The Crown Cafe: On Friday, I reactively penned my thoughts on the Ubuntu Edge’s failure to reach its $31 million goal. I think much of the press missing the story.

TheCrowdCafe Weekly – August 25, 2013

Aug 25, 2013 10:44 am | Jonathan Sandlund |View Original Post|

Happy Sunday, all.

Another busy week in the crowdinvesting industry, with an acquisition in the UK and a number of new platforms & services launched. Before diving in, a few updates on my end:

• On Friday, I reactively penned my thoughts on the Ubuntu Edge’s failure to reach its $31 million goal. I think much of the press missing the story.
• A number of readers reached out regarding the equity crowdfunding model I wrote about with feedback that the article was difficult to follow with only static images. After re-reading, I have to agree. So I’ve been working on an interactive web-friendly version. I’ll have it up early this week 🙂

I’ve been teaching myself front-end development, and in the last couple of weeks I’ve mocked up a complete re-design of thecrowdcafe. I’m pretty psyched about it. I’ll be pushing updates iteratively throughout the week. Please let me know your candid thoughts—especially if you think parts/all of it are poor. I’ve started a number of online communities in the past so I’ve always paid keen attention to information design and architecture, but I’m playing catch up with design. Here are my goals for the re-design:

pure strip everything away; leave only what’s important;
natural make the discovery of, and engagement with, relevant information intuitive, frictionless;
joyful better content, better design. it’s not enough; reach higher. design an experience that is beautiful, and fun—an experience that delivers joy. (This one, in particular, will take time.)

These are my goals. So please, pull no punches, and hold me accountable :-). Now for this week’s news:

Selected Articles

• Peer-to-peer lending boom has just begun – ThisisMoney
• Why Innovation is Still Capitalism’s Star – NYTimes
• Op-Ed: Crowdfunding puts medical care within reach for needy patients – Digital Journal
• Caveat Emptor Banking: P2P Lending Challenges Too-Big-To-Fail Status Quo – Forbes
• Wearable tech pioneer Interaxon closes $6M series A for its brain-sensing Muse headband – Venturebeat This isn’t the first time the Crowd has shouldered much of the due diligence on a hardware startup, “pre-validating” the concept, before it goes on to raise traditional venture capital.
• Why the Ubuntu Edge is Not a Failure – TheCrowdCafe

Industry Chatter

• FundTheGap (equity crowdfunding; UK) acquired by Darwin Strategic
• JumpStartFund announces beta launch
• MissionMarkets launches new crowdfunding portal for sustainable organizations
• Crowdtilt Launches Crowdhoster To Let Anyone Create, Customize And Host Their Own Crowdfunding Campaigns
• Gate Global Impact Announces GateTrip, a funding platform for the Tourism & Travel Sector
• Equidam, an online valuation tool for small businesses and startups, closed its €60,000 seed round
• RealCrowd (real estate) graduated from Y Combinator’s Summer 2013 Class
• CircleUp closed its first $2 million+ deal
• Crowdnetic is selected to join Springboard Ventures 2013 Program
• As Seen On TV Announces Strategic Inventor Partnerships
• Front Page PR Launches Marketing Product Geared Toward General Solicitation
• Asurvest (insurance for crowdinvesting securities) Attracts Two Key Hires
• VentureHealth discusses its online venture fund with crowdsourcing.org

International

• [Europe] Presentation on crowdfunding trends in Europe (SlideShare)
• [UK] Does the alternative funding industry need more regulation?
• [UK] FundingKnight Launches Enhanced Autobid Tools for it’s P2B marketplace
• [Canada] Startups may face funding shortfall
• [Canada] Capital Crowdfunding in Canada: Recent developments

Upcoming Events

In NYC? I’ll be giving a presentation on the global crowdinvesting industry this Wednesdaynight to the New York Entrepreneurs & Startup Network. Also, if you haven’t already, mark your calendar with this year’s Global Crowdfunding Convention and Bootcamp in Las Vegas, October 14 – 16.

The post TheCrowdCafe Weekly – August 25, 2013 appeared first on The Crowd Cafe.