Uncategorized

August 26, 2015 @ 4:43 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

American Homeowner Preservation (“AHP”) secured its first institutional investment. Scarab Funds, a socially responsible investment fund, recently invested in AHP’s Series 2014B, providing capital to purchase nonperforming mortgages from banks and then offer viable solutions to struggling homeowners. AHP has purchased close to 500 mortgages… Read More

August 25, 2015 @ 11:32 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Of course readers want to know what’s in your portfolio! Fundrise’s CEO Ben Miller just posted that he indeed invests in Fundrise’s offerings, 28 deals to date. “As a developer myself, I understand that there are risks in any real estate project and not everything… Read More

August 23, 2015 @ 11:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

Bondora, previously doing business as isePankur, is one of the faster growing peer-to-peer lending platforms in Europe. Based in Estonia, but also approved by the FCA in the UK, Bondora recently updated its legal approach to dealing with loans in default. Loans that go bad are… Read More

August 18, 2015 @ 11:43 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Today CBR‘s Jimmy Nicholls posted research regarding London’s fintech scene, highlighting which companies have drawn the most money in their funding rounds. His results follow: 1. Funding Circle – £96m Perhaps the largest peer-to-peer lender in London is Funding Circle a technology start-up that began life… Read More

July 18, 2015 @ 10:59 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

FRESHLY, the meal delivery company that ships healthy, ready-made meals to your doorstep each week, today announced the close of a Series A financing round of $7 million. This investment round was led by Highland Capital Partners and includes other investors White Star Capital and Jason Finger (co-founder… Read More

July 14, 2015 @ 4:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

Funding Circle is on a trajectory to originate around $1 billion in loans for 2015. The direct lender facilitated $100 million in loans in both the US and UK combined for the month of June, according to CEO and founder Samir Desai. The marketplace lending… Read More

July 13, 2015 @ 5:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

New York City based Coinsetter has announced the availability of margin trading to all account holders. The Bitcoin exchange also stated that users will be able to short Bitcoin as well. According to the company; “Previously only select businesses were able to receive margin on… Read More

June 25, 2015 @ 11:00 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

Investing in complex technology startups can be cause for a deep breath, but Propel(x) is helping demystify investing in these startups with the debut of its crowdsourced Diligence Insights capability, according to a recent press release. Propel(x) connects deep technology startups with angel investors and… Read More

June 24, 2015 @ 9:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

Everything is soon to be “smart”. The internet of things (IoT) will touch and change just about everything. Interconnected devices will soon be the norm, not the exception. But today a team of former Warby Parker and Birchbox operatives have launched a new smart lightbulb… Read More

June 10, 2015 @ 12:55 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

The equity crowdfunding market is worth over £50 million a year in the UK, doubling in size last year as an increasing number of individuals look for an alternative place to invest their capital. Despite its size however, there is very little research into market… Read More

June 7, 2015 @ 2:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

New Lending Program has Provided More than $200,000 to Philly Small Businesses Announced at the end of 2014, Kiva City Philadelphia is celebrating a successful first 6 months of lending.  The Philadelphia program is part of a broader strategy created by Kiva to provide micro loans… Read More

May 8, 2015 @ 4:05 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Chris Hansen’s Kickstarter project Hansen vs. Predator raced through its initial funding goal with 7 days left on the campaign clock. Nearly 1,000 backers have pledged over $77,000 in show of support for the new investigation to bring sexual predators to justice.  Clearing this goal means that a new investigation… Read More

April 9, 2015 @ 1:01 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Zivix, the technology company striving to make music accessible to everyone, continued its commitment to education, announcing more than 100 jamstik+ SmartGuitars are earmarked for Little Kids Rock, Romeo Music, MacPhail Center for Music, MyMusicRX, Notes for Notes and other amazing organizations. This mission coincides… Read More

March 25, 2015 @ 3:16 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Wednesday, Korea-based startup  NeoLAB Convergence announced that its Neo smartpen N2 (N2) marks an exciting milestone in the emerging smart pen category by making its way to the U.S. N2’s promise is simple: just write as you would with any other pen, and the N2… Read More

February 28, 2015 @ 9:00 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Earlier this week, Germany-based FlexCharger hit crowdfunding giant Kickstarter to raise only $10,000 for its self-dubbed “world’s most versatile charger.” Within only a few days, the project has not only gained its initial goal, it has captured well over $80,000 from nearly 950 backers. According… Read More

February 26, 2015 @ 3:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

Prosper Marketplace, a leading peer to peer or marketplace lender, has signed an exclusive agreement with Western Independent Bankers (WIB) representing a new outlet for loans via their 1260 plus member banks. These community banks represent a significant extension of Prosper into the 13 western… Read More

February 23, 2015 @ 9:49 am By JD Alois  |  

Global financial rating agency Fitch has shared its $0.02 on the recently announced partnership of 200 community banks with Lending Club noting the agreement may introduce new risk to the small banks.  Fitch qualifies this statement by adding there may also be an opportunity present… Read More

February 12, 2015 @ 11:35 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Coolbox, the self-dubbed world’s most advanced toolbox, has been campaigning on crowdfunding giant Indiegogo since late January and has raised 330% of its initial $50,000 goal. The Coolbox offers consumers features they would expect from a classic toolbox, along with several unique additional features of the 21st century that… Read More

February 11, 2015 @ 3:03 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

While you recharge your own batteries by relaxing on some sun-blessed beach, your cell phone could be powering up from the same solar source. StrongVolt‘s solar chargers work as fast as a wall outlet to power up USB devices, be they smartphones, tablets or GoPros…. Read More

February 10, 2015 @ 3:40 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Orchard Platform, an analytics and investment platform focused on the global marketplace lending market, has announced a partnership with Mainspring Funding, a leading provider of aggregation and sales of small business loans. Through this partnership, institutional investors using Orchard will have access to loan portfolios… Read More