General News

March 27, 2014 @ 10:34 am By JD Alois  |  

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business organization representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions. The organization’s members range from mom-and-pop shops and local chambers to large corporations.  The group is really global in… Read More

March 27, 2014 @ 9:55 am By JD Alois  |  

As part of the massive release from the European Commission today on their Roadmap to meet the long term financing needs of  European Union, the EC published a document on Frequently Asked Questions regarding crowdfunding. While some of the responses are basic, much of the… Read More

March 27, 2014 @ 9:22 am By JD Alois  |  

As part of an initiative launched last Fall, the European Commission has published the responses to a consultation on crowdfunding.  While the commenting period closed on December 31, 2013, the document was published on March 27, 2014 as was widely expected. The EC received a… Read More

March 27, 2014 @ 8:41 am By JD Alois  |  

LONG-TERM FINANCING NEEDS OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMY The European Commission has adopted a package of measures that it hopes will address the long term financing needs of the European Economy.  As part of the communication the EC put forward a communication on crowdfunding as they… Read More

March 26, 2014 @ 5:55 pm By JD Alois  |  

Brooklyn based Spelt Right Foods has won the Grand Prize in FreshDirect’s Next Big Food Thing contest, a crowdfunding contest launched by FreshDirect in collaboration with RocketHub to “find the next food idea, product or innovation that could change the food world.”   Spelt Right produces bagels,… Read More

March 26, 2014 @ 4:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

In a video interview former Facebook executive and Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) partner Bubba Murarka comments on the acquisition by Facebook of Oculus VR for $2 billion which was announced yesterday. Murarka admits that the move by Facebook is risky but also notes that without… Read More

March 26, 2014 @ 10:47 am By JD Alois  |  

Chicago Based, NIN Ventures, wants to transform the VC fund industry and the are publicly crowdfunding to achieve their goal.  Generally speaking venture capital funds accept investments from individuals or entities willing to pony up amounts in the 7 figures.  With the new legislation enacted… Read More

March 26, 2014 @ 9:03 am By JD Alois  |  

Zacks, a large provider of independent research in the US, has launched Zacks CF Research, a crowdfunding research division and the first of its kind for the industry.  The new division of Zacks Investment Research that will focus exclusively on providing valuation analysis of Title… Read More

March 25, 2014 @ 6:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

In a post on the Oculus blog site, the start up tech company disclosed they were joining Facebook.  The deal was valued at $2 billion including $400 million in cash and 23.1 million in Facebook shares, plus an added $300 million payout in cash and… Read More

March 25, 2014 @ 3:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Maryland General Assembly has passed legislation that will allow small businesses to raise debt capital from Maryland residents.  The new law minimizes risk to investors by restricting each individual’s investment to $100 and allows small businesses to raise up to $100,000 in any given year. By… Read More

March 25, 2014 @ 11:57 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Meet Frank Bell. The Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter is trying to blaze a path to success, and for artists like Bell that path increasingly includes crowdfunding. As part of a joint effort between TED and Skype, Bell recently had the chance to ask questions of a panel… Read More

March 25, 2014 @ 11:17 am By Charles Luzar  |  

A report from CB Insights shows that companies in the ever-growing “Internet of Things” space have seen an uptick in investment throughout 2013. Many of these companies have used crowdfunding as part of their capital raising and marketing strategy. Related: Kickstarter Alum SmartThings Closes $12.5 Million… Read More

March 25, 2014 @ 8:17 am By JD Alois  |  

Crowdfunding superstar OUYA continues to find it’s way as it alters strategy once again.  In a recent blog post, OUYA’s Bob Mills stated; In the coming weeks, we’re going to let devs choose if they want to charge up front for their games. Now they’ll… Read More

March 25, 2014 @ 7:35 am By JD Alois  |  

The Equity Crowdfunding Alliance of Canada (ECFA Canada) has scheduled their first conference for what is expected to be a series of events across the country.  ECFA Canada was formed only recently and with the recently and has picked up momentum with the announced regulatory… Read More

March 24, 2014 @ 2:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

Previously announced in February, The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today announced the agenda and panelists for this Wednesday’s (March 26, 2014) roundtable on the issues and challenges cybersecurity presents for market participants and public companies.  The roundtable will be held at the SEC’s headquarters… Read More

March 24, 2014 @ 10:50 am By JD Alois  |  

On March 20, 2014, a total of six provincial regulators announced two main proposals for new Crowdfunding prospectus exemptions that would allow early stage companies such as start-ups and SMEs to raise up to $1.5 million of capital online through the issuance of securities. According… Read More

March 24, 2014 @ 10:36 am By JD Alois  |  

The Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Advocates (CFIRA) hosted an educational session on crowdfunding last week (March 20) where they addressed the topic of General Solicitation (Advertising) for 506(c) private placements.  The panel discussion included a slide show plus several crowdfunding luminaries including: Sarah Hanks – CrowdCheck… Read More

March 24, 2014 @ 10:35 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Rodrigo Davies writes regularly on the topic of civic crowdfunding at the MIT Center for Civic Media blog, and his most recent post raises an important and interesting question: is crowdfunding participatory citizenship or a sign of institutions in decline? He frames the question in… Read More

March 24, 2014 @ 10:11 am By Charles Luzar  |  

The One Spark festival in Jacksonville, Florida is huge… perhaps so huge that the idea has outgrown the Jacksonville metro area. There have long been rumors that One Spark would eventually make its way to other cities, and that seems to be coming to fruition…. Read More

March 24, 2014 @ 8:41 am By JD Alois  |  

This year venture capitalists poured more money into Crowdfunding: Indiegogo $40million, Crowdtilt $23 million, Teespring $20 million, over $83 million in January. Since Kickstarter first launched its crowdfunding platform in 2009, funders have now pledged over one billion dollars on projects all before its fifth… Read More