Tagged: perspective

Small Business in Washington, DC: Could Santa be Coming to Town this Year?

  December 2, 2015, seemed no different than any other day in Washington, D.C. With a light rain falling, it was a rather dismal day for sightseeing in our Nation’s Capitol – yet the sun seemed to be shining for our small and emerging businesses… Read More

Rate Hike Coming. What Does this Mean for Small Business Owners?

Last week the government announced the US economy had delivered 211,000 new jobs in the month of November with the unemployment rate holding at 5%. The announcement set off a new flurry of debate and discussion regarding whether or not the Federal Reserve will finally… Read More

Global Islamic Crowdfunding: A Perspective from Singapore

Islamic Crowdfunding has the potential to help us change our world for the better. When an online community unites and pools resources, this community has the financial and social clout and capability to create and re-create multiple aspects of the world and directly impact society…. Read More

Former CEO of Barclays: “The Number of People & Branches Employed by the Financial Services Sector May Decline by as Much as 50%”

Anthony Jenkins, is a former CEO of Barclay’s Group having managed the global firm from 2012 to 2015. He was sacked by John “Mack the Knife” McFarlane in the summer of 2015. Jenkins had set out to tackle a “culture of self-enrichment” and to refocus… Read More

Entrepreneurs Get Naked for Money

I think you should get naked. There’s a reason why people have nightmares about being naked in front of a crowd, and it’s because they hate the idea of being that vulnerable.  As an entrepreneur, it can be even more daunting.  Your success or failure… Read More

How can SMEs in the North of the UK Respond to the Hidden Credit Crunch?

Overdrafts have been small businesses’ go-to source of working capital for years now — a dependable way to cover short-term cash flow issues and ride out periods of instability. But since 2011, the banks have reduced or removed business overdrafts at a rate of £5… Read More

Autumn Statement: “Sound Public Finances & Great Public Services? If You are Bold with Your Reforms You can Have Both”

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne gave a rousing speech highlighting the government’s success and pinpointing areas for economic improvement today in his annual trip to Parliament. The Autumn Statement delivered by Osborne can certainly be viewed as a success once you compare the UK economy… Read More

Five Crucial Things You Get, Apart from the Money, From #Crowdfunding

We asked for short, snappy, helpful video for Crowdfunding Week 2015 and the shortest, snappiest and most helpful of these (so far anyway) is from management consultant and  Crowdfunding expert Tim Wright of twintangibles. Here’s my summary of what he has to say: Crowdfunding is great… Read More

AngelList Gives Platform Update at SEC Event on Small Business Capital Formation (Deck)

Kevin Laws, Chief Operating Officer of AngelList, delivered an “illuminating” presentation at the SEC Government Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation yesterday. AngelList, a leader in the equity crowdfunding sector, has become an important catalyst in the online finance space innovating and expanding its… Read More

The Future of Crowdfunding For Nonprofits

It seems so easy doesn’t it? Getting an influx of capital is easy if you can just get small pledges from a lot of people. In that way, it’s possible to spread the burden, gain a wide platform for your message, eliminate the need to… Read More

SEC Commissioner Kara Stein: Surfing the Wave of Financial Technology

Securities Commissioner Kara Stein visited Harvard Law School last week to present as part of a guest lecture series where she discussed securities regulation and capital markets. Stein posed the important question: “…how do we continue having the highest quality markets in the world, even… Read More

Bondora: Regulatory Environment is a “Fraught Issue” in Europe. Except for the UK

Bondora, a peer to peer lending platform with pan-European aspirations, has shared their opinion on the regulatory environment in Europe. According to Bondora, “regulating alternative finance is a fraught issue across Europe”.  But there is an exception to this rule. The UK, and the Financial… Read More

Congress Must Fix Title III Investment Crowdfunding, No Startup Will Touch it Unless Congress Acts

I spent a lovely weekend reading (and re-reading) all 685 pages of the final SEC rules of Title III the Jobs Act. Ah, the joy of memorizing regulations! We helped Congress pass the JOBS Act back in 2012, to help everyone — no matter how wealthy — invest as… Read More

WeFunder to SEC: Title III Critical Flaw Harms Investors

Investment crowdfunding platform WeFunder, a site that has raised over $10 million using Accredited Crowdfunding, sees a serious flaw in final rules of Title III of the JOBS Act.  In a recent open letter to the SEC, WeFunder CEO and co-founder Nicholas Tommarello said while… Read More

SEC Proposes Sweeping Amendments To Rule 147 To Facilitate Intrastate Crowdfunding: Why They May All Be Moot

  With all the excitement last week surrounding the SEC’s release of the final Title III rules implementing “Regulation Crowdfunding,” the SEC’s vote in favor of proposing amendments to the current Rule 147 to help foster Intrastate Crowdfunding amounted to little more than a side-note…. Read More

Karen Mills on Marketplace Lending: It Is Transformative, But Don’t Count The Banks Out Yet

Karen Mills is currently perched as a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Business School and at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School. She spends her time focusing on competitiveness, entrepreneurship and innovation – all extremely important areas of economic… Read More

Final Title III Crowdfunding Rules: Five Major Developments

For most people, digesting the 686 pages of the final Title III rules over the weekend would be some sort of Tartarus-like punishment.  Yet for me, after 3 ½ years of waiting, it was the equivalent of unwrapping a present, with each sentence laying out… Read More

Scorecard: Kiran Lingam Grades Title III Crowdfunding Rules

  Kiran Lingam, a securities attorney and Fintech investor, previewed the SEC’s meeting on Title III equity crowdfunding last week.  In an article entitled 11 Big Questions Heading Into Tomorrow’s SEC Crowdfunding Vote, he outlined pressing issues regarding proposed rules and what it meant for issuers and… Read More

What the Crowdfunding Opportunity Under Title III Will Mean for Small Businesses

When we showed up in Washington, D.C., Karen Kerrigan, of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, became a champion for our cause to legalize debt and equity crowdfunding. Karen, and the SBE Council, is the closest thing small businesses and entrepreneurs have to a lobby… Read More

Vote No: Commissioner Piwowar Dissents on Crowdfunding & Rule 147 Rules

SEC Commissioner Michael Piwowar cast the lone dissenting vote regarding final rules for Title III equity crowdfunding and proposed updates to Rule 147 which impact intrastate crowdfunding. Piwowar, the lone Republican appointee following the departure of Commissioner Gallagher, expressed his concern that Title III rules… Read More

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