Featured Headlines

April 28, 2015 @ 11:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

Indiegogo’s second most-funded campaign of all time has taken more twists and turns than one could imagine. From improbable crowdfunding mega-hit, delivered by a Californian surfer, to questions, controversy and accusations of contractual fraud.  Perhaps it is time for a touch of disbelief. The Storm eBike, quickly… Read More

April 28, 2015 @ 7:55 am By Erin Hobey  |  

“Banks are at a huge disadvantage with their high salary bills and antiquated technology systems, peer to peer offers an innovative, simple and better result which costs customers less. That said, I also predict huge opportunities for banks and peer-to-peer lenders to continue to work together… Read More

April 27, 2015 @ 9:07 am By JD Alois  |  

Canaan Partners, one of the Sandhill Road posse in Silicon Valley, is a VC firm that has moved big into the alternative finance space. With over $4.2 billion under management they have the fire power, and the tool kit, to move quickly into promising, early stage… Read More

April 24, 2015 @ 12:14 pm By Bret Conkin  |  

The consumer loan experience is getting an upgrade in Canada courtesy of some new players that are targeting the long waits and paperwork hassles of traditional loans and the high rates of alternative providers like payday loans.  Experience in other markets like the US and UK… Read More

April 23, 2015 @ 9:40 am By Anthony Zeoli & Kiran Lingam  |  

They say that there is no such thing as bad press but I am not so sure that I agree with that statement. While this may be the case for the Kardashians, I don’t think the same holds true for the crowdfunding/P2P lending industries. In… Read More

April 22, 2015 @ 10:56 am By JD Alois  |  

Established brewery BrewDog is going to the raise capital once again but this time they are going big.  Their Equity for Punks pitch is seeking £25 million in crowdfunding which will be the largest equity crowdfunding round in the UK to date. This is the… Read More

April 22, 2015 @ 9:25 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Last fall I interviewed FlashFunders Co-Founder Vincent Bradley to learn more about his newly launched, no-fee equity funding platform.  In the months following, Bradley and his team have stewarded startups and streamlined their process. The platform recently reached a major milestone: closing a major round… Read More

April 21, 2015 @ 11:42 am By JD Alois  |  

Alphaworks, the equity crowdfunding sibling of Betaworks, has rebranded as Quire, launching a redesigned site adding new features for users. Alphaworks has launched several, highly curated, equity offers in past months. The platform allows the crowd to join alongside professional investors / VCs to invest… Read More

April 21, 2015 @ 8:30 am By Rodrigo Niño  |  

In the 19th century, there were 11 cities with over 1 million inhabitants.  Today there are over 500 cities around the world where the population stands above 1 million.  There are over 7 billion souls on this planet and this number is predicted to grow… Read More

April 20, 2015 @ 9:40 am By JD Alois  |  

Chris Olenik, founder of Agency 2.0 a well known marketing firm in the crowdfunding industry, has responded to the revelation that relationships have frayed between Storm Sondors and his firm. Agency 2.0 filed a “contractual fraud” lawsuit on April 9th and now Olenik has clarified… Read More

April 20, 2015 @ 9:08 am By Dara Albright  |  

I’ve always said that you can gauge the success of an industry by the growth and enthusiasm of its annual convention. It’s also a great barometer of market peaks and bubbles – especially when you have the chance to really get into the psyche of… Read More

April 19, 2015 @ 10:51 am By JD Alois  |  

Assetz Capital hopes to run £ 1 billion in loans by the end of 2016 and they have a good start in getting there. The peer to peer lender launched in April of 2013 and has funded over £70 million in secured lending and states… Read More

April 17, 2015 @ 5:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

Second Most Funded Campaign on Indiegogo Hit with Legal Challenge of “Contractual Fraud”. Last week in the Superior Court of California in Santa Monica, Agency 2.0 filed a contractual fraud suit against Pacific Storm, Inc, apparently the corporate entity behind the Sondors eBike crowdfunding campaign.  The listed… Read More

April 17, 2015 @ 1:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

  Prosper President Ron Suber delivered an extremely well received keynote address at the LendIt conference held in Manhattan this past week.  Over 2400 attendees converged from around the globe to discuss the future of finance, one where banks are on the decline and peer to… Read More

April 17, 2015 @ 10:17 am By Jevgenijs Kazanins  |  

Earlier this year the Centre for Alternative Finance at Cambridge Judge Business School, in co-operation with professional services firm E&Y, released a pan-European study of the alternative finance market. The study, titled “Moving Mainstream”, can be considered the most comprehensive study on the subject released to… Read More

April 17, 2015 @ 8:00 am By JD Alois  |  

“Regulators should allow new firms to operate, generate data on the outcomes created by novel business models before writing new rules.” Larry Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury under President Clinton and Director of the National Economic Council under President Obama, delivered a rousing speech… Read More

April 16, 2015 @ 12:03 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

It is clear that peer-to-peer (P2P) lending is here to stay but long gone are the days of actual “peers” lending to “peers.” Today Wall Street firms, hedge funds and other “big money investors”, make up the overwhelming bulk of the funds being lent through… Read More

April 16, 2015 @ 9:45 am By JD Alois  |  

In a world of growing governmental over-reach it is rare to find a regulator who wants to do less not more.  But it makes sense. Budgets are made, and funding allocated, based on predicted needs of tomorrow not the reality of last year. Legislators make rules… Read More

April 15, 2015 @ 9:03 am By Erin Hobey  |  

The Singapore-based peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform Capital Match which targets Singapore SMEs obtain loans financed by individual investors has launched. The company stated that its are two-fold, to provide business borrowers with the next best interest rates after banks and to give investors access to an attractive yield… Read More

April 15, 2015 @ 7:32 am By Richard Swart  |  

    I recently published a report with Mary Milner addressing how crowdfunding models can be used to address global challenges across multi-national networks.   What is fascinating is how rapidly the nature of conversations about crowdfunding is changing among top policy makers, corporate leaders and… Read More