TheCrowdCafe weekly:Crowdfunding’s Disruptive DNA: The Why, How and Who

Selected Articles

• Crowdfunding’s Disruptive DNA: The Why, How and Who | TheCrowdCafe
  Crowdfunding is disruptive. But not just for the reasons we’ve heard ad nauseum. There’s more to it.
• Talking Real Estate Crowdfunding with RealtyMogul | TheCrowdCafe
  Real estate represents a highly attractive asset class that, to-date, has been enormously difficult to directly access. Until now. Platforms like RealtyMogul are opening this market up in a big way. What do you think—in three years, will you own private real estate in your portfolio? Leave a comment, we’d love to hear your thoughts or questions!
• Readying For An IPO, Peer-To-Peer Lending Marketplace Lending Club Raises $125M From Google And Others At $1.6B Valuation | TechCrunch
  Headline sums it up. Google invests in the future. And with this move, its investing in the future of private funding. Internet-driven.
• Lending Club Working on a Small Business Lending Operation | Lend Academy
  A fantastic overview of the Google/LC transaction from Peter Renton, covering LC’s plans to move into peer-to-business lending (debt-based crowdfunding). Big implications here for the industry.
• PRETAIL | Trend Watching
  A rich, and very visual, overview of this burgeoning—very much cultural ;-)— trend.
• Has Kickstarter Lost Its Way? | Mashable
  Personally, I disagree with the negativity towards Braff’s campaign. Pledgers are receiving real and unique value: participation.
• ‘Crowdfunding’ trend poised to make mark on U.S investing landscape | The Washington Post
  Another inspiring article that surfaces how crowdfunding will allow communities to collectively reclaim and rebuild the cities they live in, just as they want them to be. From one investor in Fundrise’s inaugaural transaction: “Last weekend, my mother and brother were in town and we were having dinner on H Street,” Lubens said. “It was just so cool to point out the building and say: ‘I own that.’?”
• Crowdfunding Capitalism: Likely to Keep Growing in 2013 | Dowser
  A good overview of a variety of crowdfunding platforms and models
• Crowdfunding 2.0: Where Will It Go? | Morningstar
  Always good to consider, if even in disagreence, strong outside opinions. Keeps one grounded.

Lift-Off

• Pilot project to provide online platform for student fundraising | ASU News

The Funded

• Traditional Investment Money Goes Crowdfunding: Taaleritehdas Invests Into Finnish Crowdfuning Company – Invesdor | Arctic Startup
• Veeqo raised a follow-on round on equity-based platform Seedrs, more than doubling its valuation. | @jsandlund Twitter

Industry Chatter

• Crowdfund it Today Partners with CommunityLeader in Delivering Crowdfunding Solutions | PR Web

A Personal Read, Or Two

• Go the Same Way, or Go the Wrong Way | NYTimes
  A super interesting look at how the “wisdom of the crowds” is changing how we think, interact and discover. “For the pop sociologists of the period after World War II, “crowd” was a scare word, an impersonal entity that would extinguish your personality, spew contempt at your uniqueness, disable the operation of your individual instincts and judgment.”
• Avoiding Burn Out | Andrew Dumont
  For founders, especially solo-founders, this a must-read.

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