Category: Crowdfunding
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Another reason to stay clear of GoFundMe
In a post titled “Fraud in Crowdfunding” I’ve written about the ridiculously high rate of fraud on GoFundMe campaigns. Some third-party evidence suggest that the majority of campaigns on that site involve some type of fraud, deception or mismanagement. The scams reported target both the project sponsors and those who fund the projects. Simply put,…
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Small business equity crowdfunding: the first 90 days
In the first three months that small business equity crowdfunding was allowed, only 17 of the 117 businesses that registered offerings on SEC-approved platforms met their minimum funding requirement, according to a NextGen Crowdfunding press release. By ‘small business equity crowdfunding’ I am referring to public offerings up to $1 million sometime referred to as…
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Crowdfunding at its worst
It was bound to happen. A crowdfunding platform called First Asia Alliance apparently misrepresented investments, may have mishandled investors’ money and now the owners may now be bankrupt. Crowdfunding is a ripe opportunity for fraud and we know that mismanagement is rampant in some non-business crowdfunding platforms like Gofundme. Fortunately, this failed crowdfunding project was in Asia so few…
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PA government says use a good financial adviser
The Department of Banking and Securities is reminding Pennsylvania investors and businesses interested in buying and selling shares in companies through crowdfunding that finding a good adviser is an important first step in the process. “It is important for investors to do your homework and/or seek trusted professional advice before investing money in an equity…
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The benefits of Kickstarter
Wharton Professor Ethan Mollick explored the impact of Kickstarter through a large email survey designed to document the impact of Kickstarter crowdfunded projects. Kickstarter has received some bad publicity lately in stories that allege that 1 in 3 of the platform’s backers never receive the benefit promised by successful project sponsors. Since its launch, Kickstarter has…
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Update on crowdfunding legislation for July 2016
I’ve written often that the world of crowdfunding is evolving at a rapid pace. references to other recent news is built into my new crowdfunding bibliography published yesterday. This month that evolution continued as the U.S House of Representatives passed two bills designed to make it easier for businesses to raise money through crowdfunding. I feel…
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Crowdfunding article bibliography
Are you a small business owner thinking about crowdfunding? Crowdfunding issues have become an increasingly frequent part of my day-to-day discussions with small businesses – both for profit and nonprofit – and the investors who finance them. Many of my recent blog posts reflect this trend. Most of these blog posts focus on very basic concepts of…
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Successful equity crowdfunding isn’t free
Yesterday I met with a owner of a web site design business who told a story about a person who came to him recently asking for services at no up-front cost simply because he had a good business idea that he felt was sure to be successful. I get some of this same attitude coming from those…
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US playing catch-up in small business crowdfunding
Other counties are still ahead of the US in small business crowdfunding. In the first half of 2016 Netherland alone, for example, raised almost $100 million (US) capital for over 700 purposes including small and medium sized businesses, social projects, creative projects and consumer lending. The majority of the capital raised went to small business…
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Web promotion and crowdfunding for nonprofit organizations
If you are involved with leadership of a nonprofit organization then you are likely to be aware of the effort and expense to boost the online presence and branding of your organization online. It’s all the rage today. These efforts usually revolve around bolstering the organization’s web site and then outreach through social media. The real questions…