Crowdfunding Industry Petitions the SEC to Raise Title III, Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg. CF) Private Equity Fundraising Cap to $20 Million

Crowdfunding experts cite zero fraud; competent issuers have been able to raise serious capital from investors that believe in their products or services; and, retail investors, for the first time in recent history, now have a transparent, systematic way to invest in startups

Sherwood Neiss, Crowdfund Capital Advisors, testifies at the SEC

In a letter to the SEC dated July 19^th, the Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) industry’s largest equity crowdfunding platforms and industry influencers provided data and analysis to support increasing the Regulation Crowdfunding cap to $20 million.

The letter comes after SEC Chairman Clayton said in a live chat with FINRA President and CEO Robert Cook, “I continue to worry that retail investors do not have access to as broad a slice of our capital markets as I would like them to have. Said another way, you have private capital and public capital. Retail investors can really only participate in the public capital, and to the extent private capital has become so robust, you’ve shrunk opportunities. That bothers me a bit. If that trend continues, a much more select group is participating in the growth of the economy.”

The following bullet points below and the following analysis is provided to support the increase in Reg. CF.

Since the launch of Regulation Crowdfunding:

• Over 1,000 companies have filed with the SEC to raise money on online platforms that are registered with FINRA to facilitate capital formation.
• Over $137M has been committed to these issuers. 95% ($130.4M) of that capital was funded and invested into 715 companies (68.5% success rate).
• These 715 companies are supporting 4,172 jobs and producing over $249 million n revenue.
• Issuers have filed in almost every state in the Union.
• Issuers have been funded in 80 industries, according to Morningstar’s Global Equity Classification Structure.

The fundraising cap should be adjusted because:

• There has been zero fraud, competent issuers have been able to raise serious capital from investors that believe in their products or services, and retail investors (for the first time in recent history) have a transparent, systematic way to back companies they believe in.
• Successfully funded companies are supporting and creating valuable jobs and providing substantial economic activity in a broad range of locally important industries all around the United States.
• The initial cap of $1 million was meant to be adjusted. Only once since the launch of Regulation Crowdfunding has this been adjusted and at the time only by $70,000. Such de minimus adjustments do not fully allow meritorious issuers to fully benefit from this new form of online finance nor expand the opportunity for issuers seeking to raise in excess of $1 million.
• The current $1 million level is now far below what startups and SMEs need for seed stage capital. May 2018 data indicates that the median sized funding round for Angel or Seed stage companies in the US is $2 million. This means that even for the smallest funding round the current limits do not allow an issuer to raise their entire round via Regulation Crowdfunding. This dramatically increases costs and time spent on raising capital by US businesses. This reduces the number of American innovators and job creators in the United States.
• While the “funding gap” that Regulation Crowdfunding was meant to address is filling the void. The funding “opportunity” really comes from those small/medium firms that are seeking to raise up to $20 million. Raising funds under $20 million has become increasingly challenging as Venture Capital/Private Equity has moved upstream over the past decade. Raising the cap will allow issuers that wish to utilize this form of online finance the ability to raise in excess of $1 million and tap their local investors without having to deal with the costly, time consuming process of either filing a full prospectus with the SEC or spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a private offering.
• Many companies forego Regulation Crowdfunding in favor of Reg D, 506(c), because of the low Reg CF limit. This has the effect of reduced disclosure to investors, since Form D provides less information even than Form C. In addition, ordinary investors are cut out of some of the most attractive deals that have already attracted institutional funding, which seems unfair and counter to one of the goals of Reg CF.
• Both the United Kingdom and Germany have adjusted their caps to 8 million EUR (US$9.4 million). The United States should not be a follower, but instead a leader.

People are being asked to call their Senators and Representatives to ask them to support increasing the cap and helping small businesses access capital, create jobs and foster local innovation.

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Robert Hoskins
(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR

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Mr. Robert Hoskins is a seasoned marketing veteran with a proven track record of helping entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses as well as Fortune 500 corporations launch successful marketing communications campaigns to gain market traction for a wide variety of products and services.

On a regular basis, Mr. Hoskins consults with crowdfunding campaign managers as well as crowdfunding sites, portals and platforms to deliver successful crowdfunding marketing campaigns.

Google search “Robert Hoskins Crowdfunding” to see why Mr. Hoskins is considered one of the industry’s foremost crowdfunding experts that has amassed a huge social media following, which is dedicated to supporting donation-, rewards- and equity-based crowdfunding campaigns.

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Crowdfunding PR’s 2017 List of the Top 100 Crowdfunding Sites in the U.S. and Global Markets

Searching for the Best List of Crowdfunding Sites and Platforms to Launch a Successful Rewards or Equity Crowdfunding Campaign in 2017?

By Robert Hoskins, Crowdfunding PR

New York City, New York – Each year Crowdfunding PR releases a list of the top 100 crowdfunding sites in the United States based on their website traffic ranking. Traffic ranking is important because the more website visitors that are visiting any given crowdfunding site on a daily basis, the less money a crowdfunding campaign manager needs to spend to attract the eyes of potential investors, crowdfunders or donors to support their crowdfunding campaigns in order to make them successful.

Crowdfunding PR’s 2017 List of the Top 100 Crowdfunding Sites in the U.S. and Global Markets

Top 100 Crowdfunding Sites in the U.S. for 2017:

Top 2017 Crowdfunding Sites for Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns

Top 2017 Crowdfunding Sites for Real Estate Crowdfunding Campaigns

Top 2017 Crowdfunding Sites for Rewards or Perks Crowdfunding Campaigns

Top 2017 Crowdfunding Sites for Donation Crowdfunding Campaigns

Top 2017 Crowdfunding Sites for P2P Lending and Personal Loans

Top 2017 Crowdfunding Sites for University/College Crowdfunding Campaigns

Top 2017 Crowdfunding Sites for Title III, Reg. CF Crowdfunding Campaigns

Top 2017 Crowdfunding Sites for Title IV, Reg. A+ Crowdfunding Campaigns

Crowdfunding Site’s Competitive Analysis

Crowdfunding PR recommends that the best way to leverage these Top 100 Crowdfunding Lists is to get a yellow tablet for taking notes, then go to each site on each of the most appropriate lists and begin to build a competitive analysis that compares the different crowdfunding sites based on fees, rules and funds dispersement rules. Also, take a look at the crowdfunding website’s current total visits, average visit duration, pages per visit, and the visitor bounce rate. These stats will show you how much time a potential investor, crowdfunder or donor spends shopping for great crowdfunding projects like yours to support.

Also Read: Top 10 Marketing Strategies for Crowdfunding Campaigns

Crowdfunding Site’s Marketing Mix

The crowdfunding sites at the top of each list are there because they spend a lot of their own money marketing their crowdfunding platforms. Click on each Country’s stats link, which will take you to the SimilarWeb’s profile for each crowdfunding site and will provide valuable information on how much traffic is being generated by:

Website Content

• Business Leads
• FAQ Sheets
• Landing Pages
• Press Rooms
• Product/Service Videos

Social Media Networks

• Facebook
• Linkedin
• Quora
• Reddit
• Twitter
• WhatsApp
• YouTube

Referral Sites

• Press Releases
• News Stories
• Back Link Sources

Digital Display Advertising

• Adf.ly
• AdMarketplace
• AppNexus
• AdSupply
• Google Display
• Google Pay Per Click
• Outbrain
• Skimlinks
• Taboola
• ZiffDavis

Search Engine Results

• Organic
• Paid

Direct Website Traffic

• Word of Mouth
• Brand Share Awareness

eMail Marketing

• CRM
• eMail Blasts
• eNewsletters

All of this information is great for allowing you to see which crowdfunding sites are doing the best job of marketing their platforms and what types of marketing campaigns their sites are using as well as what marketing strategies their crowdfunding campaigns are utilizing to launch the most successful crowdfunding campaigns.

Competitive Analysis on Your Competitors

Next, campaign managers should go to each crowdfunding platform and do a competitive analysis on crowdfunding campaigns with similar products and services. On most crowdfunding sites, you can sort by their categories by the most successful or least successful campaigns.

While researching your competitors jot down notes on a yellow pad on what you like about each successful crowdfunding campaign’s video, their crowdfunding profile, the body copy language used, their info graphics, product/service photos, perks/rewards, customer testimonials, FAQ sheets, press rooms, etc.

Do the same thing for crowdfunding campaigns that failed and note what you don’t like about the same categories. This process will give you great marketplace awareness about what works and what doesn’t and will give you the optimum amount of knowledge to position your products and services in the best positive light against the competition.

Next Steps?

When you’re ready to build a website, begin social media marketing, conduct PR campaigns and/or begin social media advertising and digital marketing campaigns, please give Crowdfunding PR a call at the number below. We offer a free 30-minute consulting call to get started.

Please click here if you’d like to see what an entry level
crowdfunding social media, PR and marketing campaign will cost

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Robert Hoskins
(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR

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Mr. Robert Hoskins is a seasoned marketing veteran with a proven track record of helping entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses as well as Fortune 500 corporations launch successful marketing communications campaigns to gain market traction for a wide variety of products and services.

On a regular basis, Mr. Hoskins consults with crowdfunding campaign managers as well as crowdfunding sites, portals and platforms to deliver successful crowdfunding marketing campaigns.

Google search “Robert Hoskins Crowdfunding PR” to see why Mr. Hoskins runs one of the industry’s foremost crowdfunding PR, social media and marketing agencies that has amassed a huge social media following and is dedicated to supporting a wide variety of donation, rewards and equity crowdfunding campaigns.

Mindblower.com Disrupts the Crowdfunding World with Zero-Risk Crowdfunding Platform

Now anyone can crowdfund their business ideas and make money with no risk while crowdfunding backers get the perk they paid for — or their money back

By Robert Hoskins, Crowdfunding PR

London, UK – Since the dawn of crowdfunding there has been a struggle for inventors and dreamers to come up with the right crowdfunding success formula to hit their funding goal and turn their vision into a delivered product. Risking their money on developing a prototype, shooting the project video, marketing and public relations and all of the other expenses and effort necessary to launch a crowdfunding campaign — if they even get that far – comes with no assurances of success.

MindBlower.com Disrupts the Crowdfunding World with New Zero-Risk Crowdfunding Platform

Crowdfunding backers have their own risks to worry about. Projects like the Coolest Cooler, the Laser Razor, the Zano drone, Dragonfly Futurefon and so many other campaigns that promised incredible things failed to deliver on time — if at all — leaving backers high and dry. Years on, thousands of people have yet to receive the product they paid for or their money back.

There’s no question that crowdfunding has been a risky business for all concerned… until now.

That’s because MindBlower.com takes all of the risk out of crowdfunding for the backer and the would-be business person by assuming all of the responsibility in handling all of the details of production and fulfillment.

Ideas submitted to MindBlower by inventors undergo a double screening process and the best ideas are selected based on feasibility to produce, market viability and other key factors.

Ideas accepted by MindBlower are turned into crowdfunding campaigns on the MindBlower platform. Once the product reaches its crowdfunding goal, the MindBlower team is in charge of production and fulfillment, the single biggest point of failure for crowdfunding campaigns after they reach their goal.

The inventor receives a royalty on every product sold and the backer enjoys the peace of mind of a money back guarantee if they don’t receive the perk they purchased.

At the end of the day, inventors and backers have ZERO financial risk and inventors don’t have to exhaust their own resources in developing their ideas.

As they are fond of saying “It’s how crowdfunding was meant to be: A seamless, transparent and extremely efficient process that enables dreamers to bring great ideas to life with the help of the community.”

Two campaigns are underway and are wildly successful in exceeding their crowdfunding goals with new campaigns lined up to launch within the next 30-45 days.

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Robert Hoskins
(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR

---

Mr. Robert Hoskins is a seasoned marketing veteran with a proven track record of helping entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses as well as Fortune 500 corporations launch successful marketing communications campaigns to gain market traction for a wide variety of products and services.

On a regular basis, Mr. Hoskins consults with crowdfunding campaign managers as well as crowdfunding sites, portals and platforms to deliver successful crowdfunding marketing campaigns.

Google search “Robert Hoskins Crowdfunding” to see why Mr. Hoskins runs one of the industry’s foremost crowdfunding PR, social media and marketing agencies that has amassed a huge social media following and is dedicated to supporting a wide variety of donation, rewards and equity crowdfunding campaigns.

Real Estate Lender Zeus CrowdFunding Offers the Crowdlending Industry’s First Customer Loyalty Program

The Zeus CrowdFunding offers loans for property acquisition, refinancing, discounted home buying, renovation projects, transitional properties, non-traditional borrowers, fix-and-flip projects, fix-and-hold projects, transactional financing, gap financing, and time-sensitive transactions

 By Robert Hoskins

Houston, Texas – Zeus CrowdFunding, the fastest real estate crowdlending site in America, will offer borrowers a new incentive unmatched in the rapidly growing financial sector: the real estate crowdfunding industry’s first loyalty program. Repeat borrowers with the company can borrow up to 80 percent of a property’s after-repair value (ARV).

The ZeusCrowdFunding offers loans for property acquisition, refinancing, discounted home buying, renovation projects, transitional properties, non-traditional borrowers, fix-and-flip projects, fix-and-hold projects, transactional financing, gap financing, and time-sensitive transactions

The program is called LoyaltyZ, and its mechanics are simple. On a borrower’s first loan with Zeus CrowdFunding, they’re eligible to receive up to 75 percent loan-to-value (LTV) of his or her approved project’s ARV. With each loan that they finish paying back to Zeus CrowdFunding, the borrower will receive one more point on their LTV on their next loan—up to 80 percent of the ARV.

On a borrower’s second loan from Zeus CrowdFunding, for example, he or she is eligible to borrow up to 76 percent of the ARV; on his or her third loan, up to 77 percent, and so on. Beginning with his or her sixth loan, a repeat borrower can borrow up to 80 percent of the ARV on every loan.

Zeus CrowdFunding Founder and Chief Acceleration Officer Steven Kaufman says that LoyaltyZ was designed for real estate borrowers interested in completing multiple projects as quickly as possible. No additional sign-up or commitment is required of them.

“Simply put, we devised the real estate crowdfunding industry’s only loyalty rewards program because we value repeat business more than our competitors do,” Mr. Kaufman said. “We find it’s a valuable differentiator in an increasingly crowded marketplace that our customers love. It helps Zeus CrowdFunding to build ongoing relationships with real estate investors in our homebase of Texas and across the United States.

“Best of all, borrowers who pay off more than one loan with us are eligible to receive their funding in as little as three days,” he added.

For more information about Zeus CrowdFunding and the real estate crowdfunding industry’s only loyalty program, please visit AskZeus.com. The platform specializes in lending opportunities up to $2 million, secured by first lien and personal guarantees. New borrowers can receive real estate financing in as little as four days.

Zeus Mortgage Bank is a Texas-based mortgage lender providing the right loan at the right time at the right price for our clients. We pride ourselves on being the fastest mortgage lender in America, and our clients love our Lifetime Mortgage Warranty.

Zeus CrowdFunding is an online real estate crowdfunding platform that was launched by Zeus Trust Company in 2016. The ZeusCrowdFunding.com platform offers borrowers the flexibility to structure custom-tailored financing options that address a variety of unique transactions involving property acquisition, refinancing, discounted home buying, renovation projects, transitional properties, non-traditional borrowers, fix-and-flip projects, fix-and-hold projects, transactional financing, gap financing, and transactions requiring time-sensitive funding.

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Robert Hoskins
(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR

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Mr. Robert Hoskins is a seasoned marketing veteran with a proven track record of helping entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses as well as Fortune 500 corporations launch successful marketing communications campaigns to gain market traction for a wide variety of products and services.

On a regular basis, Mr. Hoskins consults with crowdfunding campaign managers as well as crowdfunding sites, portals and platforms to deliver successful crowdfunding marketing campaigns.

Google search “Robert Hoskins Crowdfunding” to see why Mr. Hoskins is considered one of the industry’s foremost crowdfunding experts that has amassed a huge social media following, which is dedicated to supporting donation, rewards and equity crowdfunding campaigns.

Real Estate Crowdfunding to Take Center Stage at Crowd Invest Summit in Los Angeles

Real Estate Crowdfunding to be Major Focus at Country’s Largest Crowd Investment Conference

By Robert Hoskins

Los Angeles, California – Crowd Invest Summit, the country’s largest crowdfunding investment conference, taking place on September 6th and 7th at the Los Angeles Convention Center, has announced that it will be expanding its focus on Real Estate Crowdfunding.

Since the signing of the JOBS Act in 2012, Real Estate Investing has been the fastest growing segment of the new Crowdfunding Industry. According to CBRE, the real estate has more than a $1.7 trillion dollars worth of dry power ready to be invested in residential and commercial real estate deals.

“We expect over 3,000 attendees at Crowd Invest Summit this September, a significant portion being investors who are looking to learn about new opportunities,” said Alon Goren, co-founder of Crowd Invest Summit. “Real Estate investing has been a major focus at the summit, and because of overwhelming demand, this September we’re expanding on the topic.”

Crowd Invest Summit will feature the crowd investment industry’s top leaders, investors and firms covering real estate investing over the span of two days in September:

“As one of California’s preeminent real estate and business law firms, we are excited to partner with Crowd Invest Summit for its first-ever discussion on the emerging issues and opportunities presented by the ever-growing real estate crowdfunding market,” said Chuck Jarrell, Partner, Allen Matkins. “Crowdfunding has become an integral part of real estate investing and a topic that will resonate well with conference attendees.”

“We are excited to be back at Crowd Invest Summit this September to discuss how we’ve quadrupled our investor base by combining technology and marketing with an institutional approach to real estate investing,” said Michael Episcope, Principal, Origin Investments.

“Commercial real estate is no longer reserved for the wealthy. Now, everyone has the ability to passively invest in multi-million dollar properties, all thanks to crowdfunding,” said Matt Schuberg, CEO, RealCap. “We are very excited to come back to Crowd Invest Summit in September to bring these types of opportunities to the masses.”

“401(k) and IRA accounts provide access to 12 times more investment dollars than checking and savings accounts,” said Todd Yancey, CSO of IRA Services. “We are excited to explain the process to real estate investors at Crowd Invest Summit how to easily access that capital.”

“Now more than ever real estate companies should focus on the fundamentals and principles in mitigating risks to investors capital. Crowd Invest Summit offers both Real Estate Companies and potential investors to engage first hand and learn more about the risks and rewards of investing in Commercial Real Estate,” said Rayaan Arif, CEO, FundingTree.

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China, India and the US to Dominate the Global Digital Fintech Platform Economy; Much of Europe Lags Behind

Majority of Businesses and Economies Are Not Ready for Digital Platforms, Accenture Research Shows

By Robert Hoskins

New York, New York – Research released by Accenture (NYSE:ACN) reveals that despite the potential for small and traditional businesses to become successful digital fintech platform companies, as few as 10 percent of new start-ups focused on digital platform business models will become profitable independent entities in the coming years. The analysis also reveals that China, India and the U.S. will dominate the platform economy by 2020, and that the gulf between countries will increase. To help bridge this gap, the report outlines five critical steps businesses and governments can take to succeed.

Five Factors for a Successful Digital Fintech Platform Ecosystem

Accenture’s report Five Ways to Win with Digital Platforms, published in collaboration with the G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance, assesses the ability of 16 G20 economies to support the flourishing of digital platforms. It shows that the UK and Germany join China, India and the U.S. at the top of the Accenture Platform Readiness Index, but other emerging markets and European economies are predicted to lag behind, lacking sufficient business and socio-economic enabling conditions.

“When you think of digital platforms, think of China and India as much as the U.S. These economies are using the power of platforms to create large scale markets very rapidly,” said Paul Daugherty, Accenture’s Chief Technology Officer. “Many European economies are in danger of missing out in the platform economy. Multi-stakeholder cooperation is required to address the fragmented digital markets and to support the greater levels of digital enterprise and consumption that successful platform businesses need.”

Accenture’s analysis shows $20bn was invested in digital platforms between 2010 and 2015 in 1,053 publicly announced deals. More than half of this investment took place between 2014 and 2015. It also shows that rankings on the Platform Readiness Index strongly correlate to the levels of digital platform activity and investment in G20 countries.

The report recommends that governments engage with businesses leaders to advance a range of policies that can create a rich enabling environment for digital platforms including the following actions:

1.			Prioritize data protection standards and rules: Drive the harmonization of data privacy and data security legislation. Smooth cross-border data transfers.
2.			Design regulations with digital platforms in mind: Experiment with regulations alongside new technologies and business models. For instance, the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority’s “regulatory sandbox” allows start-ups to test ideas without immediately incurring all the normal regulatory consequences.
3.			Encourage cross-border electronic trade. Harmonize taxes and standards, consumer protection, contract laws and logistics infrastructure. The eWorld Trade Platform (eWTP), initiated by B20 China, aims to accelerate international policy collaboration to support SMEs.1
4.			Invest in digital infrastructure: For example, the E.U.’s Payment Services Directive (PSD2) will empower start-ups to expand customer reach and encourage innovative business models.
5.			Think small, act big: Educate SMEs on alternative funding, such as crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending; and on data privacy and consumer protection. Support SMEs with digital economic zones to support e-commerce.

Five ways to succeed

Accenture notes that only 15 percent of Fortune 100 companies have developed digital platform business models to date Successful digital platforms will proliferate as small businesses and traditional industries follow the lead set by digital-born platform companies. Accenture identifies five factors critical to sustaining critical mass in digital platforms, which use new technologies to create large scale markets of customers and service providers:

1.			Proposition: Create differentiated platform services that extend beyond the point of transaction; and that support both customers on the demand side and service providers on the supply side.
2.			Personalization: Target customers through tailored experiences across all channels, using customer data to anticipate needs and offer bespoke experiences.
3.			Price: Apply new pricing models, such as pay-as-you-go, ‘freemiums’, and subscription pricing to respond to peak demand.
4.			Protection: Embed trust at the heart of the platform, using both prevention and compensation techniques to attract customers and differentiate the platform.
5.			Partners: Scale the platform rapidly by identifying digital partners – such as app developers and payment service providers – who can enrich the platform experience and fulfill customer needs.

“Digital platforms are not just the preserve of digital born companies, like Airbnb and Alibaba, but are now becoming a default business model in most industry sectors, both B2B and B2C,” said Francis Hintermann, managing director, Accenture Research. “To enjoy efficiencies and high rates of growth, companies will need to transform everything from the way they co-create goods and services with third parties, tailor their offerings to customers, and price them dynamically. Crucially, they will only sustain critical mass by working with digital partners who can deliver the range of functional services that complete the customer experience.”

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(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR

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Mr. Robert Hoskins is a seasoned marketing veteran with a proven track record of helping entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses as well as Fortune 500 corporations launch successful marketing communications campaigns to gain market traction for a wide variety of products and services.

Mr. Hoskins consults on a regular basis with crowdfunding campaign managers as well as crowdfunding sites, portals and platforms to deliver successful crowdfunding marketing campaigns.

Mr. Hoskins is one of the crowdfunding industry’s foremost crowdfunding advocates and has amassed a huge social media following that is dedicated to supporting donation-, rewards- and equity-based crowdfunding campaigns. Due to the overwhelming demand from the general public for crowdfunding information, he empowers entrepreneurs with some of the internet’s most affordable ($20) online crowdfunding training classes, which provide insight to startups around the world on a 24 x 7 basis.

LoanDepot Announces Closing of $150M Crowdlending Fund to Further Fuel Its Record-breaking Performance with Investments in Technology and Product Development Projects

As a national marketplace lender, the loanDepot platform is disrupting finance by dissolving the lines between mortgage and non-mortgage credit

By Robert Hoskins

Irvine, California – LoanDepot announced the closing of $150 million in term debt financing and intends to use the proceeds to further fuel its record-breaking performance with continued investments in technology and product development, and to leverage its balance sheet to hold certain loan assets.

loanDepot matches borrowers through technology and high-touch customer care with the credit they need to fuel their lives

“Capital investment in consumer lending and in the mortgage industry is very tight and highly selective,” says Anthony Hsieh, chairman and chief executive officer at loanDepot. “Investors are interested in category leaders with scale who succeed in all credit cycles. This deal confirms the strength of our business model and the positive momentum of our brand. It also signals the competitive advantage loanDepot has in accessing capital in today’s market as we pursue our long-term growth strategy.”

As the nation’s second-largest nonbank consumer lender, loanDepot heads into the second half of 2016 with second-quarter fundings reaching nearly $10 billion in home, personal and home equity loans. Total fundings for the first half of 2016 are up 16 percent compared to the same time last year. The number of loans funded by loanDepot in the first six months of 2016 increased by 33 percent compared to the same period last year, further demonstrating the value of the company’s personal loan platform and cross-selling opportunities between loan products.

“Working capital and liquidity are essential for today’s nonbank lender, and only available if you have scale, a solid track record and a great reputation,” says Hsieh. “loanDepot is a strong and stable company responsible to our customers, employees and shareholders. We’ll continue reinvesting back into our platform in a variety of ways, including technology, the customer experience and product development. We believe this approach strengthens our position as the leading modern lender as the industry heads into the next generation of lending.”

In November 2015, the company postponed its initial public offering. This capital debt financing is the continuation of its capital strategy and commitment to pursue long- term growth plans.

Launched in 2010, loanDepot has achieved 80 percent year-over-year average annual growth from 2010 to 2015. The company continues to make significant reinvestments into its proprietary technology and marketing platform, credit and risk models, and product delivery systems.  The company operates from eight business centers and 150+ loan stores across the nation. loanDepot was the first nonbank consumer lender to offer home, personal and home equity loan products nationwide.

loanDepot matches borrowers through technology and high-touch customer care with the credit they need to fuel their lives. As a fast-growing national marketplace lender, the loanDepot platform is disrupting finance by dissolving the lines between mortgage and non-mortgage credit.

The company has funded over $70 billion in loans since inception. loanDepot is passionate about emerging financial technology and dynamic product delivery supported by excellent customer service to empower consumers.

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Los Angeles-based Real Estate Equity Crowdfunding Platform Raises ~$24 Million to Fund Debt Investments and Pre-funded Real Estate Loans

Targeting one of the fastest growing verticals within the lending marketplace, Patch of Land’s real estate equity crowdfunding site has emerged as one of the industry’s most innovative companies

By Robert Hoskins

Los Angeles, CA – PatchofLand.com announced that it has raised $23.6 million to finance one of the leading crowdfunding solutions for the real estate industry that brings together borrowers and lenders through a simple online interface.

The oversubscribed Series A round was led by SF Capital Group, a private investment firm focused on direct equity and debt investments in the financial technology space. Neil Wolfson, President of SF Capital Group will also join the Board of Directors of Patch of Land. Ron Suber, president of Prosper Marketplace, a leading online marketplace for consumer credit, also participated in the Series A round as a strategic investor.

Patch of Land Real Estate Crowdfunding Raises $23.6 Million to Expand Debt Investments

“We are very pleased to have completed this round of financing,” said Jason Fritton, CEO Patch of Land’s CEO. “We look forward to working with SF Capital Group and welcome Neil to our board. Our ability to attract sophisticated investors such as SF Capital and industry thought leaders like Ron Suber clearly validates the strength of our business model. Neil and Ron understand marketplace lending and their collective advice and network of contacts will be integral to our continued growth and success.”

As one of the biggest issuers, by volume, of 506(c) real estate debt investments, Patch of Land will use the capital from the Series A financing to aggressively increase its market share and further expand the company’s leadership position through additional investment in the technology and data systems that power the marketplace. The company will also utilize these funds to hire additional leading real estate and technology professionals.

“The real estate lending marketplace is quickly transforming the way investors and developers interact, and Patch of Land is at the forefront of this change,” said Neil Wolfson, SF Capital Group’s President. “Patch of Land was one of the first companies to focus exclusively on real estate debt investments and the first to offer pre-funded loans, which dramatically shortens the time developers wait to get funded. The company is a true pioneer within this industry and its consistent and steady focus is clearly evident through the rapid growth of its portfolio. We are excited to work with this dynamic team and help them capture the tremendous opportunity they have identified.”

“I have witnessed first-hand the emergence and growth of marketplace lending. Real estate is one of the fastest growing verticals within all of marketplace lending, and Patch of Land has emerged as one of the most disruptive and innovative companies,” said Ron Suber. “I am very excited to help the company reach the next stage in its growth cycle.”

For over a year, Patch of Land has consistently grown its portfolio of short-term residential and commercial loans to qualified borrowers across America, quickly earning its place as one of the top real estate crowdfunding companies to launch since the JOBS Act was passed into law.

SF Capital Group is a private investment firm representing the interests of a single family. The firm invests across all asset classes with a flexible, long-term investment focus. SF Capital’s portfolios include allocations to traditional as well as alternative investments such as hedge funds and private equity. The firm also invests in direct equity and debt investments of private companies.

Patch of Land (POL) is a crowdfunding solution for real estate financing that brings together borrowers and lenders through a simple online interface. Patch of Land’s goal is to solve the problem of inefficient, fragmented, and opaque real estate lending by using technology, data-driven processes, and expert human touch to create transparency and efficiently underwrite projects.

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Top 100 Crowdfunding Sites in the United States, Europe, Asia, South America, Africa and other Global Markets in 2015

Seeking New Crowdfunding Sites on a Worldwide Basis to Be Ranked for the Upcoming June 2015 Top Crowdfunding Sites in the United States and the Rest of the World

 By Robert Hoskins

[Click to Tweet this Top 100 List to Your Friends]

United States – We are currently updating our List of the Top 100 Crowdfunding Sites for 2015 in the United States, Europe, Asia, South America, Africa and other global markets.  

Clicking on the website traffic links below will take readers to one of the most insightful resources of information that details each website’s traffic ranking; the number of unique visitors per month; the average time spent on each site per visit; and the number of pages viewed per each visit.

Of more interest to crowdfunding campaign managers will be the precise ratio of social media, content marketing, search engine marketing, email marketing and display advertising that is being utilized by each crowdfunding site’s marketing campaigns to drive readers and investors to their crowdfunding profiles.

GoFundMe vs Kickstarter SimilarWeb Stats

Even though these numbers reflect the aggregation of all of a given portal’s crowdfunding campaigns marketing efforts, they offer direct evidence of what is working and what is not.  Note the difference on how much social media and display advertising is being used by the Top 10 Crowdfunding Sites compared the lower 90 crowdfunding sites. 

This information can be used by crowdfunding sites as well as their crowdfunders to get a thorough understanding on how to plan future marketing campaigns that will have a higher than average success rate.

Want to know how GoFundMe just bypassed Kickstarter as the #1 crowdfunding platform on the planet? Click on the links below and use the comparison tool to show side-by-side comparisons of SEO keywords, link referrals, and social media usage. See the bottom of the page for more crowdfunding marketing tips.

[Click Here to Tweet this Top 100 List of Crowdfunding Sites]

Rank	© Front Page PR	Global Rank
#1 (2014: #2)	www.gofundme.com	1,318
#2 (2014: #1)	www.kickstarter.com	1,373
#3 (2014: #3)	www.angel.co	2,010
#4 (2014: #6)	www.indiegogo.com	2,277
#5 (2014: #4)	www.lendingclub.com	7,545
#6 (2014: #9)	www.justgiving.com	8,558
#7 (2014: #8)	www.youcaring.com	13,563
#8 (2014: #12)	www.kiva.org	15,111
#9 (2014: #23)	www.ulule.com	16,099
#10 (2014: #15)	www.donorschoose.org	21,617
#11 (2014: #17)	www.pledgemusic.com	24,461
#12 (2014: #13)	www.crowdrise.com	26,906
#13 (2014: #18)	www.tilt.com	29,512
#14 (2014: #10)	www.giveforward.com	32,576
#15 (2014: #38)	www.crowdcube.com	34,262
#16 (2014: #5)	www.fundingcircle.com	34,307
#17 (2014: #14)	www.razoo.com	44,329
#18 (2014: #16)	www.fundly.com	48,132
#19 (2014: #36)	www.pozible.com	48,898
#20 (2014: #19)	www.firstgiving.com	58,401
#21 (2014: #20)	www.fundrazr.com	64,163
#22 (2014: #27)	www.circleup.com	68,095
#23 (2014: #25)	www.fundable.com	73,430
#24 (2014: #new)	www.kickante.com.br	75,510
#25 (2014: #26)	www.crowdfunder.com	77,551
#26 (2014: #34)	www.equitynet.com	88,181
#27 (2014: #new)	www.zeczec.com	90,296
#28 (2014: #35)	www.gogetfunding.com	97,023
#29 (2014: #29)	www.fundrise.com	112,206
#30 (2014: #55)	www.fundedbyme.com	116,409
#31 (2014: #new)	www.experiment.com	133,573
#32 (2014: #22)	www.realtymogul.com	134,519
#33 (2014: #61)	www.geldvoorelkaar.nl	146,963
#34 (2014: #new)	www.onevest.com	149,343
#35 (2014: #24)	www.rockethub.com	149,430
#36 (2014: #33)	www.wefunder.com	169,021
#37 (2014: #32)	www.offbeatr.com	174,673
#38 (2014: #30)	www.seedinvest.com	184,226
#39 (2014: #37)	www.slated.com	210,555
#40 (2014: #new)	www.patchofland.com	220,267
#41 (2014: #43)	www.givezooks.com	234,356
#42 (2014: #58)	www.pledgie.com	241,865
#43 (2014: #new)	www.microventures.com	241,967
#44 (2014: #28)	www.fundanything.com	248,200
#45 (2014: #46)	www.ourcrowd.com	248,635
#46 (2014: #44)	www.pave.com	268,856
#47 (2014: #68)	www.growvc.com	285,285
#48 (2014: #62)	www.ppl.com.pt	297,874
#49 (2014: #48)	www.dragoninnovation.com	306,056
#50 (2014: #54)	hwww.seedandspark.com	319,789
#51 (2014: #47)	www.pubslush.com	336,465
#52 (2014: #41)	www.opportunity.org	354,764
#53 (2014: #45)	www.peerform.com	376,044
#54 (2014: #60)	www.bolstr.com	388,543
#55 (2014: #new)	www.investx.com	403,141
#56 (2014: #11)	www.uinvest.com.ua	417,925
#57 (2014: #new)	www.plumfund.com	421,110
#58 (2014: #40)	www.fundraise.com	433,539
#59 (2014: #new)	www.earlyshares.com	442,508
#60 (2014: #new)	www.barnraiser.us	482,296
#61 (2014: #new)	www.flashfunders.com	485,226
#62 (2014: #new)	www.trucrowd.com	485,665
#63 (2014: #57)	www.piggybackr.com	518,504
#64 (2014: #67)	www.symbid.com	558,247
#65 (2014: #new)	www.crowdstreet.com	704,602
#66 (2014: #39)	www.assetavenue.com	742,849
#67 (2014: #51)	www.microgiving.com	834,667
#68 (2014: #new)	pitchfunder.asufoundation.org	861,826
#69 (2014: #77)	www.artistshare.com	928,003
#70 (2014: #new)	www.nextseed.com	992,563
#71 (2014: #76)	www.appsfunder.com	1,047,453
#72 (2014: #42)	www.assob.com.au	1,049,032
#73 (2014: #79)	www.foodstart.com	1,080,478
#74 (2014: #new)	www.loquidity.com	1,087,691
#75 (2014: #70)	www.faithlauncher.com	1,089,032
#76 (2014: #80)	www.solarmosaic.com	1,108,499
#77 (2014: #new)	www.crowdfundingpays.com	1,256,560
#78 (2014: #new)	www.dreamfunded.com	1,267,585
#79 (2014: #82)	www.propellr.com	1,350,583
#80 (2014: #75)	www.pledgecents.com	1,363,715
#81 (2014: #new)	www.massventure.com	1,388,521
#82 (2014: #new)	www.crowd2fund.com	1,494,834
#83 (2014: #96)	www.ipledg.com	1,567,232
#84 (2014: #new)	www.texasenetworks.com	1,721,280
#85 (2014: #63)	www.icrowd.com	1,769,510
#86 (2014: #65)	www.banktothefuture.com	1,836,932
#87 (2014: #new)	www.acquirerealestate.com	2,169,205
#88 (2014: #056)	www.sterlingfunder.com	2,533,134
#89 (2014: #new)	www.realtywealth.com	2,647,893
#90 (2014: #85)	www.massivemov.com	2,826,166
#91 (2014: #89)	www.venturehealth.com	3,931,192
New	www.offerboard.com	4,112,781
#92 (2014: #31)	www.rockthepost.com	4,505,534
#93 (2014: #84)	www.funderhut.com	5,182,841
#94 (2014: #83)	www.fundafeast.com	5,325,919
#95 (2014: #71)	www.crowdit.com	5,535,187
#96 (2014: #88)	www.crowdhelps.com	5,892,083
#97 (2014: #95)	www.crowdfundingbank.com	6,503,461
#98 (2014: #98)	www.startacure.com	8,281,014
#99 (2014: #78)	www.cMEcompete.com	9,332,644
#100 (2014: #87)	www.endlesscrowds.com	12,934,557

Source: Feb 2015 SimilarWeb Website Statistics

Crowdfunding PR’s goal is simple. We want to make it possible for crowdfunders to shop for  crowdfunding platforms in a similar manner to the way media planners/buyers used to analyze ABC and BPA audit statements to buy advertisements in the business-to-business trade publication industry, where important media buying decisions were based on straight mathematics, not popularity or random guessing.

For example, would you rather run a crowdfunding campaign on a site where visitors are looking at 2-3 pages in around 3 minute’s time or a site where buyers are spending 6 to 11 minutes reviewing 6 to 10 pages?

This is the difference between shoppers who are visiting a site to see a particular crowdfunding campaign based on a marketing campaign versus people who are visiting a site to explore and actually shop around to find good deals to buy or invest their money.

This is why launching a campaign on Kickstarter or GoFundMe does not guarantee success. While GoFundMe or Kickstarter may be the largest sites in the world, people are only spending enough time to shop through more than 2 to 3 crowdfunding profiles before they exit. While other sites like Razoo.com, DonorsChoose.org, and FundingCircle.com have visitors that stay more than 6 to 11 minutes and view 6 to 10 pages.

When researching, planning and executing successful marketing programs for both crowdfunding platforms as well as their individual crowdfunding customer profiles, it is extremely important to see what is driving the most traffic to any given crowdfunding site.  Success is usually determined not only by what site the crowdfunding campaign is being hosted on, but also the marketing programs being harnessed to drive potential donors/investors to a specific crowdfunding profile.

Clicking on each link above will allow media planners/buyers to understand what role direct traffic (content marketing), search engines (SEO, PPC Advertising), social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Reddit, Quora), email marketing and display advertising (Google Display, Outbrain, AppNexus) are having on the success of crowdfunding campaigns.

For example, when planning a social media strategy, one of the most popular questions we get asked is – what social media networks are driving the most visitor traffic? Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Quora, Reddit, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram? The links above will make this answer crystal clear.

Not satisfied with your position on the list? Front Page PR’s team of crowdfunding PR, social media and marketing experts can help crowdfunding sites and crowdfunding campaigns plan the perfect mix of integrated marketing programs to significantly improve the amount of website traffic being driven to any given fundraising campaign or crowdfunding platform.

Feel free to call (512) 627-6622 with questions or request help to improve your website statistics before June.

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Crowdcube’s Spain Equity Crowdfunding Site Surpasses €1 Million for Six Startups

A Barcelona-based drone company,HEMAV, broke the record for the largest equity crowdfunding round in Spain raising €450,000 in just six days

By Robert Hoskins

Spain – Crowdcube opened its Spanish operation just nine months ago. Since it launched, over €1 million has been raised by its investor base who can invest anything from €10. The largest investment to date has been €112,000 and the average investment €3,290. The finance raised has funded six businesses operating in a range of sectors including food and beverage, finance and business services.

Crowdcube.com enables anyone to invest alongside professional investors in start-up early stage and growth businesses through equity, debt and investment fund options

One of the businesses to raise finance on the platform was HEMAV, a Barcelona-based drone company, which broke the record for the largest equity crowdfunding round in Spain. The company raised €450,000 in just six days after attracting investment from more than 70 people.

The most recent business to successfully raise investments on the site was Zank, a peer-to-peer lending platform, which raised €245,000 from over 70 investors. As part of the round, the company also received funds from ESADE Ban, the business angel network of the ESADE business school . Zank was the first lending platform in Spain to secure funding through crowdfunding.

Crowdcube Spain has also raised investment for, Iberic Box, a company that sells traditional Spanish food; Eureka Startup Experts, a marketplace that connects entrepreneurs with advisors and industry experts; FoodintheBox, a subscription box service for cooking ingredients; Seedbox, a subscription box for growing vegetables at home.

Managing director of Crowdcube Spain, Pepe Borrell, commented, “There is a real gap in funding for start-ups and early stage businesses in Spain so I’m pleased that we’ve already been able to fund six businesses and that Spanish investors are embracing crowdfunding. The alternative finance sector has grown at a rapid pace in the UK and we’re now seeing the same trends emerge in Spain. There’s a huge potential market for crowdfunding in Spain so we’re excited about the future of Crowdcube Spain.”

Darren Westlake, CEO and co-founder of Crowdcube added, “Having a strong presence at a local level is key to the success of our overseas operation, and to ensuring Crowdcube’s remains the world’s leading investment crowdfunding platform; so it’s great to see Spain achieve these milestones at such an early stage.”

There are currently eight businesses on Crowdcube Spain pitching for a total investment of €995,000.

Crowdcube Spain is one of seven partnerships in Crowdcube’s overseas operation, the company now has platforms in Brazil, Sweden, Dubai, Poland, Italy, Spain and New Zealand.

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