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Startups raising/Investors investing
European p2p lender, Auxmoney raises Series D from Seven Ventures (
p2p banking)
Seven Ventures along with Index Ventures, Union Square Ventures and Foundation Capital invested a double digit million Euro amount. Seven Ventures is the investment arm of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, which operates large TV channels in Germany.
Auxmoney trippled loan volume in 2015 compared to 2014. As of January 31st, 2016, according to numbers on file with P2P-Banking.com, the company had originated 441 million EUR in loans since launch, with a monthly loan origination volume of 10.6M for the last month on file (January 2016).
Blockchain-powered loyalty and rewards co, Ribbit.me raises $1.5m (
Finextra)
Ribbit.me has built the a universal platform for the loyalty and rewards industry using blockchain and smart contract technology. Currently, program operators such as airlines or hotels, are faced with high operational costs and outdated processes, resulting in a poor customer experience.
Fintech investor: Entrepreneurs need to "smell the weeds" (
Fintech Junkie)
QED Investors Frank Rotman explains why certain innovations within finance need to come from people with a deep, deep understanding of the pain points in the industry.
At 50,000 feet you can’t spot a weed in a garden. At 500 feet you might be able to identify that there are weeds in the garden. When you’re on your hands and knees crawling in the garden you can identify every type of weed and one-by-one pick them, pull them or (gasp) even smell them.
The Startups: Who's shaking things up
Designed for women, Spiff introduces its social savings service (
Finovate)
Spiff is a “simple and fun” savings service designed with women in mind. Founder and CEO Carl Wessmann credits the women in his life for helping him understand the importance of savings, and he’s returned the favor with a new technology that “helps connect money with what it can accomplish” for users and their loved ones.
OnDeck Capital: Highly misunderstood company, stock (
Seeking Alpha)
The general consensus following the Q4 earnings report was that OnDeck Capital (NYSE:ONDK) provided weak guidance for Q1. The market though appears highly confused regarding the shifting revenues from the marketplace.
The stock collapsed last week and still trades near all-time lows. The small business, online lender trades at only $6.80 after peaking above $28 right after the IPO at the end of 2014. With a market value below $500 million, is the market wildly mispricing this growth stock?
Checkbook lets you email anyone a digital check and deposit it free (
TechCrunch)
The startup today launches its digital check service where you can send anyone a check with just their email address, and they can deposit it immediately online to get their money or even print it out. What’s old is new?
Singapore's UOB partners with Israeli crowdfunding platform (
Reuters)
Singapore’s United Overseas Bank said it would invest $10 million in Israel-headquartered crowdfunding platform OurCrowd as part of the companies’ collaboration to help Asian startups raise equity funds. UOB said the deal would allow accredited investors among its clients invest in OurCrowd’s portfolio companies.
Blockchain firm, Digital Asset Holdings names Sallie Krawcheck to board (
American Banker)
The blockchain startup Digital Asset Holdings has added Sallie Krawcheck to its board. Krawcheck, former chief executive of Bank of America Wealth Management, is the latest financial industry veteran to join Digital Asset’s board. The New York company has also appointed Sanoke Viswanathan, chief administrative officer of JPMorgan Chase’s corporate and investment banking division, and Catherine Flax, head of commodity derivatives and foreign exchange with the BNP Paribas’ Americas division.
