Tagged: perspective

New Routes to Funding – Why I Wrote the Book

I was asked: How did the book come about? Why did you write it? It has my name on it, but in truth it’s something of a team effort. Fundamentally I wrote it because I need it, my team needs it and the world needs… Read More

VentureCrowd: Crowdfunding Will Be Part of Every Startups Capital Raising Stack

VentureCrowd is a multi-asset crowdfunding platform providing early stage, property and “crowd credit” funding in Australia. Currently, VentureCrowd only caters to sophisticated or high net worth individuals.  Each early stage investment listed on its platform has already secured a professional lead investor thus allowing a smaller… Read More

FCA Director of Competition Chris Woolard Cautions on Usage of Bitcoin

Chris Woolard, the Financial Conduct Authority’s competition Czar, has commented on the usage of cryptocurrencies. As reported by FN news, Woolard said; “We don’t prohibit regulated firms from engaging in digital currency trading, nor do we prohibit banks from offering banking services to deal with… Read More

Where is the Crowd?

  At a lightly attended alternative finance conference last month, Dr. Richard Swart spoke about the anaemic growth of the US crowdfunding industry. He made the point that we (industry participants including portals, broker-dealers, escrow banks & trusts, transfer agents, investor accreditation services, accountants, lawyers,… Read More

3 Takeaways from Mary Meeker’s 2017 Internet Trends Report

This article highlights three takeaways for Fintech firms from Mary Meeker’s 355-page-long report: 1) The Internet’s center of gravity shifts to Asia; 2) The biggest get bigger; 3) Fintechs must use gamification to improve customer engagement. Since 2001, Mary Meeker, a Partner at venture capital… Read More

Congressional Testimony on Fintech Innovation: “Today We Are Following Not Leading”

This past week the House Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection, part of the Energy and Commerce Committee, held a hearing on Fintech innovation as part of their disruptors series. During the hearing several witnesses delivered prepared statements to the Committee members and one clearly… Read More

The Key to Monzo’s Digital Banking Success

Traditional banking is facing tough times ahead. It’s easy to see why. The UK has lost 40% of its banks and building societies since 1989, considering usage of online banking has more doubled since 2007. After all, who wants to queue for an hour to see… Read More

The Inescapable Fintech Revolution

Big consultancies, such as PwC, Cap Gemini, KPMG, Deloitte and Accenture, research and analyze fintech developments to support the digital transformation of their banking customers. They promote this work through well-crafted free reports and white papers. The latest of such reports was published by Julian… Read More

Minimizing Potential Litigation & Regulatory Risks for Crowdfunding Platforms

Crowdfunding regulations were enacted with the goal of providing small businesses access to capital without imposing arduous registration and disclosure burdens.[i]  In that regard, the regulations have shown significant promise. Commentators have rightfully highlighted the substantial benefits to both issuers and investors based on their… Read More

Investing in Real Estate: Single Family Homes or Multi-Family?

In recent years, a growing number of online platforms have begun to offer direct investments in residential properties, allowing individual investors to access this asset class much more readily and at lower minimums. Some platforms offer investments in apartment buildings (multifamily properties, in industry lingo),… Read More

Perspective: To Deliver on its Promise, Crowdfunding Needs Better Language

In Part 1 of this series on How To Fix Crowdfunding Education, I made the case for beginning all crowdfunding education by teaching the core fundamental that cuts across all forms of crowdfunding: participation. Part 2 addresses a key step we must take to make… Read More

Point of View: Regulating The Fintech Revolution

What was previously a relatively innocuous industry sector, the financial technology (or “Fintech”) industry has exploded over the past few years. With the litany of new Fintech startups and existing Fintech businesses, and even Fintech specific incubators and accelerators popping up, the Fintech revolution is… Read More

Research on Risk Shows Crowdfunding Has Significant Fraud Immunity: Here’s Why

It may be counterintuitive but the research has been done and the results are now in – and it’s as we’ve been saying for almost five years. Fraud in crowdfunding is not just almost non-existent –  so much so as to be hard to measure,… Read More

Starting GoFundMes For Strangers Not as Simple as it Seems

In their 2016 Year in Giving report, GoFundMe CEO Rob Solomon wrote; “When disaster or violence struck, ordinary people took it upon themselves to help heal the world by starting GoFundMes to provide relief and comfort to those who needed it.” The report highlights some… Read More

“The United States has the Most Fractured, Decentralized, & Complicated Regulatory Structure in the World”

Mercator Advisory Group is out with brief write up on the status of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Fintech Charter and one sentence in the report pretty much sums it up: “The United States has the most fractured, decentralized, and complicated regulatory… Read More

CEO of Assetz Capital Stuart Law Criticizes UK Government’s Approach to Boost Housing Market

The UK housing market has struggled for years as high demand has challenged supply. The markets have reacted naturally by driving housing costs up. Home buyers and renters have struggled to keep up. London has become one of the most expensive property markets in the… Read More

NextSeed: A Community-Driven Small Business Fundraising Platform Utilizing Crowdfunding Laws

NextSeed CEO Youngro Lee shares what is working & what is not under Reg CF. NextSeed was the very first, crowdfunding portal to receive FINRA approval. But the investment crowdfunding platform was honing its skills and processes under the Texas intrastate crowdfunding exemption before Reg… Read More

Guzik Welcome’s Congressman McHenry’s Letter to SEC But Believes More Needs to Be Done

Sam Guzik, a securities attorney and Crowdfund Insider Senior Contributor, has shared his perspective on Congressman Patrick McHenry’s letter to SEC Chair Jay Clayton. Guzik welcomes, McHenry’s requests but believes more needs to be done; “I applaud the unrelenting and tireless efforts of Congressman McHenry… Read More

Congressman Patrick McHenry Asks SEC Chair Jay Clayton to Act & Fix Crowdfunding Rules

Once again, crowdfunding’s white knight rides into action. Congressman Patrick McHenry sent a letter to the newly sworn in Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Jay Clayton outlining certain provisions of the regulations relating to Title III of the JOBS Act that need… Read More

Is the Fix Crowdfunding Act, as Included in the Financial Choice Act, a Bigger Fix than Intended?

Earlier this month, Crowdfund Insider wrote about the Financial CHOICE Act and the portions that address raising capital online. It is a pretty big piece of legislation at 589 pages and a multitude of subsections. Subtitle P or the “Fix Crowdfunding” appeared to fall short of… Read More

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