Opinion

October 11, 2013 @ 12:30 pm By Tom Britton  |  

Even with Title II the gap between US and UK Crowdfunding remains wide (for now). The media has been all over Title II of the JOBS act and the effect this will have on crowdfunding given that those seeking to raise funds are now able… Read More

October 5, 2013 @ 4:12 pm By Rob Leclerc  |  

Recently a founder of FundersClub posted their stance on the [U.S. Congress and] SEC’s lift of the ban on general solicitation. While we respect Alex, Boris and the rest of the team and what they’ve accomplished, we were troubled by the apparent use of fear tactics in… Read More

October 4, 2013 @ 11:04 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Polygon recently did an installment of Polygon Live where Polygon staffers Chris Plante and Russ Pitts discussed whether Kickstarter has been a success or failure by video gamers until now. If you’re interested in watching their segment, it is embedded to the right. However, I… Read More

October 2, 2013 @ 10:12 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Gerald Jones successfully built a team of mentors on Pave while raising $7,850. His mission? To attend UnCollege’s Gap Year program and use what he learns there to build a chain of successful small businesses in his hometown of Vallejo, California. Pave is a crowdfunding… Read More

September 27, 2013 @ 7:00 am By Samuel Guzik  |  

Still Time to Comment on SEC’s Proposed Regulation D General Solicitation Rules? On July 10, 2013, the SEC issued its final rules allowing general solicitation and advertising in unregistered private placements, provided all of the investors were accredited, effective September 23, 2013.  However, on the… Read More

September 25, 2013 @ 10:47 am By Charles Luzar  |  

While the crowdfunding world was busy celebrating the lifting of the ban on general solicitation, Valve Corporation made a big announcement in the gaming world. The announcement has the potential to provide a boon to an increasingly robust crowdfunded indie game scene. First, a bit… Read More

September 23, 2013 @ 11:26 am By Charles Luzar  |  

With the lifting of the ban on general solicitation, today marks the beginning of a grand experiment in capital formation in the United States. It is also a boon to a crowdfunding industry that has largely been on autopilot while the implementation timeline of the… Read More

September 18, 2013 @ 12:20 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

Matter co-founder Bobbie Johnson took to Medium yesterday to share some thoughts on crowdfunding’s direction. This followed an appearance by Johnson at an event held by the Royal Society of Arts in London in which he participated on a panel discussing crowdfunding’s future with a specific… Read More

September 18, 2013 @ 6:11 am By Julia Groves, Chair UKCFA  |  

Crowdfunding, and in particular crowdinvesting, is the result of deep dissatisfaction, anger even, at where our financial services industry has delivered us today. The financial crisis brought people onto the streets in protest at the behaviour and lack of contrition from our mega financial institutions…. Read More

September 12, 2013 @ 4:40 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

Today business insurance provider Hiscox released their fifth annual DNA Of An Entrepreneur report. The eDNA report is a global annual study of 3,000 owners or partners in small and medium-sized businesses in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Spain,… Read More

September 11, 2013 @ 9:47 am By Charles Luzar  |  

In a rather scathing piece in Kotaku yesterday, Owen Good takes issue with Ouya’s #FreeTheGames fund, which has certainly resulted in some unintended consequences for the fledgeling indie console. In examining campaigns for Elementary, My Dear Holmes and Gridiron Thunder, Good wonders how Ouya still has any… Read More

September 10, 2013 @ 9:36 am By Brian Knight  |  

With the recent confirmation of Mary Jo White as Chairman of the SEC and Kara Stein, and Michael Piwowar as SEC Commissioners, the leadership of the SEC is undergoing significant changes that will affect public policy for years to come. It has been argued that… Read More

September 9, 2013 @ 10:25 am By Charles Luzar  |  

An interesting question was posed on Quora regarding the use of crowdfunding for funding ongoing projects, or projects that may have recurring funding needs. In my answer I referred to a couple of interesting examples where crowdfunding project creators have come back to Kickstarter multiple… Read More

September 6, 2013 @ 11:42 am By Charles Luzar  |  

David S. Rose is CEO of Gust, a service that aims to work with equity crowdfunding platforms in order to “help integrate them into the larger angel/venture Accredited Investor financing ecosystem.” He’s also very active on Quora, with over 9,500 followers and 1,800 answers. Rose… Read More

August 29, 2013 @ 4:30 pm By José Francisco Ávila  |  

The following post was submitted to us this week by José Francisco Ávila. As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, many have expressed their opinion as to the strides made since then, and how much more work Americans have to… Read More

August 27, 2013 @ 8:59 am By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this year the SEC announced they had finally decided to relax the ban on “General Solicitation” or advertising for certain private placement offerings for accredited investors.  In recognition of a changing environment, albeit in a delayed fashion, the regulators have been forced to adjust… Read More

August 21, 2013 @ 12:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

In several recent headlines in the UK press there have been statements that “Crowdfunders Face Crackdown”  as latent fear for investor protection creeps into regulatory discussions while equity crowdfunding quickly grows.  In one particular article a Partner at Kuber Ventures commented that; “investors with little… Read More

August 19, 2013 @ 12:24 am By Charles Sidman  |  

Charles Sidman has composed the following letter addressing the State of Ohio’s recent actions against SoMoLend and Candace Klein and has shared it for dissemination. Sidman’s bona fides are listed at the bottom of the letter, including his status as an investor in SoMoLend and his… Read More

August 17, 2013 @ 12:12 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

In a comment letter submitted to the SEC, AngelList co-founder and CEO Naval Ravikant raises concerns over a proposed rule that would require startups seeking funding to file Form D 15 days before general solicitation takes place. In a nutshell, Ravikant expresses doubt that entrepreneurs… Read More

August 16, 2013 @ 11:55 am By Sang Lee  |  

There are obvious reasons why folks will say that my perspective on the whole issue is skewed or even biased. However, I’m just going to lay down the facts and demonstrate why crowdinvesting is the older, more mature sibling of perks-based crowdfunding.