Entrepreneur Barry Rickert has created Lendingclouds.com, which is believed to be the first Crowdfunding website that is actually doing business legally. The model is unique because it combines a royalty-based, crowdfunding investment club and small business financing in a way that eliminates many of the obstacles that have previously left both small business owners and investors leery. The system provides exclusive investment opportunities to members who bring as little as $100 to the table, allowing members to spread their funds amongst many different royalty-based investments that begin making payments back to investors within 60 to 90 days.
Not every entrepreneur is sitting around waiting on the Securities and Exchange Commission to finalize the rules on equity-based crowdfunding. Barry Rickert, Founder and President of Lendingclouds.com and a 40-year veteran of private equity investing, has launched a royalty-based, crowdfunding investment club web portal that is a marketplace for the mutual benefit of small businesses and investors. LendingClouds.com is believed to be the first Crowdfunding website that is actually doing business legally.
Rickert has managed to eliminate many of the obstacles that have previously left both small business owners and investors leery. The combination of royalty based small business financing offers no debt and no personal guarantees to small business that need capital to grow, while at the same time giving investors access to high yield investments that pay immediate income. It’s really quite ingenious. The members only, online Crowdfunding Investment store brings together entrepreneurs and investors in a unique manner designed to benefit both. The funding group provides exclusive investment opportunities to members who bring as little as $100 to the table. Lending Clouds does this by accepting applications from entrepreneurs, which once approved, are offered to investors.
Investor members participate in what is known as crowdfunding. Rickert’s form of crowdfunding is focused on pooling resources to invest funds in new businesses, products and ideas that provide royalty based returns. Members are able to spread their funds amongst many different investments, which lessens their risk. Returns of 25%+ are expected on successful ventures. In 20 years, this can result in a $5,000 investment paying $1 million.
“We’re looking forward to working we people who have never invested before,” says Lending Clouds President, Barry Rickert, “and who may have a few hundred dollars or more to put towards various projects and products. There are a few unique aspects to Lending Clouds and crowdfunding, which makes us especially attractive to investors and entrepreneurs.” Rickert adds, “Unlike the stock market, investors don’t need a lot of money, and they start to see payments come back to them within 60 to 90 days.”
Members have access to exclusive listings posted on the Lending Clouds online store. They may read through the various opportunities and decide to put money in one or more projects. Once all funding is in place, an Investment Club is created as the vehicle for making the group investment. The club money is released to the user/grantee (entrepreneur) in return for a royalty agreement that details the product or service to be sold and the royalty to be paid over the term of the agreement. Investors start to receive payments as per the agreement between the user/grantee and grantor/investor usually within 30-90 days.
Rickert notes, “The opportunities we are providing investors with are easier to understand than stock offerings, with terms explicitly stated. Our investment opportunities are for expansion and growth with entities that are already established and familiar to our investors. This also helps to lessen risk.” He observes, “Grantees are looking for as little as $25,000 and as much as $2 million, with the average fund being capitalized at about $100,000. An investor can put as little as $100 into a fund."
Crowdfunding is considered to be attractive to both investors and entrepreneurs. Investors are seldom able to buy into Wall Street IPOs at their initial offering prices and those who wish to raise funds publicly must pay millions in fees to banks, brokers and attorneys. Lending Clouds has simplified the process, focused investment opportunities and created a method for distributing the risk and providing an early profit stream.
As part of Rickert’s lean startup strategy, he is giving away a significant number of $100 credits to new members, with no strings attached. About the only catch (if you can call it a catch) is that investors must pick an investment that gets funded. However, if it doesn’t, they’re free to use the funds to pick another investment. Rickert also states that while the offerings are very small today, he has some million dollar deals in the pipeline.
The company has also announced that it is now seeking and taking applications from those seeking funding and those wanting to invest.
About the company:
Lending Clouds (http://Lendingclouds.com), a Lending Clouds, Inc. company which connects entrepreneurs with investors in order to help new and established companies grow and investors realize a profit. Utilizing the concept of crowdfunding, which is designed to lessen risk for investors, and structured and royalty payments, which offers investors income returns quickly, Lending Clouds has defined itself as an innovative enterprise devoted to the fiscal health of businesses and those investing in them. Both entrepreneurs/grantees and investors/grantors are welcome and encouraged to contact Lending Clouds to discuss opportunities.
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