Ten Thousand Projects Financed

Ten Thousand Projects Financed In 2011, the year of Kickstarter's second birthday, the crowdfunding site recorded nearly 11,836 successfully funded projects (about 44% of all the projects submitted) with more than $99 million pledged. The year showed phenomenal growth over the previous one when 3,910 successful projects were launched with $27 million pledged. Kickstarter is already the world's largest funding platform for creative projects. The majority of projects on Kickstarter are cr...

Entrepreneurship crowdfunding dream is coming true

Entrepreneurship crowdfunding dream is coming true The US House of Representatives has passed, by a walloping majority (407 t0 17), the Bill called HR 2930: Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act. It now needs to pass in the Senate, but is hardly likely to fail. This new legislation is very important for the vast majority of entrepreneurs seeking to raise up to $5 million in equity funding, by means of crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is a way of raising relatively modest sums of money on the Intern...

Crowdfunding may get a Congressional boost

Crowdfunding may get a Congressional boost In September, President Obama included a crowdfunding exemption in his proposed jobs bill, and there is a bill in congress (HR 2930 McHenry) that proposes a very similar exemption.  It is elegant in its simplicity! It includes  provisions that: creates a crowdfunding exemption from the federal registration requirements for offerings of up to $5 million with each investor investing a maximum of the lesser of $10,000 and ten percent of the investor'...

Raising finance meets brand marketing

Raising finance meets brand marketing Profunder.com, the brainchild of Jessica Jackley, co-founder of kiva.org, it the tip of a silver-lined iceberg. Crowdfunding is a significant way to go for people who want to start a business. Crowdfunding is using the Internet to pitch your project to a mass audience, or just your friends and family. Raising money for your startup can be a huge and often unsuccessful effort. Crowdfunding, crowd finance or raising crowd capital can be a much mor...

TechnoServe: hand up not handout

The latest story from TechnoServe is about Peet's Coffee buying coffee from Rwanda. TechnoServe programs focus on developing entrepreneurs, building businesses and industries, and improving the business environment. Partnering with Peet's they are working on developing a vibrant coffee industry in war-ravaged Rwanda. Peet's have announced that they will sell a special blend of the Rwandan coffees in their 191 cafés and online this summer (2009). Business Week (May 4, 2009) has an article abo...

Opt In Now

Opt In Now is a new microfinance organization that enables people to make loans direct to entrepreneurs in the developing world. When you give your money to OptInNow, they call that "funding a loan" to empower entrepreneurs. With greater support in hand businesses grow. Entrepreneurs hire others in the community, allowing them to provide for their individual families, affecting change where it is needed most. They look for people with the passion to make a difference and a vision for success. Th...