Category Archives: Crowd Funding
EXCLUSIVE: Intergreatme’s over R32m crowdfund – reduced to R6m after ‘suspect pledges’ – Ventureburn
A SA startup which hit the headlines earlier this year for having raised one of the biggest equity crowdfunding rounds in South Africa, has had to give back over R25-million of the raise because the money that investors pledged was suspect.
In May, SA regtech startup Intergreatme announced that it had raised over R32.6-million in a campaign run on local equity crowdfunding campaign Uprise.Africa.
The startup which was founded in 2016 by James Lawson,Dewald Thiart and Luke Warner (pictured above) has an identity management platform which provides users with control of their identities across financial services, telecommunications and insurance.
At the time, Uprise.Africa CEO Tabassum Qadir called the raise a record for African crowdfunding. The investment in exchange for a 20% share in the startup (see this story).
But that has now been caste in doubt.
Intergreatmes Dewald Thiart said he couldnt confirm or deny whether the withdrawn R25m, was linked to politically exposed individuals
An email from Intergreatme (that Ventureburn has a copy of) sent to investors on 30 September, informed those that took part in the raise that the startup would only be accepting R6-million, because the source of the funds from five pledges failed the platforms compliance process.
Read the email:
Please be advised that one group which made five substantial pledges have failed our Compliance Process.
Acknowledging that some investors have been motivated to invest by hearing of the amazing R32-million received in pledges, you are reminded that, should you be having second thoughts you are welcome to withdraw your investment prior to subscribing for shares. Should you elect to do this, your funds will be returned to you, timing being subject to Uprises confirmation of compliance with due diligence procedures.
In light of the above the Intergreatme board has resolved to accept R6,000,000.00 (Six Million Rand) of the funds pledged in terms of the Crowd Funding Campaign/Primary Offering and is considering either, raising the balance through a secondary offering/listing on ZAR X or through private investors at a higher valuation, read the letter.
While Intergreatmes CEO Luke Warner wasnt immediately available, Thiart referred all questions about the campaign to Uprise.Africa, adding that as the platform has the FSCA license,
From a legal stance we were advised that Uprise.Africa would be dealing with that, he said.
When asked whether he could confirm whether the over R25-million that was withdrawn, was linked to politically exposed individuals, Thiart said: I cannot confirm or deny that.
Contacted by Ventureburn Uprise. Africa CEO Tabbassum Qadir confirmed that the startup was only going to take R6-million and that the platform had opted not to accept the remaining amount because from investors because it had failed to meet FICA compliance.
Qadir explained only that the source of over R25-million in funds that were turned down wasnt clear, adding that the platform had therefore taken a decision not to accept it.
That money was rejected, said Qadir. We cannot jeopardise out platform, she added.
She said the plan is to now raise the balance of the R25-million via a listing on the ZAR X platform.
The equity crowdfunding platform signed a deal earlier this year with ZAR X, which would allow investments raised on the crowdfunding platform to list as shares on ZAR X, where they can be traded with other investors (see this story).
She expects the listing to take place in February or March. It would follow the listing of the R6-million that has been approved by Uprise.Africa. This would allow the 300 investors whose R6-million it is, to sell their share to other investors, if they so wanted to, said Qadir.
Qadir is confident that ZAR X listing will be able to net the remaining R25-million, or more and points out that taking into account amounts that were pledged after the Intergreatme campaign closed on Uprise.Africa, the platform received pledges totaling over R60-million for the startups offering.
Meanwhile a question mark hangs over a second Uprise.Africa raise.
In September it emerged that Uprise.Africs was conducting due diligence on investment offers from four investors to fund My Name is Reeva,a new documentary series on the life of Reeva Steenkamp, who was murdered in 2013 by athlete Oscar Pistorius (see this story).
This, after Warren Batchelor, the films director and co-producer and Tony Miguel, the films co-producer in launched an equity crowdfunding campaign on the platform in August to raise R40-million in return for a 50% stake in the film (see this story).
When asked by Ventureburn last week what had become of the campaign, Qadir said the campaign was never opened to the public, after the producers were able to raise R20-million from local investors.
Explained Qadir: They (the producers) didnt want to open it to the crowd, because of the public concern.
When asked what concern this was, she explained that Oscars family can bring a legal order or whatever.
She said the producers are taking legal advice on whether they can match the R20-million from investors sourced via a campaign on Uprise.Africa or whether the other R20-million must come from another investor, outside of the platform.
Read more: Uprise.Africa mulling offers from four investors for R40m Reeva documentary campaignRead more:Uprise.Africa launches R40m Reeva Steenkamp documentary crowdfunding campaignRead more: How we raised R29m in seven days via crowdfunding Intergreatme man [Q&A] [Updated]Read more:SAs Intergreatme sets Africa crowdfunding record with over R28m raised in just daysRead more:SA regtech Intergreatme out to raise R24m through crowdfunding site Uprise.Africa
Featured image: Intergreatme CEO and co-founder Luke Warner (Facebook)
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EXCLUSIVE: Intergreatme's over R32m crowdfund - reduced to R6m after 'suspect pledges' - Ventureburn
Crowd Funding Market 2025: Topmost manufacturers With Size, Regions, Types, Major Drivers, Profits – BoundWatch
The upcoming market report contains data for the historical year 2015, the base year of calculation is 2016 and the forecast period is 2017 to 2024. The https://marketreports.co/global-crowd-funding-market-size-status-and-forecast-2019-2025/172908/#Free-Sample-Report
The report offers information of the market segmentation by type, application, and regions in general. The report highlights the development policies and plans, government regulations, manufacturing processes, and cost structures. It also covers technical data, manufacturing plants analysis, and raw material sources analysis as well as explains which product has the highest penetration, their profit margins, and R&D status.
Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @ https://marketreports.co/global-crowd-funding-market-size-status-and-forecast-2019-2025/172908/
The Top Key players Of Global Crowd Funding Market:
Types of Global Crowd Funding Market:
Applications Of Global Crowd Funding Market:
Regional Segmentation for Crowd Funding market:
Table of Content (TOC) at a glance:Overview of the market includes Definition, Specifications, and Classification of Crowd Funding Size, Features, Scope, and Applications.
Product Cost and Pricing Analysis: The Manufacturing Cost Structure, Raw Material, and Suppliers cost, Manufacturing Process, Industry Chain Structure.
Market Demand and Supply Analysis that includes, Capacity and Commercial Production Date, Manufacturing Plants Distribution, R&D Status and Technology Source, Raw Materials Sources Analysis;Forces that drive the market
In the end, the report covers the precisely studied and evaluated data of the global market players and their scope in the market using a number of analytical tools. The analytical tools such as investment return analysis, SWOT analysis, and feasibility study are used to analyses the key global market players growth in the Crowd Funding.
Check here for the [emailprotected]https://marketreports.co/global-crowd-funding-market-size-status-and-forecast-2019-2025/172908/#Buying-Enquiry
Customization of the Report:This report can be customized to meet the clients requirements. Please connect with our sales team ([emailprotected]), who will ensure that you get a report that suits your needs.
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Crowd Funding Market 2025: Topmost manufacturers With Size, Regions, Types, Major Drivers, Profits - BoundWatch
Crowd Funding Size, Growth, Analysis Of Key- players Types And Application, Outlook 2025 – 101Newsindustry
The Crowd Funding research report is a valuable source of data for business strategists. It provides the Crowd Funding overview with growth analysis and historical and futuristic cost revenue demand and supply data. The research analysis provides an elaborative description of the value chain and distributor analysis.
Request Sample Copy of This Report: @https://99marketresearch.com/global-crowd-funding-market-size-status-and-forecast-2019-2025/172633/#Free-Sample-Report
The Crowd Funding market study provides comprehensive data that enhance the understanding, scope and application of this report.
The report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions and classifications. The Crowd Funding analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.
Prominent players of Crowd Funding market:
Product Type Coverage (Market Size & Forecast, Major Company of Product Type etc):
Application Coverage (Market Size & Forecast, Different Demand Market by Region, Main Consumer Profile etc.):
Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.
This report studies the Crowd Funding status and outlook of Global and major regions, from angles of players, countries, product types and end industries; this report analyses the top players in global market, and splits the Crowd Funding By product type and applications/end industries.
Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @ https://99marketresearch.com/global-crowd-funding-market-size-status-and-forecast-2019-2025/172633/
To comprehend 2018-2026 Crowd Funding dynamics in the world mainly, the worldwide 2018-2026 Crowd Funding is analyzed across major global regions. Crowd Funding Also provides customized specific regional and country-level reports for the following areas.
North America: United States, Canada, and Mexico.
South & Central America: Argentina, Chile, and Brazil.
Middle East & Africa: Saudi Arabia, UAE, etc
The study objectives of this report are:
To study and forecast the market size of Crowd Funding
To analyze the global key players, SWOT analysis, value and global market share for top players.
To define, describe and forecast the market by type, end-use and region.
To analyses and compare the market status and forecast among global major regions.
To analyses the global key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.
To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting market growth.
TOC-
Check here for the [emailprotected]https://99marketresearch.com/global-crowd-funding-market-size-status-and-forecast-2019-2025/172633/#Buying-Enquiry
Customization of the Report:This report can be customized to meet the clients requirements. Please connect with our sales team ([emailprotected]), who will ensure that you get a report that suits your needs.
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Crowd Funding Size, Growth, Analysis Of Key- players Types And Application, Outlook 2025 - 101Newsindustry
Parents of Beatriz Farmer-Maia raise over 30000 to fund her treatment to beat childhood cancer – Islington Gazette
PUBLISHED: 10:02 19 November 2019 | UPDATED: 10:28 19 November 2019
Emma Bartholomew
Beatriz Farmer-Maia whose family are fund raising for her cancer treatment.
Laura Farmer Maia
Parents of a toddler diagnosed with an aggressive childhood cancer are crowd funding to raise money for her treatment, and have already hit the 30,000 mark.
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Beatriz Farmer-Maia was just two-years-old when doctors found out last year that she had high-risk neuroblastoma, with a 40 to 50 per cent chance of long-term survival.
Neuroblastoma (NB) is a type of childhood cancer that forms in certain types of nerve tissue.
When it is classified in the high-risk category it means the tumour cells have already spread to other sites in the body.
Doctors initially thought Beatriz, or Bibi, had a recurring virus when she had a fever that lasted for four weeks - but then she refused to walk because her legs hurt. After weeks of trips to the doctors and A&E, her parents were sat down in a room at Archway's Whittington Hospital and given the news that would turn their lives upside down. Bibi had a lump that doctors suspected was childhood cancer.
Intensive chemotherapy began at Great Ormond Street Hospital the next day. Since then Beatriz has been in hospital for nearly half the past year, spending both her birthday and Christmas there.
Beatriz's family are now raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for further treatment through the specialist neuroblastoma charity Solving Kids' Cancer. The goal is to either get Bibi into remission or to keep the cancer away if treatment does go to plan.
"Having Solving Kids' Cancer to help us is comforting," said Bibi's mother Laura.
"They are an amazing charity who help families throughout treatment and beyond, and endlessly push for more research into this disease. Any money we don't use will be used for research - to help other children. And that's important to us."
She continued: "Bibi is weird, wonderful and amazing - she wants to be the tooth fairy when she grows up. And she is genuinely one of the funniest people we know."
Beatriz is currently enrolled in a six-month clinical trial at GOSH, as she has relapsed neuroblastoma.
The trial, jointly funded by Solving Kids' Cancer and Imagine for Margo, is the first study in Europe to combine chemotherapy with anti-GD2 antibody therapy.
To donate see justgiving.com/campaign/beatriz.
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Parents of Beatriz Farmer-Maia raise over 30000 to fund her treatment to beat childhood cancer - Islington Gazette
How to Crowdfund (with Pictures) – wikiHow
Steps
Part 1
1
Be clear about your goals. Before you start your campaign, know with certainty how you will ask for money and why you need it. As crowdfunding consultant Sydney Malawer put it, Do you have a legitimate ask besides we want money? People want to feel that they are a part of something big and important. They want to know that their money will play a significant role in accomplishing that goal. People crowdfund for all sorts of reasons: new business ventures, projects or causes they care about (e.g., a family member, friend or pet who is sick).
2
Do research and outline your goals. To justify and support your goals, you'll need to be clear about what the money will do. For personal causes, outline clearly how the money will be used and what impact it will have.
3
Present your goals. For commercial ventures, use graphs where useful. Write out an estimated budget for your campaign, based on any quotes youve received from manufacturers, insurers, lawyers, suppliers and distributors. For personal causes, describe what the money is for and how it will be used. E.g., $1000 will pay for Sharons mortgage as she undergoes four weeks of chemotherapy. If this sounds like a lot of work, it doesn't have to be. Just be transparent about what you are trying to achieve.
4
Research crowdfunding itself. Both Kickstarter and Indiegogo provide helpful tips on their websites. Mycause.com.au, which specialises in cause-related crowdfunding, offers their fundraisers 24/7 email and phone support. Mike del Ponte wrote a great post on Hacking Kickstarter, offering a list of factors to consider that contribute to campaign success, and the Unreasonable Institute shared some good lessons from their failed campaign.
5
Find videos or high-quality photos. Images can make or break a campaign. If you are crowdfunding for a commercial project, consider getting a professional videographer who is willing to work pro-bono, or make a video yourself. Focus on telling a compelling story. Keep it under three minutes in length. For personal causes, find heartwarming and emotional photographs, and upload them to your page. The more visuals you have, the better.
Part 2
1
2
Design the layout of your campaign. Have your story outlined (who, what, when, where, why, how) and your video and images in place. Make your explanation clear, simple and to-the-point.
3
4
Make sure you can comply with the estimated delivery date. 70% of campaigns dont deliver on time. Select a date that gives you plenty of time to meet your commitments. New projects often take longer than anticipated.
Part 3
1
Make sure you have a core team of people promoting the campaign for you. Think of crowdfunding as the layers of an onion. Your first layer is family and friends. If they wont donate to you, who will? Your second layer is coworkers (past and present), teammates, business associates, casual acquaintances. Your third layer is the press and general public.
2
Reach out to organizations and workplaces. Some organizations can provide wide networks of potential donors. Make a list of local organizations related to your cause or field. Ask them if theyd be willing to publicize your campaign through their social media.
3
Use the media. If you are doing the campaign on your own, you should draft a standard press release as a template. Personal interviews, however, are more likely to get you coverage. If you use a platform such as mycause.com.au, their publicity team will send your story to the press free of charge. They will work to generate publicity on your behalf.
Part 4
1
Know your goal. If its a commercial venture, you should aim to raise 25% of your funding within 24 hours. If you succeed at that, Indiegogo or Kickstarter might feature you on their homepages. If it's for an individual or a cause, mycause.com.au recommends reaching out to your first two layers of "the onion" (friends, family, coworkers, teammates) in the first 14 days and then going to the general public through the press after that.
2
3
Allow time. Plan on sending updates to your backers and networks throughout the campaign, and also after it has ceased. Don't bombard people with messages, however. They might be tempted to mark them as spam.
Part 5
1
Thank everybody. At the end of your campaign you should be sure to thank everyone who has supported you, and let them know what your future plans are.
How can I find someone to help me start crowd funding?
wikiHow Contributor
If you're crowdfunding for yourself, then just go to one of the internet sites and follow the instructions to set up your request. If you are crowdfunding for a charity, discuss your plans with other volunteers at the charity.
Ask a Question
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Property Crowd Funding – The Magic of Modern Day Investing – HuffPost
As an entrepreneur and global communications specialist, Ive come across a diverse spectrum of investment avenues that are both lucrative and proactive.
However, the world of real estate has always intrigued me. Real estate has been booming around the world, particularly in the UK, with new housing, apartment and condo complexes being built at a phenomenal pace.
This provides a great opportunity for investment when it comes to making your money work for you.
During a recent visit to London, England, I came across an entrepreneur that opened my eyes to the world of Property Crowdfunding.
Abdullah Iqbal, Co-Founder of the Knightsbridge based start-up PropTech Crowd, reveals: Property crowdfunding is a relatively new form of investment which allows multiple investors to come together to invest in specific properties. As each has a small share, the cost of entry is significantly lower than it would be if they decided to invest alone
Belonging to an ethnic Muslim background, I learned that Abdullah joined his father who has been involved in the familys property business for well over three decades.
However, it was during a trip to his native Pakistan that his father thought of introducing an interest-free property crowdfunding model that would also be attractive to the thriving global Muslim community, specifically in the UK.
Abdullah Iqbal, Co-Founder at PropTech Crowd.
While there existed property crowdfunding companies already, Abdullah and his dad saw an obvious vacuum in the market. None of the property crowdfunding platforms were Shariah compliant at the time, due to them being involved with interest. Our motivation was to take the banks out of the equation, enabling investors to have shares and democratising the property market for everyone, while conforming to the Islamic prohibition of interest, emphasises Abdullah.
The companys core mission is to revolutionise property investment through innovative crowdfunding technology, allowing everyday investors to access high-ROI opportunities that they may have been priced out of in the past.
As I learned intriguingly, some of the key benefits of property crowdfunding are:
As an individual with limited finances, I asked how is this relevant to someone, or even beneficial in the short or long run of things?
Abdullah adds, Property crowdfunding is opening up property investment, allowing anyone to access benefits that were previously only available to high-net- worth individuals and asset managers.
When investing in property, one of the biggest facets to look at is obviously ones return on investment.
Would you invest in something with a high return on investment (ROI)? Of course you would. Anyone would! Thats a no-brainer. And Abdullah elaborates, According to the Office for National Statistics, UK house prices have risen by 31%. This is far superior to the return you get from savings accounts.
The model is applicable to both Muslims and Non Muslims. There are no bank involved, no loans with interest, and one receives full voting and financial rights with your investment.
So how is the Shariah compliance is ensured?
I learned that Mufti Abdul Kader, a renowned Islamic scholar and expert in Islamic finance, is a Shariah Compliance Advisor at PropTech Crowd. His duties entail making sure that all elements of the business are Shariah compliant, visibly and consistently.
When I asked Abdullah about ownership as a landlord, I was surprised at the answer. Longer-term investments receive a yield the rent in addition to any capital gains you may receive when the crowd sells the property. You get the benefits of being a landlord without the huge start-up costs and with all of the administration done for you, reveals Abdullah.
Where does the company go from here?
Abdullah smiles gently and replies, Our 5-year vision is for our investors to have access to properties across major global cities. We want to open doors up in various countries for ordinary people to invest and own property anywhere. Owning property shouldnt be difficult and we intend on creating a model that facilitates it in the most effective and beneficial way.
The company is also actively cross-promoting with established platforms such as Ethis Crowd, the Worlds first Islamic Real Estate Crowdfunding platform headquartered in Singapore and Islamic Banker, a marketplace for responsible investments.
He elaborates, The purpose of Crowdfunding is to get together and accomplish something, whether it is a social cause, to support a start-up, or invest in property. As a platform, we find collaboration to be the essence of success. Our motives and vision are very much aligned with Ethis Crowd and Islamic Banker, so it is clear that if there is synergy, we should explore it.
Conclusively, property crowdfunding is an exciting and rewarding method of investing in the property market. Since human beings will always require shelter as a basic necessity regardless of how the economy is the real estate market is incessantly glorious and an ever green form of investment. As an entrepreneur, we are told to think forward.
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Property Crowd Funding - The Magic of Modern Day Investing - HuffPost
Getting Crowdfunding Fundamentals Down to A Science In Advance Of Campaign Key To Success – HuffPost
If I were to start a crowd funding campaign today the first thing I would do is start with a good definition of the word crowdfunding. According to Wikipedia Crowdfundingis the practice of funding a project or venture by raising monetary contributions from a large number of people.
Crowdfundingis a form of crowdsourcing and an alternative method of finance which has gained popularity over the last decade. In 2015, it was estimated that worldwide over US$34 billion was raised this way.
There are a variety donation crowdfunding platforms where individuals can raise capital for their projects. Crowd funding can be executed through mail-order subscriptions, benefit event, and other methods, but the most common method is internet-mediated registries.
The top ten crowdfunding sites are listed on Traffic Rank, and the list is sorted based on independent traffic data found on Alexa an Compete. Currently, Gofundme, Kickstarter, and Indiegogo rank on the top three list.
The top three books on crowdfunding in 2017 are Step-by-Step: Everything you Need to Raise Money in the Crows by Joseph Hogue, CPA, Crowdstart: The Ultimate Guide to Powerful & Profitable Crowdfunding Campaign by Ariel Hyatt, and Fundraising Crash Course: Fundraising Ideas & Strategies to Raise Money for Non-Profits & Business by Arnold Taggert.
Crowdfunding begins with a proposed idea, project to be funded, individuals or groups who support the idea, and building a platform with all of the pertinent information to engage individuals or groups to support the ideal.
Crowdfunding can be used to support for-profit entrepreneurial ventures, social sector projects, community projects, medical expenses, etc.
According to these sources cited crowdfunding websites helped companies and individuals worldwide raise US$89 million from members of the public in 2010, $1.47 billion in 2011, and $2.66 billion in 2012 $1.6 billion of the 2012 amount was raised in North America.[48]In 2012, more than one million individual campaigns were established globally[49]and the industry was projected to grow to US$5.1 billion in 2013.[49]and to reach US$1 trillion in 2025.[50]A May 2014 report, released by the United Kingdom-based The Crowdfunding Centre and titled "The State of the Crowdfunding Nation", presented data showing that during March 2014, more than US $60,000 were raised on an hourly basis via global crowdfunding initiatives. Also during this period, 442 crowdfunding campaigns were launched globally on a daily basis.[21]
Youll also receive an 8-page Crowdfunding Kit that includes:
Successful Crowdfunding takes patience, planning, commitment, creativity and a great offer to individuals and groups looking to support your cause, so make sure you take the time to develop a well thought out campaign and plan of action from beginning to end!
Phil Andrews is the President of the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. an affiliate of the US Black Chambers, Inc. and Past President of the 100 Black Men of Long Island. Mr. Andrews is also the President-Emeritus of the Black Public Relations Society-New York an affiliate chapter of the National Black Public Relations Society. Mr. Andrews has appeared on WABC Here and Now and NBCs Positively Black. Mr. Andrews is a Black Enterprise BE Modern Man.
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Getting Crowdfunding Fundamentals Down to A Science In Advance Of Campaign Key To Success - HuffPost
Dreamhost Crowd-Funding Legal Action Against DOJ – eWeek
Web-hosting company Dreamhost is trying to raise $10,000 to help cover its legal costs in an ongoing fight with the U.S. Department of Justice by using crowd funding site Crowdjustice. Pledges are about a third of the way there as of Aug. 21.
The fight stems from a demand by the DoJ that Dreamhost turn over about 1.3 million visitor records--including IP addresses, full contact information, emails, photos and even server logs--as they pertain to Disruptj20.org, a site that planned to hold protests and otherwise cause disruptions during the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the U.S.
Protests on Inauguration Day turned violent, and about 200 people eventually were indicted for rioting. The Justice Department began requesting records for users suspected of being involved in the rioting, and initially Dreamhost complied with the requests for information. However, the DoJ issued far broader demands in a search warrant on July 12, 2017, that demanded all records including all files, databases and database records stored by Dreamhost as they relate to the Disruptj20 site.
DoJ Demands Detailed Information on Content of Email
The information the DoJ demanded included extremely detailed and personal information, including the contents of emails belonging to users of the site, credit card information and any domains that may have been registered by visitors to the site. The demand included all source code from JavaScript, all HTML code and all communication logs.
Dreamhost has declined to provide the information demanded by the DoJ, saying that the warrant is overly broad and as a result violates the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which forbids unreasonable search and seizure. Dreamhost is also saying that the demands may also violate the First Amendment because of the chilling effect they may have on free speech as regard to political protest.
Supporting Dreamhost in its legal battle are TechFreedom, a non-partisan technology policy think tank, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy advocacy group. Both groups say that the Justice Department demands are far too broad and are specifically forbidden by the Fourth Amendment.
The founders outlawed general warrants precisely to prevent governments from harassing their political opponents en masse, said Berin Szka, president of TechFreedom, in a statement on the organizations website. If the DOJ can unmask over a million internet users simply for visiting a website, without any further alleged connection to criminal activity, then no American is safe to use the internet to access dissident speech. The fear of being unmaskedand be subjected to harassment, or far worsewill chill the speech of millions more.
EFF: DoJ Making Unconstitutional Demands
Mark Rumold, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said that the Justice Department is making an unconstitutional demand in its investigations of the January riots. He said that such a warrant would bring anyone who ever visited the site into the investigation, regardless of why they were there or whether they had any part in the attempt to disrupt the inauguration.
No plausible explanation exists for a search warrant of this breadth, other than to cast a digital dragnet as broadly as possible, Rumold said in a statement on the EFF website. But the Fourth Amendment was designed to prohibit fishing expeditions like this. Those concerns are especially relevant here, where DOJ is investigating a website that served as a hub for the planning and exercise of First Amendment-protected activities.
Yet, its not clear that the federal courts will agree. For years, investigators have used a two-stage process for investigating digital crimes. Those two stages are first, seizing all computer equipment suspected of having information needed by investigators; the second stage is performing a forensics search of the seized computers. Courts have routinely upheld such searches, because theres no good way to find the data needed except by getting it from the storage on the computer.
The procedure there is to hold on to the computer for as long as it takes to get the evidence, even if it takes months. The difference with Dreamhost is that the DoJ isnt asking for the computers and storage, but rather asking the company to get the information itself and pass it along to the government.
Dreamhost Not Suspected of Wrongdoing, Just Hosting
The difference is primarily one of procedure, and it has the advantage to Dreamhost of not having its servers and storage physically removed from its control. But the question then becomes whether theres a difference from the government taking the equipment or asking Dreamhost to keep the equipment and provide the data.
The other difference in this is Dreamhost isnt suspected of any wrongdoing, but rather of hosting a group thats suspected of doing wrong. Its like the owner of an apartment building being required to allow a warrant to be served on a single apartment, rather than searching the entire building. Here, Dreamhost is being asked for the contents of a single customer website, not for the contents of all sites that Dreamhost has.
Those differences may be subtle, but they could make all the difference when the Dreamhost case goes before the judge in Washington on Aug. 24. Whether Dreamhosts arguments are compelling remains to be seen.
Its also not clear whether the crowd-funding effort will raise enough money to support the appeals that are the almost certainly the next step.
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Dreamhost Crowd-Funding Legal Action Against DOJ - eWeek
Buy a share in a brewery: Pozible launches equity crowd-funding site Birchal – The Sydney Morning Herald
Dan Norris wants to turn the drinkers of his beers into investors in his brewery.
The co-founder of Black Hops Brewingis keen to use equity crowd-funding platform Birchalto raise further funds for his business.
"The sort of business we are in requires a lot of money to do what we do," he says. "Any sort of expansion to build a new brewery costs in the millions of dollars. As an entrepreneur I have always struggled to get people to invest in what I'm doing, the banks are really hard work and raising capital is really difficult, you often have to be an expert yourself."
Norris wants Black Hops Brewingto be one of the early businesses listed on equity crowd-funding platform Birchal, which launched in Melbourne on Tuesdaynight.
The platform is being spun out ofAustralian rewards-based crowd-funding platform Pozible and is founded byPozible co-founder and chief executive Alan Crabbe and former Ashurst lawyerMatt Vitale.
Birchal will be applying to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission for anewly created "crowd-funding service"licence.
From September 29 unlisted public companies with annual turnover and gross assets of up to $25 million will be able to issue shares to the public.
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This will enable retail or so-called "mum and dad" investors to take equity in small businesses and Birchal aims to provide a platform for this.
Crabbeand his team have spent over a year, under$500,000 plus "a lot of sweat equity", building the platform which will be open for early access from Wednesday and should have the first company profiles available within a month.
Crabbe says there are two majorbenefits for businesses undertaking equity crowd funding.
"Firstlyyou are building a very loyal customer base and secondly if you look at these consumer brands that are verysuccessfulthey are able to build a community of ambassadors and that creates word of mouth and foreveryconsumer brand that is very valuable."
Crabbe says there is a bigopportunityfor consumer brands and consumer businessesin Australia to leverage global trends.
We have people coming to the bar and asking about it, they come in and want to invest but they don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars so this sounds perfect.
"We are seeing consumer brands aregrowingas fast, if not faster than technology companies globally," he says."I think this is a space that tends to getoverlookedand tech companieseven like ourselves tend to get the spotlight."
Crabbe points to brewer BrewDog in the UK which was an early adopter of the equity crowd-funding model and was recently valued at over 1 billion.
For investors, Crabbe says the attraction is getting in early.
"They getaccess toearly stage businesses as generally retail investorsdon'tget access to these companies until they are at IPO stage."
Crabbe says interested businesses can register on Birchal and set up a company profile with basic details of what the business does and the product and services it offers. Companies can create an online pitch for equity or reward-based funding.
"When the legislation comes into effect on 29 September thesecompanieswill be able to run a campaign to either getexpressionsofinterestto raise funds or raise a round of investment," he says.
Birchalwill take a 5.75 per centsuccess fee on successfulraises and hopes to enable investors to invest as little as $100.
"With every raise there will be a minimum you have to raise and also a time frame inthe same wayPozibleoperates with an all-or-nothingmodel," Crabbe says.
Crabbepredicts within three years equity crowd funding will attract $100 million a year.
But he acknowledges it's not all upside.
"Of course these businesses are typically high risk, they are usually fast-growing scale operationsand generally the foundersmay have less experience than some of the bigger companies," he says."There is potentially a higher risk for investors."
Norris has just closed a funding round of $400,000 to expand Black Hops Brewing and says equity crowd funding would have provided a great source for this money if it was available.
Black Hops Brewing is three years old with five full-time staff andturnover of around $1 million a year.
"We have people coming to the bar and asking about it, they come in and want to invest but they don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars so this sounds perfect," says Norris. "We are at capacity at the moment, all the tanks are full and we have to expand to keep growing. I think it's a model that's going to bereallyinteresting in Australia."
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Buy a share in a brewery: Pozible launches equity crowd-funding site Birchal - The Sydney Morning Herald
Woman who contracted E.Coli returns home from Turkey after crowd funding appeal – Glasgow Live
A teacher stuck in a Turkish hospital after contracting E.coli has been flown back to the UK after a crowd-funding appeal raised more than 32,000 to bring her home.
Caroline Hope, who has been living in Turkey for four years, picked up the potentially deadly infection during surgery to treat advanced colon cancer last month.
The 37-year-old English teacher had decided to return home to Scotland after receiving her cancer diagnosis in January but complications from the surgery left her fighting for her life in Medical Park Hospital in Izmir, Turkey.
Desperate to bring her home, her family and friends raised more than 31,000 through a crowdfunding campaign to pay for a private medical evacuation, as there are strict rules around repatriations for medical reasons.
She was flown to Glasgow on an IAS medical air ambulance on Saturday, landing just before 7pm.
Her brother Scott Hope, who was with her in Turkey, said: "It has been a very emotional day today. Caroline was relieved and so happy this morning, she kept asking when the plane was coming and we had to keep saying we're just waiting for it to land.
"We were absolutely overwhelmed by the crowdfunding campaign, within two and a half days we had completely smashed our target of what we had hoped to get.
"The way everyone came together around the work to send love and support and best wishes was unbelievable."
Ms Hope has been taken by ambulance to hospital in Glasgow where her condition will be evaluated.
Mr Hope, who has remained in Turkey to sort out his sister's affairs, said his mother was waiting for her at the hospital.
His wife Pauline, who lives in South Africa, said the family were relieved that her sister-in-law has returned to Scotland and are grateful to those who supported the crowd-funding appeal.
She said: "It's just an amazing, overwhelming feeling. It's just been a really tough couple of months.
"She was very excited to be going back to Glasgow and to have her friends and family around to support her.
"Scotland is the most incredible nation. We were just very lucky to have the support that we got."
In a message on the JustGiving crowdfunding page, Ms Hope's friend Bella Shek wrote: "Thank you so, so, so, so much to everyone who has donated to get Caroline home.
"On behalf of Caroline, her family and all her friends, the support from all of you and the general public, many of whom have never met Caroline before has been truly overwhelming."
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Woman who contracted E.Coli returns home from Turkey after crowd funding appeal - Glasgow Live