January 16, 2014 @ 1:27 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

Yesterday we received word that Crowdfund Capital Advisors had released a research report and accompanying op-ed at VentureBeat examining some of the real, tangible benefits crowdfunding was creating for small businesses. Here are ten quick points from the report that show how crowdfunding is helping small businesses… Read More

January 16, 2014 @ 10:08 am By Charles Luzar  |  

A House committee hearing on crowdfunding and the JOBS Act took place today featuring testimony from… Jason Best, Crowdfund Capital Advisors partner DJ Paul, Chief Strategy Officer of Gate Global Impact and CFIRA co-chair Daniel Gorfine, Director of Financial Markets Policy at the Milken Institute Mercer Bullard, President… Read More

January 16, 2014 @ 9:45 am By Charles Luzar  |  

For every Pebble or Ouya there are hundreds of smaller Kickstarter projects that fight to be recognized and garner funding. One such campaign launched this week for Yes Man Watches, watches that aim to provide a reminder to relax. Yes Man isn’t used in the… Read More

January 15, 2014 @ 11:22 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Star Citizen isn’t the only video-game-related crowdfunding campaign that is running in some state of perpetuity. The lesser-known but still successful Shroud of the Avatar has taken the same approach to funding, using the IgnitionDeck Wordpress plugin to facilitate pledges from the crowd. It has worked well… Read More

January 15, 2014 @ 11:11 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Edit: two cards to rule them all. Coin aims to be the “one card to rule them all,” a credit-card-sized device that can store info from and act as any credit or debit card in the owner’s wallet. The associated crowdfunding campaign is still active… Read More

January 15, 2014 @ 10:46 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Crowdcube has teamed with Start Up Loans, an organization that focuses on lending-based funding initiatives and training for UK entrepreneurs. We are thrilled to announce that Start Up Loans has partnered with Crowdcube. The government funded scheme that provides loans and mentors for entrepreneurs is… Read More

January 15, 2014 @ 10:29 am By Charles Luzar  |  

When launching a campaign, crowdfunders are charged with the task of convincing people – often total strangers – to give money to their project. It can be a tall order, and how project creators craft their messaging can be hugely important to the outcome of… Read More

January 14, 2014 @ 11:06 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Ten crowdfunding campaigns. $1,420,000 in funding sought. Six weeks to go. One nonprofit with one goal: to put bike share stations all over Kansas City, Missouri. Civic crowdfunding platform Neighbor.ly is currently hosting ten crowdfunding campaigns that represent ten possible future locations for bike sharing… Read More

January 14, 2014 @ 10:31 am By Charles Luzar  |  

The Escapist : Jimquisition : Early Access The video above has resulted in a bit of a kerfuffle on the forums for Star Citizen. It features The Escapist video game review editor Jim Sterling going off about early access games, which are invariably linked to the… Read More

January 14, 2014 @ 9:45 am By Charles Luzar  |  

North Korea is known as the “hermit kingdom” in part for the regime’s general disdain for western culture. So, imagine my shock when I came across this music video from two Washington DC rappers shot in North Korea. How did they do it? It started… Read More

January 13, 2014 @ 10:34 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

The PowerUp 3.0 has officially crossed $1 million on Kickstarter, proving that any idea can raise massive amounts of money if the crowd sees it as worthy. Over 18,000 people have pitched into the project to date. This funding comes on a goal of only… Read More

January 13, 2014 @ 11:58 am By Charles Luzar  |  

The Pegasus Touch will eventually join the ranks of the Buccaneer, the Form 1 and other notable 3D printers to be fully-funded on Kickstarter. Full Spectrum Laser launched the campaign on December 31, 2013 and it took less than 24 hours for the campaign to… Read More

January 13, 2014 @ 11:05 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Crowdfunding failure isn’t always necessarily accompanied by crowd outrage and demands of refunds. This is proven in a recent series of backer updates from indie game developer Roxlou Games, and specifically from company founder Joe Houston. Roxlou and Houston turned to Kickstarter to fund a… Read More

January 13, 2014 @ 10:40 am By Charles Luzar  |  

A new crowdfunding platform called Breakaway Funding launches next Tuesday. It aims to provide both equity-based and debt-based crowdfunding models for companies seeking to access the crowd’s capital. In order to take advantage of a new and ample source of business capital made available by the… Read More

January 13, 2014 @ 10:05 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Buffalo-based crowdfunding compliance backend service provider CrowdBouncer has announced an addition to their portfolio of services. The addition targets attorneys and other individuals involved in the due diligence process phase of capital raises. The service provides a front-end user interface that aims to streamline the… Read More

January 13, 2014 @ 9:46 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Tomorrow is a big day in the world of Kickstarter and video games. Double Fine Productions will release part one of Broken Age, the video game previously dubbed Double Fine Adventure. Haven’t shipped a game of my own in 4.5 years, an adventure game in 16, a… Read More

January 11, 2014 @ 6:55 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

Indiegogo’s Danae Ringelmann sat down with Entrepreneur to share her thoughts on entrepreneurship and what Indiegogo has done to blaze the trail in the crowdfunding space. She shares some tips for entrepreneurs that give some insight into her experience. Ringelmann says that truly disruptive businesses… Read More

January 11, 2014 @ 4:01 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

The State of Maine is the latest state to net a proposal to legalize intrastate crowdfunding. SP 568 and an amendment, LD 1512 (embedded), was proposed by Senator and Maine Senate President Justin Alfond (D-Portland) in the hopes of increasing access to capital for Maine… Read More

January 10, 2014 @ 11:39 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Peer-to-peer lending platform CircleBack Lending has closed a $1.9 million equity funding round. Led by GETCO LLC founders Daniel Tierney and Stephen Schuler, the round will help CircleBack to prepare for nationwide expansion. GETCO is an electronic securities trading firm that merged with Knight Capital Group earlier… Read More

January 10, 2014 @ 11:15 am By Charles Luzar  |  

The peer-to-peer lending space is rife with news and new high-quality market entrants to kick off the new year. It’s part of the reason why I predicted that 2014 is the year that P2P lending goes mainstream. (One could make an argument that it already has,… Read More