Dozens of Startups Preparing Pre-ICOs at ICO-Hypethon 2017

ICO WATCH

Saint Petersburg will soon host a major international IT event: the ICO-Hypethon. This event will be hosted by Crypto Friends and sponsored by the Waves Platform and Eberhard Lindfordt.

Hypethon is expected to draw more than 1,000 visitors over a two-day period and will feature workshops, meet-and-greets with industry leaders and presentations from promising startups. These startups will be competing for Angel funding in order to get their projects off the ground, and ultimately intend on hosting ICOs to sell their tokens to crypto investors.

Saint Petersburg is already home to several important online software technologies such SEMrush, IQ Options, Veeam and many others.

Additionally, international corporations such as Microsoft, Google and VK have long had offices in Saint Petersburg because of the number of skilled programmers residing there. The city recently hosted the Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference and is proving to be an ideal locale for Blockchain meetups and events.

Mentors and industry leaders

The Crypto Friends organization has already received significant recognition, having been showcased on Nasdaq.com following their successful “ICO Trends” Q&A session at the Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference. The company has invited a number of industry experts to serve as mentors to conference participants.

The speakers and mentors include:

* Jon Matonis – Bitcoin foundation
* Sasha Ivanov – Founder and CEO of the Waves Platform
* Tone Vays – Crypto trader and founder of LibertyLifeTrail.com
* Eric Benz – Director at CryptoPay.me
* Eyal Hertzog – Bancor co-founder
* Vít Jedlička – the president of the Free Republic of Liberland
* Artem Tolkachev – Deloitte
* Anatoly Radchenko – United traders
* Vladimir Dyomin – an adviser on blockchain and digital economy to Chairman of the Board at Vnesheconombank (Bank of Foreign Economic Activity)
* Dmitry Machikhin – Gmt Legal
* Mihail Lunev – Ecoinomy
* Anatoly Kaplan – ForkLog

Eric Benz, Director at CryptoPay, states:

“Crypto Friends is building one of the most exciting communities throughout the Blockchain and crypto ecosystem. The Hypethon event taking place in Saint Petersburg…will be the first of its kind and definitely is not to be missed.”

“At the public event,” Benz also comments, “CryptoPay will launch our ICO exclusively via the Waves platform to further develop our Blockchain payment gateway services.”

Daria Arefieva became a shining star in the European and Russian crypto community after the success of the past two events. She is inviting everyone to attend, saying:

“Hypethon [is] a mix between a hackathon and a festival for the crypto crowd, where guests will be able to personally meet Blockchain industry leaders, learn new content through workshops and gain new market info through Q&As. There’s also going to be films, music, food and beverages available.”

The ICO hype

ICOs have become a great resource for crowdfunding projects that are planning to release products and services with the Blockchain space.

Unfortunately, the unregulated nature of ICOs has led to criticism and created negative connotations. Much of this reputation will soon be dispelled, now that the SEC has determined to regulate the space.

Until such a time as regulations are complete, investors should be wary of new ICOs and do their due diligence. The projects presented at Hypethon have all been thoroughly screened by Crypto Friends in an effort to lower investor risk and eliminate any obvious scams.

Attendees should use the promo code “Cryptograph” in order to receive 25 percent off their ticket price.

Source: Dozens of Startups Preparing Pre-ICOs at ICO-Hypethon 2017

Fundanna Platform for Cannabis Industry

The 1st Regulation Crowdfunding platform for cannabis businesses

Prior to May 16, 2016, generally only the wealthy could invest in securities of private companies. Now everyone has the right to invest in companies they believe in.

Founded by cannabis industry supporters, Fundanna was the first Reg CF portal dedicated exclusively to the cannabis businesses in the United States.
From potentially fighting diseases to its uses in the plastic, textile, paper, fuel, cosmetics and the food industry Cannabis is one of the most versatile plants (2). We understand that funding is one of the top challenges, as banks and lenders have limitations when considering a loan to “sin” based businesses. Fundanna’s goal is to support the industry’s growth by giving investors access to early stage cannabis investments and entrepreneurs the opportunity to raise to up to $1,070,000 per year through Regulation Crowdfunding.

Our team consists of ordinary people with extraordinary passion and experience. We dedicate ourselves to make Fundanna a customized crowdfunding portal for highest quality Cannabis businesses offering the newest services. Our collective talent in finance, marketing, and design form a powerful team committed to achieving and maintaining the #1 Cannabis equity crowdfunding portal in America.

Source: About: Equity Crowdfunding

Blockchain Security Firm Rivetz Launches ICO

Source: Blockchain Security Firm Rivetz Launches ICO

Almost half of all money raised through crowdfunding is going toward medical expenses

Almost half of the money raised on crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe and YouCaring is going toward medical expenses.

Medical campaigns make up $930 million of the $2 billion raised on GoFundMe, according to NerdWallet. Almost half of the $800 million raised on YouCaring, another crowdfunding platform, went towards medical expenses, Bloomberg reports.

The reasons people cite for turning to crowdfunding vary from trying to fill in gaps in Medicare to hitting deductibles ( the amount of money a person needs to pay out of pocket before insurance kicks in) to just generally hoping to make ends meet.

Under the American Health Care Act, the Obamacare replacement bill that passed the House in May, 23 million more Americans could become uninsured by 2026, leaving millions more on the hook to pay for medical expenses out of pocket.

“Whether it’s Obamacare or Trumpcare, the weight of health-care costs on consumers will only increase,” YouCaring CEO Dan Saper told Bloomberg.

Source: Almost half of all money raised through crowdfunding is going toward medical expenses

What You Should Know About Crowdfunding as Facebook Readies the Feature

Facebook soon will launch its own personal crowdfunding platform, which, like GoFundMe and other websites, will let individuals publicly ask for financial help, for their own benefit or someone else’s.

The social media giant’s foray into personal fundraising could make it a big player in a crowded field that attracts billions of dollars annually. A 2015 survey by the Pew Research Center found that one in five Americans has donated to a crowdfunding campaign, with about half giving from $11 to $50.

A big reason this kind of crowdfunding has become so popular is that it makes it easy to directly assist individuals facing difficult—or joyous—life events, or trying to put money together for a good cause.

For instance, on GoFundMe, the largest personal fundraising site, a Florida woman was recently seeking $50,000 for stem cell therapy for her young son, who she said had suffered a brain injury. A community in Washington state used crowdfunding to drum up more than $100,000 to save their beloved independently owned movie theater. Others have used crowdfunding to raise money for their weddings or to help pay their student debt.

Clearly, crowdfunding can make a huge difference in people’s lives. But is this kind of giving an effective way to spend your charitable dollars? Is it safe? How do you know you’re not funding a fraud? Before you give money to a crowdfunding campaign, it pays to understand the possible drawbacks and know how to avoid them.

 

Source: What You Should Know About Crowdfunding as Facebook Readies the Feature

How crowdfunding is democratizing real estate investing

“Crowdfunding means democratizing access, in our case, to large-scale commercial real estate assets,” says Rodrigo Niño, founder and CEO of Prodigy Network. – TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images

Facebook recently introduced a crowdfunding feature called Personal Fundraising hoping to emulate successful crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe. But crowdfunding has also become a popular source of financing for real estate developments. It exploded onto the scene since 2012 when the federal Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, changed the way individuals could invest in projects or companies. Rodrigo Niño is founder and CEO of a platform called Prodigy Network, which uses crowdfunding to build commercial real estate, like the tallest skyscraper in his home country of Colombia. Marketplace’s Molly Wood talked with Niño about crowdfunding. Below is an edited transcript of their conversation.

Source: How crowdfunding is democratizing real estate investing

How Crowdfunding Took On Private Equity And Won

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Commuters walk past cat posters at Clapham Common Underground station in south west London on September 16, 2016.Creative collective, Citizens Advertising Takeover Service (CATS), a project started by a group called Glimpse, have replaced many of the adverts in Clapham Common Underground station with posters featuring stray cats from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and Cats Protection, after raising £23,000 from almost 700 people via crowdfunding website kickstarter. / AFP / Jack TAYLOR (Photo credit should read JACK TAYLOR/AFP/Getty Images)

Until very recently, anyone running a private company in the UK would have automatically turned to the private equity or venture capital sectors when looking for their first slice of equity capital. But research just published suggests this conventional route to fund-raising no longer offers the greatest prospects of success; online crowdfunding platforms are now more likely to provide the financing such companies are looking for.

Research agency Beauhurst’s analysis of investments into non-listed high-growth investments in the UK last year reveals that crowdfunding is now outperforming. The two largest platforms, Seedrs and Crowdcube, together accounted for 21 per cent of all such equity investment in the UK last year according to Beauhurst’s research.

Given that these two businesses didn’t even exist six years ago – Crowdcube launched in 2011 while Seedrs came along in 2012 – that’s remarkable. Between them, the two platforms funded more than 250 companies last year, with 45,000 investments from users in these companies’ equity.

Source: How Crowdfunding Took On Private Equity And Won

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NextGen Announces Crowdfunding Video Awards to Recognize The Best Crowdfunding Campaign Videos | Business Wire

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–NextGen Crowdfunding, the leading company that helps people explore new types of crowdfunding, announces the Crowdfunding Video Awards (CVAs). This new series of online awards programs will showcase the best videos from both rewards-based crowdfunding campaigns featured on Indiegogo, Kickstarter and other platforms, and equity crowdfunding campaigns. This contest celebrates and encourages the spirit of startups, entrepreneurship, and pursuing the dream of creating and owning a business.

“Founders throughout the world are leveraging crowdfunding as a way to pursue their passions and chase their dreams, and we want to help shine a light on their efforts.”

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The CVAs will provide entrepreneurs with new ways to promote their crowdfunding campaigns and products to backers and potential investors. The first season will debut in January 2017 with online pilot programming, as well as continuing programming through April 2017. The season will include five preliminary awards shows, and will culminate in a sixth and final seasonal awards show.

Source: NextGen Announces Crowdfunding Video Awards to Recognize The Best Crowdfunding Campaign Videos | Business Wire

SportsEngine/NBC Sports acquires RallyMe

 

SportsEngine/NBC Sports acquires RallyMe   SportsEngine announced today that it has acquired RallyMe, the No. 1 platform for online sports fundraising. SportsEngine, an NBC Sports Group company, is the leading provider of Sport Life Management web software and mobile applications for youth, amateur, and professional sports. “As costs for youth sports participation continue to rise, the need to fundraise has never been more critical,” said Bill Kerig, RallyMe Founder and CEO. “RallyMe has helped thousands of athletes, teams, and organizations raise millions. Now, by joining SportsEngine and the NBC Sports Group, we look forward to expanding our reach to help millions of hard-working athletes fund their dreams.” SportsEngine’s acquisition rounds out the company’s whole-product solution for youth and amateur sports. “RallyMe is the perfect fit for SportsEngine and the athletes, teams and organizations we’re serving,” said Justin Kaufenberg, co-founder and CEO at SportsEngine. “We believe that participation in sports changes lives by teaching us priceless lessons in character, commitment, leadership and discipline.” Kerig, along with RallyMe president Whitney Childers, will continue to lead RallyMe from its Salt Lake City headquarters. “By joining SportsEngine/NBC Sports, we will have marketing and staffing resources to increase our level of service for athletes and organizations,” said Childers. “Our goal is to ensure that no athlete ever has to quit playing their sport because of lack of funds.” #   #   # About SportsEngine Helping the world play smarter and live more, SportsEngine is the leading provider of Sport Life Management web software and mobile applications for youth, amateur, and professional sports. Powering more than 500,000 sports teams, leagues, clubs, and associations, SportsEngine features a complete suite of easy-to-use tools that help sports organizations manage, connect, and communicate with a diverse range of stakeholders. Founded in 2008, SportsEngine is based in Minneapolis, Minn. For more information, visit www.sportsengine.com; like the company on Facebook at Facebook.com/nbcsportsengine; or follow SportsEngine on Twitter at@nbcsportsengine. About RallyMe RallyMe is the No. 1 online sports fundraising platform. RallyMe has partnered with over 35 sports National Governing Bodies and top sports organizations across the globe to help athletes, teams and organizations raise the funds they need to train and compete. Thousands have raised millions on RallyMe. The platform is safe, secure and provides sophisticated tools and templates to help athletes and organizations raise funds through their personal and social media networks. CNBC called RallyMe the “Gold medal standard” for athlete crowdfunding. Learn more at http://rallyme.com. Media Contact: Jim Dahline SportsEngine, Director of Communications press@sportsengine.com Whitney Childers RallyMe, Director of Operations support@rallyme.com

Crowdfunding VC: Nin Desai Focuses on Investing in Tech – Crowdfund Insider

After years of working for firms like Merrill Lynch and Pacific Crest, Nin Desai decided to launch her own venture Nin.VC. Seeing opportunity in the JOBS Act of 2012 that legalized various iterations of crowdfunding, Nin launched a VC-hybrid firm that allows accredited investors access investment opportunities typically not available to just anyone. Based in Chicago, Nin.VC now has an office in San Francisco to be closer to the vibrant tech startup scene.

Continue Reading: Crowdfunding VC: Nin Desai Focuses on Investing in Tech – Crowdfund Insider