Locavesting Staff | July 18, 2018
Investment crowdfunding may finally get the fixes that advocates have long called for. On Wednesday, a sweeping collection of bipartisan bills known collectively as the JOBS Act 3.0 passed the House of Representatives with broad support. The package now moves to the Senate. Sponsored by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) and Ranking […]
Locavesting Staff | May 30, 2018
Crowdfunding success is often measured by the number of campaigns meeting their funding targets and the dollars raised. But what about the investor side of the equation? It’s still very early, and there are no industry-wide performance metrics that measure investor returns. But there are inklings. Some investment crowdfunding portals have lately taken to reporting […]
Amy Cortese | May 16, 2018
Two years ago today, Regulation Crowdfunding went into effect with a promise to transform the investment landscape for entrepreneurs and investors. So how’s it working out? In the first two years, 910 businesses have used the Regulation Crowdfunding exemption (aka Title III of the JOBS Act) which allows them to raise up to $1.07 million […]
Mark Roderick | May 4, 2018
Since the JOBS Act was signed by President Obama in 2012, advocates have been urging Congress to increase the overall limit of $1 million (now $1.07 million, after adjustment for inflation) to $5 million for offerings under Title III (aka Regulation Crowdfunding). But for many issuers, the overall limit is less important than the per-investor […]
Amy Cortese | April 24, 2018
Eve Picker is an architect, city planner, urban designer and real estate developer, among other accomplishments. Her passion for community development and smart, sustainable design led her in 2016 to found Small Change, a Pittsburgh-based real estate crowdfunding site. We caught up with Eve recently to discuss financing transformational projects—such as affordable starter homes built […]
B the Change | April 12, 2018
It was concern for Hawaii’s environment, economy and farming system that inspired Brett Jacobson to launch Hawaiian Ola, a maker of healthy beverages, in 2012. Jacobson, a farmer who previously ran a biofuel company, wanted to start a business that could help Hawaii’s struggling farmers—the average farmer in makes about $15,000 a year, according to […]
Dara Westling | March 29, 2018
When Guerrilla Development opened up crowdfunding for its latest project, a two-building mixed-use development called Jolene’s First Cousin, the team figured there would be strong demand. An earlier project, the Fair-Haired Dumbbell (they have a penchant for quirky names to go along with their iconoclastic buildings), raised $1.5 million from 121 investors in eight months, […]
Locavesting Staff | March 27, 2018
Arizona has become the first state to create a regulatory “sandbox” for financial innovation—a safe harbor of sorts that allows financial-tech startups to test out new products, services and business models without getting bogged down in costly regulations. Similar sandboxes have been set up in the UK, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and Australia to encourage […]
Locavesting Staff | March 16, 2018
Some Americans may envy Canada’s charming president and progressive politics, but when it comes to investment crowdfunding, the two countries are in the same boat. In an appeal to government regulators this week, Canadian crowdfunding and financial tech advocates called out an “urgent need for regulatory changes and government support” for Canada’s entrepreneurial and capital […]
Amy Cortese | February 1, 2018
What happens when a sixth generation community banker and a small business entrepreneur meet in business school? They create a crowdfunding portal, naturally. But one that is laser focused on small but growing local businesses. That’s the backstory of Honeycomb Credit, the latest Regulation Crowdfunding portal to launch. We talked with Honeycomb cofounder & CFO […]
