Opinion

May 14, 2016 @ 11:52 am By JD Alois  |  

Propel(x), an online investment crowdfunding marketplace for accredited investors, has decided to pass on Title III retail crowdfunding.  The decision to do so lines up with the other Title II platforms that have already said “no thanks.” In an email to Crowdfund Insider, Propel(x) CEO… Read More

May 14, 2016 @ 10:38 am By JD Alois  |  

David Graff, Director of Google Global Product Policy, posted last week that Google has decided to terminate PayDay loan ads.  More specifically any loan ads when repayment is due within 60 days of the issue date. Google has periodically purged unwanted advertisements from their Adwords… Read More

May 13, 2016 @ 1:00 pm By Paul Swaddle  |  

In case you hadn’t noticed, crowdfunding is HOT news right now. Regardless of sector or business vertical, if the onus is on raising money then crowdfunding appears to be the contemporary fairy godmother of fiscal aid. If you don’t believe me, do a quick google… Read More

May 10, 2016 @ 12:29 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

With Title III of the JOBS Act is set to take effect next week, the crowd is opining.  The legislation intends to bring non-accredited investors into the equity crowdfunding fold and make Title III more workable for real estate; RealtyMogul.com CEO and real estate crowdfunding guru Jilliene… Read More

May 10, 2016 @ 9:39 am By JD Alois  |  

Sara Hanks is one of the most recognizable and vocal leaders in the investment crowdfunding sector. A securities attorney by training, Hanks has spent many years in and around Capitol Hill working on important policy issues.  Hanks is also a longstanding board member of the… Read More

May 9, 2016 @ 1:50 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is accepting applications now for its newly minted regulatory Sandbox.  Applicants have until July 8th to sign up for a chance to be part of a regulatory “safe space” to experiment and challenge existing financial norms. Christopher Woolard, FCA Directory… Read More

May 8, 2016 @ 5:38 pm By Dharmash Mistry & Fiona McIntosh  |  

Raising capital for a young company is never an easy task. Financing an early stage company can be both complex and a lot of work.  There is not necessarily one simple answer.  For our company, blow LTD, we were a fast growing firm in an… Read More

May 6, 2016 @ 4:42 pm By Oscar Jofre  |  

Like most of you today, I spend a lot of time reading about fintech. You can get massive amounts of news reports and companies talking about fintech, saying that they’re part of Fintech.  But what does “fintech” really mean? Fintech is not new, but it… Read More

May 5, 2016 @ 3:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

  This past Tuesday (May 3rd), twenty members of Congress joined to ask the Secretary of the Treasury, Jack Lew, to tread lightly when it came to the emerging marketplace lending industry. The timing of bi-partisan missive is important as Treasury has announced it will… Read More

May 4, 2016 @ 12:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last month the US Department of Treasury, Division of Financial Crimes and Enforcement Network (FinCEN), announced a proposed rule change that will impact Reg CF crowdfunding portals. Now the concept of a crowdfunding portal is a new approach that was legalized under the JOBS Act… Read More

May 4, 2016 @ 8:24 am By JD Alois  |  

Starting and creating a new business is a highly risky endeavor.  Yet these same small businesses are the ones that create the most jobs and drive economic growth. In brief, SMEs are imperative for society as a whole. The UK has supported an innovation-based economy… Read More

May 3, 2016 @ 8:48 am By Doug Ellenoff  |  

  Two years after Title II of the JOBS Act, known as 506(c), went into effect well over one billion dollars of financings have been closed through online funding portals under this provision and 506(b). The year over year growth has been substantial.  Entrepreneurs and… Read More

May 2, 2016 @ 10:06 am By JD Alois  |  

According to a report by CCTV (video below), China registered 4.4 million new businesses during 2015. That means about 12,000 SMEs are launched every single day.  The same report states that 30 trillion yuan or USD $5 trillion went into these young firms. These are mainly… Read More

April 29, 2016 @ 9:50 am By Therese Torris  |  

  Earlier this year, the crowdfunding sector represented by the European Crowdfunding Network (ECN) the UK Crowdfunding Association, Financement Participatif France and Nederland Crowdfunding had called on the Parliament and the European Council to be very ambitious with the planned revision of the Prospectus Directive…. Read More

April 28, 2016 @ 1:05 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Last October seeking to modernize the way venture capital funds are formed and how they invest, the NYC-based investment crowdfunding platform Onevest launched 1000 Angels.  Aiming to be the “world’s largest digital-first, invitation-only investor network,” 1000 Angels includes OneVest co-founders Tanya Prive and Alejandro Cremades, Managing Partner Erica Duignan… Read More

April 27, 2016 @ 1:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

    The first quarter of 2016 saw the US economy slip into a bit of a funk. Lingering questions regarding the sustainability of the economic recovery were buffeted by geopolitical tensions. The marketplace lending industry was in no way immune to the shifting winds… Read More

April 24, 2016 @ 4:16 pm By Barry James  |  

    What defines crowdfunding now – and in the future? Danae Ringelmann commenced a quest to redefine and redesign funding with an entrepreneurial journey that began in 2001. She has been a driving force behind the team that co-founded and launched the first of the… Read More

April 22, 2016 @ 7:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

  Last week the House Subcommittee on Capital Markets, part of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, debated several important bills that may boost access to capital for SMEs.  One of the bills, the Fix Crowdfunding Act (HR 4855), has the profound potential to turn… Read More

April 22, 2016 @ 11:00 am By JD Alois  |  

EC Commissioner Jonathan Hill delivered a speech yesterday addressing the Capital Markets Union and other areas of financial services that are important to the economy of Europe. Hill, a UK national and former member of the House of Lords, holds the portfolio for Financial Stability, Financial… Read More

April 22, 2016 @ 8:37 am By JD Alois  |  

Noted researcher Ethan Mollick published his opinion on crowdfunding on the pages of the Harvard Business Review this week. Mollick, an Assistant Professor of Management at Wharton where he focuses on entrepreneurship and crowdfunding, believes crowdfunding is not just about the money but the creation of a… Read More