2017: Our Interconnectedness is the big story
"Let’s get real – individual investors have no sway in the public markets. The place where individual investors can have the most impact – by far – is in providing direct growth capital to private companies and social enterprises. Instead of giving investors an...
Equity Crowdfunding is Good News for CleanTech – EDF EnergyExchange
By Andrew Strong, VP at LOHAS Capital On May 16, 2016, the final piece of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act took effect and drastically changed the investment landscape by allowing equity crowdfunding. Equity Crowdfunding is a way for a large number of...
If Angel Groups are not using Crowdfunding Platforms to their Advantage, They are Going to Miss the Boat
"The topic I would like to put on the table front and center is that angel investing as we know it, is being disrupted right before our eyes by online platforms. If angel groups think that their model of sitting back and waiting for companies to come pitch to them,...
Investing in the Future: Sustainable, Responsible and Impact Investing Trends
"Sustainable, responsible and impact investing approaches continue to gain traction among investors. Morgan Stanley's Investor Pulse poll of 1,003 US high net worth (HNW) investors ages 25 to 75, conducted January 2016, spotlights the changing opinions on these...
An Unlikely Romance Between a Venture Capital Fund and a Crowdfunding Platform Promises to Shake Up Startup Financing
"Crowdfunding is, at its heart, driven by a grandiose, ideological utopian vision of a democratization of finance in which the power of the purse strings is pulled down from the elite circles of legacy hierarchy and put in the hands of the people. It’s born of a...
Trends Show Crowdfunding To Surpass VC In 2016
"By 2016 the crowdfunding industry is on track to account for more funding than venture capital, according to a recent report by Massolution. Just five years ago there was a relatively small market of early adopters crowdfunding online to the tune of a reported $880...
Change Is Coming — In A Meaningful Way — To Tech Investing
"It’s an old story that building a more inclusive startup economy, particularly within the technology space, is badly needed. Consider the number 11. Since 2012, only 11 African-American, women entrepreneurs have raised $1 million in venture capital funding. Of the...
Equity Crowdfunding by the Numbers
The potential economic impact of equity crowdfunding is significant. The global equity crowdfunding market has grown from $400 million in 2013, to $1.1 billion in 2014, and $2.6 billion in 2015 (estimated). Moreover, according to a recent Goldman Sachs report, the...