General News

August 30, 2016 @ 4:11 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

This week, Finvasia announced it has received an undisclosed investment during its pre-launch phase. The India-based fintech company revealed it has a valuation of Rs 150 crore, and the round was led by Intrinsic Investment Limited with participation from other venture capitalists. Founded in 2009 by Sarvjeet Singh… Read More

August 30, 2016 @ 3:44 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Following the release of their Kickstarter-funded album “and the Anonymous Nobody,” hip-hop group De La Soul released their new documentary, which features the campaign launch and the album’s development. Vincent Mason, David Jude Jolicoeur, and Kelvin “Posdnous” Mercer, launched the crowdfunding initiative last year to secure only… Read More

August 30, 2016 @ 2:51 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, crowdfunding giant Kickstarter announced Hong Kong and Singapore project creators may now launch campaigns on its funding portal. This news comes nearly one month after the Kickstarter team revealed their plans for the two countries. ? Creators in Singapore & Hong Kong can… Read More

August 30, 2016 @ 2:14 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, CEO of New Zealand crowdfunding platform PledgeMe, Anna Guenther, introduced a new feature called “PledgeMe.Friends,” which will offer a nice “bonus” for those who inspire companies to use its website. The funding portal first introduced the PledgeMe.Friends concept while updating users on its yearly progress earlier… Read More

August 30, 2016 @ 12:43 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, technology giant IBM announced it is set to join the fintech hub in Toronto’s MaRS Discovery District. The high profile company is said to be the first technology resident that will be located in the space, which is occupied by mainly financial services… Read More

August 30, 2016 @ 12:00 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Hello, a hardware, software, and data science company, announced on Tuesday its Kickstarter project, Sense, will be available at Target and Best Buy later this year. The device contains a speaker, so it may play white noise or similar sounds such as pink noise or… Read More

August 30, 2016 @ 11:34 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, UK-based equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube announced the acquisition of its #FundedClub member, Wool and the Gang. The London-based DIY fashion brand was acquired by BlueGem Capital Partners. Crowdcube also reported since 2013 more than 5 million has been returned to investors following the exits… Read More

August 30, 2016 @ 10:36 am By JD Alois  |  

Finovate kicks off next week in Manhattan and it is celebrating an anniversary. While it may be hard to imagine, Finovate is now 10 years old. Greg Palmer, Vice President of the Finovate Group told Crowdfund Insider that was hard to believe they were prepping… Read More

August 30, 2016 @ 10:18 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Last week, Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501, Hitachi) announced it has teamed up with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU) for a blockchain technology project to check digitalization in Singapore. Both companies reported that they had started Proof of Concept (PoC) testing. During the PoC testing,… Read More

August 29, 2016 @ 10:27 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Last week, Crowdcube #FundedClub member, Mondo, announced it has rebranded to Monzo during a live video presentation. The company declared earlier this summer it was changing its name after an undisclosed company with the similar name challenged it and the company allowed its fans to… Read More

August 29, 2016 @ 8:10 am By JD Alois  |  

Robert Herjavec, founder of Herjavec Group and star of ABC’s hit series Shark Tank, will be presenting a “Fireside Keynote Chat” at the forthcoming “Crowd Invest Summit” scheduled for this December.  The two-day equity crowdfunding conference has also upgraded their venue to accommodate demand. The Crowd… Read More

August 28, 2016 @ 9:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

A Crowdfund Insider reader reached out to us last week with an excellent question: can foreign nationals invest in US investment crowdfunding offers. We checked with several leading Fintech legal experts for their feedback on this question and we share some of this below. In… Read More

August 28, 2016 @ 5:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

Steven Dresner of Dealflow.com is one of the regular suspects in the online capital formation sector.  He has been an active voice and participant in the shift to leverage the power of the internet to make capital formation more efficient. Working with broker-dealers and other… Read More

August 26, 2016 @ 4:25 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

This week, Indiegogo co-founder Slava Rubin was announced as a keynote speaker for the upcoming Global Crowdfunding Convention (GCC), which is set to be held October 15-17th at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. GCC organizers predict that more than 1200 participants will… Read More

August 26, 2016 @ 3:59 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Thursday, Pfizer announced Arizona startup, Alchemi Labs, was dubbed winner of its Get Old contest. Earlier this summer, the pharmaceutical giant announced it was teaming up with Indiegogo to launch the initiative, which highlights innovations that can make life “better” as people age. The “best of the… Read More

August 26, 2016 @ 11:34 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Friday, peer-to-peer lender Zopa released its 2015 annual report and financial statements. The numbers revealed that despite loans disbursals more than doubled, rising from £265 million disbursed in 2014 to £532 million, and revenues for the year increased £11.5 million in 2014 to £20.6 million,… Read More

August 26, 2016 @ 10:12 am By JD Alois  |  

The Marketplace Lending Association has hired an Executive Director who has spent the past few years advocating on behalf of very big banks. Nat Hoopes, formerly the Executive Director of the Financial Services Forum, will now be working the halls of Congress on behalf of… Read More

August 25, 2016 @ 4:31 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Zack “Danger” Brown, the creator of the 2014 Potato Salad Kickstarter, announced last week his cookbook, The Peace, Love & Potato Salad Cookbook, is now being shipped to backers. In July, Brown stated the cookbook, which was co-written with Teresa Blackburn, was created for those who pitched in… Read More

August 25, 2016 @ 3:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

Publishing on the pages of American Banker, Todd Baker has written off the entire industry of marketplace lending. Baker states, “it should be obvious now that marketplace lending is unsustainable.” A pretty strong statement for a sector of alternative finance that has, until recently, experienced… Read More

August 25, 2016 @ 2:09 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

It’s official – Mondo has a new name! The company announced on Thursday during a live video presentation that after months of customer voting, it is now to be called, Monzo! The now formerly known as Mondo crew confirmed earlier this summer that they were… Read More