Opinion

November 10, 2014 @ 7:27 am By Samuel Guzik  |  

As one who has represented small and emerging growth companies over the past 36 years in navigating access to the capital markets, I have closely followed the legislative and regulatory developments in Washington, D.C. since the enactment of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of… Read More

November 7, 2014 @ 11:32 am By Anthony Zeoli  |  

As noted in my prior post, “Draft Bill: Illinois Intrastate Crowdfunding Exemption,” an official draft of my proposed Illinois Intrastate Crowdfunding Exemption was recently finished. To my surprise, people actually read it and I have been getting a lot of questions as to why I… Read More

November 7, 2014 @ 8:57 am By JD Alois  |  

In response to the much anticipated Nesta report that was published today, CEO and founder of Assetz Capital Stuart Law has commented on the challenges ahead for crowdfunding and the peer to peer lending sector. Stuart Law commented on the report; “It’s easy to get… Read More

November 7, 2014 @ 8:15 am By JD Alois  |  

Nesta, a  UK based innovation charity and staunch proponent of entrepreneurship and creativity, has published an update on the alternative finance industry in the United Kingdom.  The report is a joint effort between Nesta and the University of Cambridge.  The report notes this new financial… Read More

November 7, 2014 @ 12:12 am By JD Alois  |  

Coolest Cooler, the largest crowdfunding campaign ever on the Kickstarter platform, is working with Dragon Innovation to aid in the production process of manufacturing, shipping and delivering over 60,000 tricked out coolers by early 2015.  In a note to backers, project creator Ryan Grepper delivered… Read More

November 6, 2014 @ 11:25 am By JD Alois  |  

The internet can be a weird place sometimes.  From expensive Uber rides to Potato Salad crowdfunding campaigns sometimes I just don’t quite understand.  Last weekend we wrote about Gabrielle Wathen who stumbled into the internet vortex as she rather innocently launched a crowdfunding campaign on… Read More

November 5, 2014 @ 10:21 am By Erin Hobey  |  

According to The Crowdfunding Centre, “It’s taken the entrepreneurship, business and creative worlds by storm; it’s enabled start-ups and established businesses alike to market test their products and get funded at the same time; and the UK is a world leader and the world’s fastest growing… Read More

November 5, 2014 @ 8:11 am By Samuel Guzik  |  

The place was Washington, D.C. The occasion was the Annual Meeting of the Angel Capital Association at the Hilton Hotel in March 2014. Hundreds of attendees were gathered for lunch in the main Ballroom, the largest in the City. The lineup of luncheon speakers was… Read More

November 3, 2014 @ 10:03 am By Georgia Quinn  |  

Recently I participated in the Third Annual Global Crowdfunding Convention and Bootcamp in Las Vegas and Ron Suber, President of Prosper Marketplace, a peer to peer or “marketplace lending” platform, spoke about the nine actions or initiatives that the marketplace lending industry in general and… Read More

October 31, 2014 @ 5:22 pm By JD Alois  |  

Yancey Strickler, CEO and co-founder of global crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, has been a consistent and vocal advocate for equality in internet service.  He has joined a broad coalition of voices confronting internet service providers who are determined to denigrate service for some.  Broadband providers want… Read More

October 30, 2014 @ 10:30 am By JD Alois  |  

David Weild, former Vice Chairman of NASDAQ and current CEO of IssuWorks, made an appearance at the offices of Pepper Hamilton last week to discuss capital formation for small businesses. The event was organized by Dara Albright, a vocal advocate of crowdfunding and a leading… Read More

October 29, 2014 @ 9:41 am By JD Alois  |  

Meanwhile the SEC Stalls on Pushing Forward to Facilitate Title III & Title IV Crowdfunding. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK regulatory body similar to the SEC, has announced the opening of their Innovation Hub as they embrace change and creativity in financial services…. Read More

October 27, 2014 @ 8:00 am By Samuel Guzik  |  

  The place: Washington, D.C. – the occasion: the swearing in of a new federal agency head – one charged in part with regulating the flow of capital to small businesses.  President Obama and others listened with a hopeful ear. Her words were inspiring, especially… Read More

October 24, 2014 @ 9:59 am By Ludwine Dekker  |  

What’s happening: the industry wants equity It’s ironic that crowdfunding makes it possible to set up companies that otherwise never would’ve come into existence, only to ruin them later by postponing the valuation issues that any start up will have to solve sooner or later…. Read More

October 20, 2014 @ 2:00 pm By Masai McDougall  |  

In March of 2014, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation enabling small businesses to participate in intrastate crowdfunding. The Maryland Securities Commissioner released its final rules for compliance with the exemption on October 1, 2014, making intrastate crowdfunding in Maryland fully legal. There are two… Read More

October 20, 2014 @ 8:32 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Last month, Los Angeles-based Soen launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to raise $20,000 for its Bluetooth speaker, Transit XS. The multi-colored speaker easily passed their goal and closed at just shy of $60,000 as 544 supporters signed up to back the project.  The device… Read More

October 14, 2014 @ 7:47 pm By Georgia Quinn  |  

Last week’s American Banker P2P Lending and Investing Conference held in New York City (October 6-7) attracted over 375 bankers, investors, platforms and service providers. The sheer fact that a storied institution founded in 1863 and dedicated to the traditional banking industry facilitated such a… Read More

October 13, 2014 @ 3:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week the Investor Advisory Committee met at the Securities and Exchange Commission to review and make recommendations on several issues regarding investors.  At the top of the list was the hot polemic on how an accredited investor should be defined. As it stands today… Read More

October 12, 2014 @ 5:52 pm By Giuditta Armiraglio  |  

Indiegogo recently announced the launch of a new pilot program called Forever Funding  that will allow campaigners to raise money indefinitely, a sort of never ending crowdfunding round. If the rewards campaign closes with a successful result the platform gives the organizer the opportunity to… Read More

October 10, 2014 @ 11:22 am By Anthony Zeoli  |  

The Investor Advisory Committee (IAC) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) met yesterday to vote on the approval of its recommendations to the SEC for reforming the current definition of “accredited investor.” Most of the recommendations of the IAC call for changes to the… Read More