Locavesting Staff | June 30, 2019
Three years after Regulation Crowdfunding went into effect, advocates continue to call for improvements to the law, which made it easier for small companies to raise money from ordinary investors. The latest call for action came in June in the form of policy recommendations outlined by the Association of Online Investment Platforms (AOIP), a group […]
Amy Cortese | May 16, 2019
Regulation Crowdfunding, the law that ushered in mainstream crowdinvesting, turns three today. And while it might not be growing by audacious leaps and bounds, it’s not a slacker, by any means. Regulation Crowdfunding, a centerpiece of the 2012 JOBS Act also known as Title III, allows small businesses and startups to raise up to $1.07 […]
Locavesting Staff | April 27, 2019
More than $2.7 billion in venture capital flowed into Massachusetts in the first quarter, according to the latest PriceWaterhouseCoopers survey. Yet pretty much none of that went to the kind of local businesses that anchor neighborhoods—the restaurants, cafes, yoga studios and breweries. Fortunately, those mom & pops have another option, thanks to Mainvest, an investment […]
Locavesting Staff | December 12, 2018
Who says crowdfunding will scare off follow-on investors? Quite the contrary, it seems. Businesses are finding that a successful investment crowdfunding campaign can pave the way for follow-on funding from angels, venture capitalists, banks and other institutional investors. The latest—and largest—example to date: Beta Bionics, the maker of a “bionic pancreas” that was among the […]
Amy Campbell Bogie | November 12, 2018
Raising money is difficult for any entrepreneur, but veteran-owned small businesses in particular tend to struggle with capital raising. A new program in North Carolina aims to help. INVESTinNC, a Wilmington, NC-based crowdfunding education company, has launched an investment crowdfunding program specifically for veteran entrepreneurs. The company is recruiting six veteran entrepreneurs looking to raise […]
Locavesting Staff | October 19, 2018
Milk Money, a Vermont-only crowd investing portal, has been acquired, signaling a new phase for the platform—and perhaps the intrastate crowdfunding market as well. The two-year old intrastate crowdfunding platform’s new owner is the Vermont Innovation Commons, a regional innovation hub in Burlington combining a startup accelerator, co-working space and residential units under one roof. The […]
Amy Cortese | October 10, 2018
Many U.S. cities these days are dotted with microbreweries vying for attention. But for residents of Sitka, a tiny Alaskan city nestled below Baranof Island’s glacier-carved mountains and accessible only by boat or plane, their lone microbrewery is a vital part of the community. Baranof Island Brewing Co. was founded in 2010 by Rick Armstrong, […]
Cullen Schwarz | September 20, 2018
When a lot of tech startups raise an investment round, they turn exclusively to deep-pocketed venture capitalists in Silicon Valley. For some of those investors, the only real goal is fast growth and massive profit, by any means necessary—goals their startups inherit. Like the mission-driven brands our company works to support, DoneGood strives to be different […]
Amy Cortese | September 11, 2018
In this age of wealth inequality, runaway development and gentrification, it’s easy for communities to feel powerless in the face of rapid change. Lynn Smith founded Buy The Block, a real estate crowdfunding portal and the first portal that is African American-owned, to help change that dynamic. Smith (pictured above) has invested in real estate […]
Amy Cortese | August 23, 2018
With more than 40 approved funding portals for Regulation Crowdfunding, the launch of a new portal might elicit a yawn. But Crowdfund Mainstreet, which debuts on Friday, has a unique pedigree—and a mission to match. The Oakland, CA-based portal is the creation of a pair of lawyers—Jenny Kassan and Michelle Thimesch—who have been on the […]
