General News

February 5, 2013 @ 5:20 pm By A. Brian Dengler, CFIRA  |  

With the advent of equity crowdfunding, a Tennessee University Law Professor Joan MacLeod Hemingway suggests it may be time to rethink the structure of financial and financially regulation in the United States and to look at the bigger picture of how crowdfunding and other hybrid investment properly fits into… Read More

February 5, 2013 @ 5:17 pm By Brian R Knight  |  

After a long holiday break the CrowdFundCast is Back!  This time we get to interview Mr. Sang Lee of Return On Change about crowdfunding and high impact investment.  The discussion was fascinating, the skype…a little wonky, but Sang graciously put up with the technical hurdles to talk… Read More

February 5, 2013 @ 5:10 pm By Victoria Silchenko  |  

When I opened our monthly Global LAVA group meeting last Friday, I couldn’t help but pronounce it out loud: “If anyone would like to know what the market trends are, check out our LAVA (Los Angeles Venture Association) meetings and see how packed the room is!” What… Read More

February 5, 2013 @ 5:09 pm By ReadWrite  |  

Remember the humble Ouya game console? Maybe it was never that humble, but considering its indie roots, the Kickstarted experiment in Android-powered gaming just scored some surprisingly huge distribution partnerships for its release later this year. Founder and CEO Julie Uhrman tells The Wall Street Journal that the console will be available through… Read More

February 5, 2013 @ 8:11 am By WSJ.com  |  

A tectonic shift is under way in how companies raise money—and it will have a profound impact on U.S. investors and markets. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s most recent estimates, businesses have been raising more funds through private transactions than through debt and… Read More

February 4, 2013 @ 4:31 pm By Dexigner  |  

Crowdfunding, the practice of investing in projects through the use of a crowd-supported web based fundraising campaign, shows significant promise for attracting investors to smaller real estate projects and getting them off the architect’s drawing board, according to a report issued today by the American Institute… Read More

February 4, 2013 @ 6:01 am By Worcester Business Journal Online  |  

Crowd funding has taken off over the past three years, driven largely by musicians and artists raising money for albums or projects. But startup companies and entrepreneurs in Central Massachusetts, drawn by a decidedly unique way to raise extra capital, have started to employ the… Read More

February 3, 2013 @ 1:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

As everyone knows the Superbowl is not just about the game.  It is the spectacle, the culture, the extravagance and yep – the ads.  Many large companies – or companies that hope to be large some day – spend gobs of money on 30 –… Read More

February 3, 2013 @ 11:27 am By JD Alois  |  

“CFIRA welcomes the SEC’s approval of FINRA’s Form for Funding Portals. We see this as a very positive and proactive sign that both agencies intend to prioritize rule making on the JOBS Act. This information request is the first public and meaningful step toward developing… Read More

February 2, 2013 @ 10:48 am By WSJ.com  |  

The common wisdom says that the American heartland is finished after a disastrous series of economic decisions outsourcing the manufacture of America’s physical goods. The pundits say the American dream is dead and this next decade will see the further decline. It may be that… Read More

February 2, 2013 @ 9:17 am By ABC KABC  |  

People faced with soaring healthcare costs have looked for help before. Now they’ve found another possible solution online. Thousands are sharing their stories on websites in what is known as crowdfunding. It’s the latest online evolution connecting individuals who are in need, with people who… Read More

February 1, 2013 @ 6:43 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

The second recommendation is of note… THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS THAT: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should facilitate and encourage the creation of a separate U.S. equity market or markets for small and emerging companies, in which investor participation would be limited to sophisticated investors,… Read More

February 1, 2013 @ 2:26 am By TheVerge  |  

Inside an old storage warehouse in an abandoned shipyard in Copenhagen, Kristian von Bengston and Peter Madsen have been building a one-man rocket ship they intend to send on a 15-minute, parabolic trip to the edge of space and back. Von Bengston and Madsen’s non-profit,… Read More

February 1, 2013 @ 1:12 am By HuffingtonPost  |  

Now here is the 1 percent that you do want to hear about! The world is on the precipice of creating a trillion-dollar crowdfunding market. In Australia, the ASSOB has offered a crowdfunding investment portal since 2005. In the U.K., equity crowdfunding is already in progress, with… Read More

January 31, 2013 @ 11:57 pm By WallStreetDaily  |  

A $1-trillion wealth transfer is about to hit Wall Street. Private venture capital (VC), the go-to funding source for decades’ worth of technology-based startups – including Google (GOOG), Medtronic (MDT), Intel (INTC) and even Apple (AAPL) – is about to be supplanted by public venture capital. What does that mean for everyday investors… Read More

January 31, 2013 @ 7:08 pm By ArcticStartUp  |  

Right now we’re reading about how the J.O.B.S. act is going to change crowdfunding in the United States, but I think it’s worth pointing out we actually have a head start on equity crowdfunding in Northern Europe. The countries in the ArcticStartup region have their… Read More

January 31, 2013 @ 2:13 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

Earlier this week FINRA invited prospective Crowdfunding portals to voluntarily file an interim funding portal form. The Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Advocates (CFIRA) and sister organization the Crowdfunding Professional Association(CfPA) have conducted a thorough review of the FINRA Registration Process Inquiry form for Crowdfunding Portals, and are optimistic about the progress that is being… Read More

January 31, 2013 @ 12:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

Equity crowdfunding is still in a holding pattern, hovering over the regulatory process in Washington DC. The merits of crowdfunding continue to become more self evident as progress is made in the UK and around the world. One subject about equity crowdfunding which has only… Read More

January 31, 2013 @ 11:10 am By JD Alois  |  

Washington, DC –  The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the agenda for a meeting of its Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies being held this Friday, February 1. The Committee will consider recommendations about trading spreads for smaller exchange-listed companies, creation of a… Read More

January 31, 2013 @ 9:05 am By InvestmentNews  |  

Crowdfunding is forecast to grow in popularity this year, leading to an added demand for specialized tax advice. The latest evolution in “passing the hat,” crowdfunding portals allow people to help back a project or a burgeoning company by providing financial contributions on the web…. Read More