Our weekly roundup of peer-to-peer news.
"Women's Comics Are Surfing The Crowd," NPR
Numerous female comic artists have turned to the crowd instead of major publishers to produce their creative visions. As DC, Marvel and others launch and re-launch powerful women characters, the market is ripe for women to seek support for their work. For many successful projects, crowdfunding has been the answer.
"There's no better way to get the word out [about a project] and no better way to reach women," says artist Amy Reeder.
"Crowdfunding the future: New regulation"s could dramatically change entrepreneurship in America," World
The slow rollout of regulations related to crowdfunding in the United States may finally be speeding up, creating more room for companies and new ventures to use crowdfunding to launch businesses.
The “general solicitation” regulations, released last year, are already making a difference inside the venture capital industry, according to Bill Clark, the founder and president of Austin-based MicroVentures, one of the first crowdfunding sites. He called the new rules “very good for startups. They have allowed companies with customers and fan bases to communicate directly with them.”"Amazon Rolls Out the Red Carpet for Startups with Amazon Launchpad," Business Wire Online commercial giant Amazon has begun a new program to help startups launch, market and distribute their products on the website.
“As the pace of innovation continues to increase within the startup community, we want to help customers discover these unique products and learn the inspiration behind them. We also know from talking to startups that bringing a new product to market successfully can be just as challenging as building it,” said Jim Adkins, Vice President, Amazon. “Amazon Launchpad gives customers access to a dedicated storefront featuring a variety of innovative new products from emerging brands. For startups, we handle inventory management, order fulfillment, customer service, and more, allowing them to focus their efforts on the innovation that results in more cool products.”"Small Business Borrowing: Does Reputation Really Matter?," Forbes No matter where a small business owner lives, their reputation in the community can be a key factor to receiving financial support to create and expand their businesses. Leaders at Kiva Zip, a micro-finance organization that provides small business loans in the U.S., has found community trust to be a key indicator of a loan's potential success. They apply the same frameworks to U.S. loans as Kiva has used in its global market for a decade. "Orchard Provides Feedback on Recent US Treasury Interest in Marketplace Lending," Crowdfund Insider Crowdfund Insider interviewed Orchard CEO Matt Burton, who will be attending a panel hosted by the U.S. Treasury Department on August 5th as part of the department's efforts to gather more information about microfinance, crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending. He says:
"I think this is a great opportunity to show the Treasury how our industry operates within the existing regulatory framework, and educate them on the core principles of marketplace lending — the three T’s: technology, transparency, and trust. Regulatory agencies in other countries, such as the U.K., have actively embraced marketplace lending and created frameworks to facilitate its growth and adoption. More regulations could certainly hurt consumers if it limits their access to credit, but I think we’ll find a way to work together with increased transparency for all parties."
