Opinion

July 10, 2014 @ 4:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

Destroying Net Neutrality has implications far beyond Kickstarter. Yancey Strickler, CEO of crowdfunding giant Kickstarter, has posted today affirming their support on the subject of Net Neutrality – something that should concern us all. Kickstarter has filed an official comment with the FCC expressing their… Read More

July 10, 2014 @ 9:28 am By JD Alois  |  

On the day when the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee is scheduled to discuss the definition of an “Accredited Investor”, SeedInvest – one of the leading equity crowdfunding portals in the United States- has posted a comment letter to the SEC stating their research indicates, “an… Read More

July 9, 2014 @ 8:26 am By Ludwine Dekker  |  

A few weeks back the value of VC’s for the crowdfunding industry was extensively discussed. Why? Because there are lot of areas where crowdfunding and VC’s can connect. And though traditional funding and alternative funding are not as rigorously separated as many want to believe,… Read More

July 7, 2014 @ 8:11 am By Samuel Guzik  |  

Some of you who read my article on July 1, 2014, entitled “Intrastate Crowdfunding at Risk -Has Intrastate Crowdfunding in Washington State Been Washed Out by NASAA and the SEC?” may have concluded that I was making a mountain out of a mole hill –… Read More

July 6, 2014 @ 10:30 am By Casper Arboll & Balthasar Scheder  |  

For a long time women entrepreneurs have been marginalized in traditional forms of finance, excluded from venture capital and business angel investing which is often referred to as old boys clubs. With only 12 percent of all business angels being female, it is not surprising… Read More

July 5, 2014 @ 8:07 am By JD Alois  |  

This one is courtesy of our mates at the BBC;  a short video about how young companies are “bypassing banks” and putting their pitch up on the internet.   The very brief video touches on some prominent crowdfunding campaigns.  The reporter mentions a small confectioners… Read More

July 3, 2014 @ 8:13 am By Barry James  |  

Your Leadership, Freedom & Independence this 4th July. Dear Mr President, Your leadership is needed in a matter which affects America and us all. A matter of removing an ongoing source of inequality which continues to disfigure both democracy and capitalism in America and worldwide…. Read More

July 1, 2014 @ 8:32 am By Samuel Guzik  |  

Has Intrastate Crowdfunding in Washington State Been Washed Out by NASAA and the SEC? On May 5, 2014, I published an article in Crowdfund Insider highlighting recent informal “rulemaking” at the SEC Division of Corporation Finance, which in my opinion quietly dampened the efforts of… Read More

June 30, 2014 @ 12:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

While attending the CFGE Conference in New York City last week I was able to sit in on a presentation by Anthony Zeoli regarding the “vanishing middle market IPO”.  Anthony is a securities attorney who is championing the cause of intrastate crowdfunding in Illinois –… Read More

June 28, 2014 @ 12:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

Several members of congress (20 to be exact out of 435) submitted a comment letter to the SEC earlier this month that attacked the proposal to preempt blue sky review at the state level.  The letter takes the position that it was not the intent… Read More

June 25, 2014 @ 9:40 am By Irina Enache & Marco Smit  |  

  What is certainly true about the relatively new phenomenon of crowdfunding is that theory trails behind the practice. Should you happen to work with the former, it is difficult to be aware of other academic and research projects on the topic of crowdfunding, since… Read More

June 23, 2014 @ 9:06 am By Ludwine Dekker  |  

As a proposition manager for Symbid, we’ve recently ran an amazingly successful campaign called “Kidswatcher”. After his little niece went missing in a ski resort, Eric Recter had an idea: develop an App for parents in combination with a digital watch for their children so… Read More

June 20, 2014 @ 2:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

Esteemed global banking group, Deutsche Bank, recently posed this very question:  Does crowd euphoria impair risk consciousness? The question comes as many countries legalize investment crowdfunding and the US plods towards allowing greater access to capital via participation of the crowd.  This is an important… Read More

June 19, 2014 @ 11:02 am By Anthony Zeoli  |  

Few words or phrases have the ability to affect the U.S. economy like the term “accredited investor.” Whether you know it or not, these two little words control $800 billion of private investment in the United Stated today. The standards for qualifying as an accredited… Read More

June 18, 2014 @ 11:08 am By JD Alois  |  

  I recently attended the Glazed conference on wearable technology in San Francisco – a relatively new event – but even though it is only a couple of years old over 1300 people signed up to attend. This plays to the excitement and dramatic growth… Read More

June 18, 2014 @ 9:03 am By JD Alois  |  

Kendall Almerico, CEO of FundHub and founder of CrowdItForward (an Crowdfund Insider contributor), along with Kevin Harrington, founder of As Seen on TV, recently hit the studios of Bloomberg to talk crowdfunding. They were interviewed by Pimm Fox as part of the “Taking Stock” series…. Read More

June 15, 2014 @ 11:37 am By JD Alois  |  

RateSetter, a fast growing peer to peer (P2P) lending platform based in the UK (but with sights set on global expansion),  recently authored a post on “inclusive capitalism”.  RateSetter founder Rhydian Lewis commented on the growth  of P2P finance that has boomed both in the… Read More

June 14, 2014 @ 8:30 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week during a quick trip to New York City, SEC Chair Mary Jo White addressed the Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P. Global Exchange and Brokerage Conference. The title of her speech was “Enhancing Our Equity Market Structure” – a noble subject to be certain.  The… Read More

June 8, 2014 @ 9:27 pm By Kendall Almerico  |  

Kickstarter recently announced major changes to the way they approve campaigns on their site. The first change is a creation of a “Launch Now” button where a project, if it successfully passes through an algorithm, can be immediately posted on the site. This removes the… Read More

June 7, 2014 @ 6:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

Congressman Patrick McHenry, one of the investment crowdfunding industry’s most resolute champions, was recently interviewed during a trip to Boston where he was apparently rallying troops and gathering feedback on crowdfunding legislation.  McHenry has always viewed retail crowdfunding as way to democratize access to capital:… Read More