General News

December 2, 2014 @ 12:03 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Beara Beara, a sleek brand of leather bags, combines British design and Bolivian artisanal craftsmanship. Worn by celebrities Taylor Swift and Fearne Cotton, Beara Beara has also been featured in several fashion shows.  “Nearly all our progress so far has been through word of mouth… Read More

December 2, 2014 @ 11:13 am By Erin Hobey  |  

OurCrowd, the leading global equity crowdfunding platform for accredited investors, will bring together 36 of its innovative portfolio companies to meet with over 600 investors and executives from 17 countries in the largest global gathering of its kind during its OurCrowd Global Investor Summit which opens… Read More

December 2, 2014 @ 11:12 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

With crowdfunding scams continuing to be on the rise, global giant Indiegogo announced it is offering an optional insurance free that will help ease backer worries for future projects. According to TechCrunch, Indiegogo’s new feature will provide a refund if backers do not receive the… Read More

December 2, 2014 @ 10:11 am By JD Alois  |  

There is definitely something to be said for being at the right place, at the right time, and for Orchard this is certainly the case.  Now this is not to say the creation of Orchard is totally serendipitous because this is a company that has… Read More

December 2, 2014 @ 9:40 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

RallyUp, a crowdfunding platform that helps nonprofits take their fundraising efforts online, is honoring #GivingTuesday 2014 by waiving their normal service fees. Through the end of December, RallyUp is offering access to its entire fundraising platform for $0.99 per contribution to organizations that use the promo code GT2014…. Read More

December 1, 2014 @ 3:35 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

His days as a police officer may be over for good, but it seems Darren Wilson won’t have to worry about creating a new career anytime soon. According to MailOnline, an anonymous woman has gathered nearly 200,000 Facebook supporters for Wilson to help raise more… Read More

December 1, 2014 @ 12:15 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

As the city of Ferguson continues to experience riots and devastation following the jury’s decision to not indict police officer Darren Wilson for the killing of teenager, Michael Brown, more and more business owners are launching crowdfunding campaigns on GoFundMe for receive more help in… Read More

December 1, 2014 @ 12:11 pm By JD Alois  |  

The “worlds largest crowdfunding festival” states there will be bigger awards for creator projects, exhibit in more venues and accept rewards-based crowdfunding contributions from anywhere in the world”. One Spark will offer official creators 13 different $15,000 awards, over 80 venues to showcase their projects in and… Read More

December 1, 2014 @ 9:36 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Earlier this month, University of Tennessee in Knoxville launched a crowdfunding platform called the VOLstarter to offer an alternative way for students, faculty and staff to raise funds for on campus projects. According to Tennessee Today, VOLstarter links donors with opportunities to support specific projects and initiatives…. Read More

December 1, 2014 @ 7:31 am By Erin Hobey  |  

As reported last week in Crowdfund Insider,  The University of Cambridge has teamed up with EY, the global professional services organization, and launched the European Alternative Finance Benchmarking Survey with the support of major European industry associations. This is the largest study to date on crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending and other… Read More

November 30, 2014 @ 5:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Bank of England has published its periodic report on lending and, once again lending to SME’s has declined.  Even as the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) added participants, net lending was slightly negative. The FLS is a stimulus program that was launched by the… Read More

November 29, 2014 @ 1:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

Founded by one of the PayPal creators, Max Levchin, Affirm is another company that sees opportunity in confronting the monolithic banking industry. Affirm wants to hook up with consumers at the point of purchase. Instead of purchasers buying products using a credit, a process that… Read More

November 29, 2014 @ 1:04 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Chamber of Labour in Austria (AK) strives to represent the interests of 3.4 million employees and consumers in the country.  Basically the organization focuses on social and economic policy and engages in political discourse to advocate on behalf of their constituents. The below document… Read More

November 28, 2014 @ 2:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

The below document is a presentation by a French crowdfunding advocacy group: Financement Participatif France (FPF).  This document was delivered to the EU’s European Crowdfunding Stakeholders forum this past September.  The FPF adopted these parameters in April of 2014.  France released final investment crowdfunding regulations… Read More

November 28, 2014 @ 10:16 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Since launching its peer to peer platform for consumer secured loans, there has been press and in-depth regulatory dialogue, leading to re-confirmation, to all borrowers and lenders that eMoneyUnion do not carry out FCA regulated mortgage activities. The loans originated and transacted on the platform… Read More

November 28, 2014 @ 9:05 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Women are the demographic that makes 80% of global purchase decisions, according to a Nielsen study.  EDITION F, the leading business and lifestyle platform for women, targets and taps into the career-oriented women and modern men demographic providing incisive articles in online magazines, career-enhancing contacts in the… Read More

November 27, 2014 @ 9:44 am By JD Alois  |  

  Stanford educated engineer and successful entrepreneur Debbie Sterling is the epitome of crowdfunding success.  Her crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter was launched in 2013 seeking a raise of $150,000 to take her toy GoldieBlox into production.  The campaign closed 30 days later at over a… Read More

November 27, 2014 @ 8:33 am By JD Alois  |  

The events surrounding the shooting death in the small town of  Ferguson, Missouri have certainly been tragic and unfortunate.  But occasionally some events that inspire rise to the surface contrasting despair with hope.  Natalie’s Cakes and More, operated by Natalie Dubose from Ferguson, saw here… Read More

November 27, 2014 @ 7:40 am By JD Alois  |  

In a public release Formax has announced a new “trading community” that seeks to become a “one stop shop” individual trading platform.  Formax states it has collaborated with 6 securities firms in China that aggregates various asset classes including peer to peer lending.  China is… Read More

November 26, 2014 @ 12:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

PwC Rings Warning Bell as Banks Face Possible Demise. “We are surely looking at the end of the market and banks as we currently know them”.  As part of a report from a recent Peregrine Perspectives panel, an event that was organized in advance of… Read More