Tagged: perspective

March 10, 2016 @ 11:58 pm By Joe Whitwell  |  

SyndicateRoom pioneered the “investor-led” crowdfunding model in the UK. The brainchild of Gonçalo de Vasconcelos whilst studying for his Cambridge MBA, the company had an initial focus on the companies in the surrounding silicone fen.  As it’s profile has grown, so has the list of the companies it serves. To… Read More

March 8, 2016 @ 9:38 am By JD Alois  |  

Small business is extremely important for the economy. This is not just a US or UK issue, it is a global phenomenon. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the drivers of economic growth, job creation and thus wealth. Fostering an ecosystem that facilitates access to… Read More

March 5, 2016 @ 12:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

As the very first equity crowdfunding offer to go through the process of issuing shares and then listing on a public exchange under Reg A+, Elio Motors was bound to encounter a few bumps along the way.  One of the challenges was the transfer process… Read More

March 2, 2016 @ 9:42 pm By Ron Miller  |  

  The democratization of startup funding promised by the JOBS Act has already begun, with a handful of Regulation A+ equity crowdfunding offerings already qualified by the SEC to raise capital and many others in the process of gaining qualification. Considering the early interest in… Read More

March 1, 2016 @ 9:46 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

  To date, most crowdfunded investment opportunities have been limited to wealthy investors who meet the current definition of “accredited investor.” This has left an absolutely HUGE market of potential investor capital, represented by those individuals who currently do not qualify as accredited investors, virtually untapped…. Read More

February 29, 2016 @ 10:43 pm By Spencer Li  |  

Following the much-talked-about Ezubao $7.6 billion Ponzi scheme collapse at the end of last year, the perception and outlook of the Chinese online lending industry has grown increasingly negative both within and outside of China. Murmurs of regulation began floating around in early 2014 but… Read More

February 29, 2016 @ 10:14 am By JD Alois  |  

Louise Beaumont, an executive at GLI finance and vocal advocate of small business, says more needs to be done to support UK small business.  Reflecting on the recent statement by the Bank of England and their credit numbers, Beaumont believes the slight increase in lending… Read More

February 28, 2016 @ 8:33 pm By Joe Whitwell  |  

In the beginning there was the crash, then came the innovation. The innovators, at least in the fintech space, wanted to disrupt, which was perhaps a euphemism for what they truly wanted to do: destroy. Many had been recently let go from the banks and… Read More

February 28, 2016 @ 10:58 am By JD Alois  |  

The Australian Senate referred the provisions of the Corporations Amendment Bill 2015 (or Crowd-sourced Funding as it is called)  to the Economics Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by February 22nd, which was then extended until February 29th. The proposed bill has come under pointed criticism… Read More

February 25, 2016 @ 10:48 pm By Ron Miller  |  

As equity crowdfunding under Regulation A+ continues to grow since its implementation in June 2015, it’s no surprise that there is a plethora of information about this new financial resource. Unfortunately, that info is not always accurate. From my experience, it’s not just investors or… Read More

February 25, 2016 @ 1:01 pm By Manuj Grover  |  

Out With the ‘Old Boys’ Club’ Approach to Investment. What is a common characteristic of iconic companies like: Eastman Kodak and Blockbuster? As the world changed, all these great companies stood flat-footed as the competition took their dominant positions from underneath their noses.  The same… Read More

February 22, 2016 @ 10:41 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK has been the leading country in regards to internet finance as the sector has garnered solid support from not just entrepreneurs but elected and appointed officials. Their simplified “light touch” regulatory approach has created a sector that has experienced rapid growth. In 2015,… Read More

February 21, 2016 @ 10:29 pm By Nathan Rose  |  

  The recent changes in the retail equity crowdfunding regulatory environment make this a useful time to take stock of the international landscape and compare regimes between countries. Some countries have moved faster than others, and different countries have taken different approaches to regulation, ranging… Read More

February 19, 2016 @ 12:22 pm By Conrad Ford  |  

In an allegory for the wider problem of SME funding, recent research has revealed that the UK’s small construction firms are struggling to return to the profits they achieved before the recession, while large housebuilders have already recovered beyond their pre-crunch highs. Small firms saw… Read More

February 18, 2016 @ 1:55 pm By Dom Wolf  |  

The P2P and crowdfunding industry was worth £3.2bn in 2015, according to the new University of Cambridge and Nesta report published this week. That sounds good, but what does it actually mean? We’ve done the hard work for you and pulled out the top five… Read More

February 17, 2016 @ 8:45 am By JD Alois  |  

AngelsDen, an investment crowdfunding platform with roots in the analog past, believes “angel-led” investing is the way of the future. In comparison to other UK platforms, AngelsDen is small having raised just £11 million in 2015.  But regarding post funding success, so far to date, companies… Read More

February 13, 2016 @ 11:06 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Kickstarter co-founder Charles Adler recently shared his thoughts on finding the portal and life since leaving the crowdfunding industry. Kickstarter is one of the largest and well known reward-based crowdfunding platforms in the world. It was founded by Adler, CEO Yancey Strickler and Perry Chen… Read More

February 11, 2016 @ 11:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

  In Australia, the process to update the regulatory environment to facilitate equity crowdfunding has been a long journey. Back in 2014,  proposed rules by the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee (CAMAC) were criticized by one industry leader as “totally unworkable”. No need to say more. At… Read More

February 10, 2016 @ 3:04 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

SyndicateRoom co-founder and CEO Gonçalo de Vasconcelos recently shared his thoughts on the how equity crowdfunding should work in the real world. SyndicateRoom, is one of the top three platforms in the UK.  The site has taken a different approach by involving a professional investor… Read More

February 10, 2016 @ 10:09 am By JD Alois  |  

In an interview today on BBC, Lord Adair Turner, former Chair of the FSA (predecessor to the FCA), shared his opinion on banking and the financial industry in general, including a discussion on the burgeoning peer to peer lending sector.  Lord Turner, it appears, is… Read More