Seattle Theater Company, Twisted Cabaret, Successfully Completes Kickstarter Crowdfunding Campaign

By Robert Hoskins

Kickstarter claims to have raised almost a half a billion dollars via crowdfunding campaigns to fund new business endeavors since it’s inception three years ago. The latest venture to successfully raise money is a small theater company called Twisted Cabaret. Twisted Cabaret closed funding this morning after reaching a modest goal of $11,000 to cover the costs of producing a live concert video of their Seattle show.

Frank Olivier’s Twisted Cabaret & Pandemonium Vaudeville Show

Nearly a hundred people contributed to the project, achieving their goal and completing funding just minutes before the cutoff of 11:00 a.m. This was lucky for Twisted Cabaret, as Kickstarter only pays out to projects that make their goal. According to Kickstarter less than half of the projects hit their mark. If a goal is not reached then all the money is returned to the would-be philanthropists and the project gets nothing. Not only do the fundraisers get Twisted Cabarets eternal gratitude for their contribution, they will receive copies of the finished video.

Twisted Cabaret star, Frank Olivier said, “I feel an excited buzzing energy of ‘YES!’ inside me, knowing these people are all there, helping bring this together.” Olivier recounts the final funding countdown. “We were about a hundred dollars short of our goal with just a few minutes to go when two folks came on board and carried us to victory.”

One of the final donors and the one who took the funding across the line to success had been monitoring the progress. He wanted to be the one who crossed the finish line and so he was, with just two minutes to go he pledged $40 which was exactly how much was needed to achieve the goal. When asked how he felt about funding a project like this he said, “It was like winning a race.”

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Lend Academy and NowStreet Media to Host LendIt Peer-to-Peer Lending Conference in New York

By Robert Hoskins

Lend Academy, the preeminent resource for the P2P lending industry, and NowStreet Media, producer of acclaimed financial events that highlight Wall Street transformations, are pleased to announce LendIt, the first global conference for the burgeoning P2P and online lending industry. Peer-to-Peer and online lending (collectively, “online lending”) is a relatively new asset class that is rapidly revolutionizing the credit markets and transforming the global banking industry.

Industry Influencers Introduce LendIt, the Inaugural Peer-to-Peer (P2P) & Online Lending Conference

Online lending seeks to exploit the structural mispricing and funding inefficiencies in the traditional banking sector. Through the use of technology, online lenders are able to compress the cost of originating, servicing, and funding traditional loans. As a result, borrowers receive a lower interest rate while lenders receive a very attractive rate of return. Online lending marketplaces have emerged globally for personal loans, student loans and small business loans. With interest rates at all-time lows and big banks hording cash, online lending marketplaces have tapped into a variety of investor sources ranging from large pension funds all the way down to self-directed individual investors.

LendIt is being held at the prestigious Convene Innovation Center in Manhattan on Thursday, June 20, 2013. The day will bring together the industry’s most influential leaders including: Renaud Laplanche, Lending Club‘s CEO, the largest peer-to-peer lending company as well as Ron Suber, Head of Global Institutional Sales for Prosper Marketplace, the nation’s second largest. Combined, these companies have already originated more than $2 billion in loans.

In addition to a powerful lineup of keynote presentations, interactive panels discussions and extensive networking, the event will feature the world’s first exhibit of peer-to-peer and peer-to-business lending portals.

Attendees will include institutional investors, private wealth managers, family offices and individual investors. Admission tickets can be obtained directly at http://lendit2013.eventbrite.com/. Complimentary press passes will be provided to pre-approved journalists and editorial staff.

Peter Rention,  Lend Academy’s CEO said, “There has never been a more opportune time to launch the LendIt Conference. The recent rapid growth of online lending has captured the attention of large and small investors alike. We look forward to introducing the investing community to the leading online lending platforms, the providers serving the sector as well as the Wall Street firms that are providing innovative financing structures and capital to this new asset class.”

“It is an enormous privilege to be working with Peter whose work is so highly regarded within the P2P industry. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to, once again, break new ground in the Wall Street convention space with the launch of another cutting-edge industry conference,” stated Dara Albright, NowStreet’s CEO.

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Crowd Outlet Opens Online Shopping Mall for Shoppers Who Missed Initial Crowdfunding Campaign Perks

By Robert Hoskins

Anyone who has successfully crowdfunded a product on websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo now has a new tool to help ensure continued success beyond the initial funding campaign. Crowd Outlet’s new post-crowdfunding marketplace seeks to connect innovative inventors with consumers who are anxious for unique and groundbreaking products.

New Crowdfunding Shopping Mall Marketplace Helps Crowdfunded Products Achieve Continued Success

“Far too often, innovative crowdfunded products fall flat after the initial funding due to lack of continued support or exposure. We want to keep these products in the spotlight and give them a chance for success among consumers who may have missed the initial campaign. Our goal is to make the entire process simple, reliable, and rewarding,” said Crowd Outlet President, Chris James.

Whether manufacturing products long-term or just selling the remaining inventory from a small production run, approved vendors can gain renewed exposure for their products by listing them for sale on Crowd Outlet. Crowd Outlet has launched with 40 products funded on Kickstarter and Fundable, but accepts products funded through all current and future crowdfunding platforms. Crowd Outlet is quickly growing, with new products being added daily.

Crowd Outlet will be integrated with the popular crowdfunding analytics site, Kicktraq, which will provide a link on each project page to either purchase the product or request it for sale on Crowd Outlet. Reviews, product highlights and a customer newsletter, among other tools, will also be employed to gain exposure for products initially. According to Melanie James, Crowd Outlet Vice President, “We know what a challenge it is to get the word out about a product—and how vital. It’s our goal to help project owners build their post-crowdfunding success by increasing awareness of their products and creating an effective sales platform.”

Crowd Outlet is a Tucson-based startup founded by Chris and Melanie James, a dynamic husband and wife entrepreneurial team. Together, they have completed three successful Kickstarter campaigns and achieved success in product development, publication, marketing, website design, and e-commerce.

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Torment Closes as the Best Crowdfunding Game in Kickstarter History

By Paul Tassi

Forbes – I realize that saying something is the “most something” in Kickstarter history isn’t all that impressive given how young the service is, but what Torment: Tides of Numenera has achieved is definitely worth highlighting.

Torment: Tides of Numenera raises more than $4.1 million on Kickstarter

We’ve been following the project for a while now, and the funds just kept pouring in as Torment beat the Ouya in the race to a million dollars in donations. I mean “pledges,” or “commitments” or whatever we’re calling it when you give money to Kickstarters these days.

So what’s the final total? After meeting its $900,000 goal in under 24 hours, the Kickstarter has ended its run with $4,188,927 in donations, more than 450% of its goal.

This makes it the most funded game of all time, and the second most funded gaming-related project on the site besides the Ouya itself which ended up raking in $8.5M in donations. I mean pledges.

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