is providing a funding platform in several states now and just closed the first-ever intrastate crowdfunded issue in Michigan. We believe this… Read More

May 13, 2014 @ 1:48 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Despite ever tightening controls on lending from the big five banks, 75 percent of Brits prefer to approach their high street bank for a loan of £10,000 or less. This is the finding of a new survey of more than 600 consumers from peer to… Read More

May 13, 2014 @ 11:25 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

A new entrant into the peer-to-peer (P2P) property lending space, Proplend, has had its first tranched P2P loan redeemed. The loan was a short-term commercial bridge loan supported by security over a children’s day nursery in Parson Green, London, which paid lenders a gross interest… Read More