Switzerland

Extreme Crowdinvesting Experiment – How I invested in a Startup that had no Idea

wiseclerk

Roughly a year ago I came across an idea that sounded extreme. There was a crowdfunding pitch for a startup that had no team and no idea. What? Well the idea was that the startup once founded would use the ‘Design Thinking’ method to develop the idea and the business model in the first months after funding and company foundation. The pitch was for 100,000 CHF. It had a strange appeal to me, so I invested a small amount. The pitch did fully fun and 4 applicants – students of the university of St. Gallen, Switzerland – were recruited as founders and off they went. The founders are not paid a salary but compensated in shares for their work.

Soon the appropriately named ‘ Design Thinking Startup AG’ was incorporated.

One year of development

As investor I received nearly weekly updates newsletter-style on what the team was currently up to. Through 38 of these reports I was fascinated by successes, drawbacks, ideas and lots of work done. Initially the team sought idea and coaching, used the Design Thinking method to identify problems (needfinding) and did market research. Finally around week 11 one of the ideas substantiated into the idea that was developed.

In between there were events for investors and shareholder meetings approving the decisions proposed by the team.

Then a prototype was built, a development company contracted, the team moved office to Zurich and a second funding round was raised (again through crowdinvesting). During the last weeks the product was presented, tested and finalized in a closed beta.

The result

Last Friday Stablish.me went live. Stablish.me has set itself the goal to redefine the résumé. Further, the company aims to replace it through it’s social endorsement network in the
long term. Continue reading →

P2P Lending Sites in Europe

wiseclerk 3 Comments

Visualizations are great to show data that would otherwise just be a long list. I decided to create a map of the p2p lending landscape in Europe. It shows active and discontinued p2p lending services in Europe (including p2p microfinance). Not listed are sites that are in pre-launch stage. All of these marketplaces have been featured earlier in the P2P-Banking.com blog. If you want more information about any of them just enter the name in the search box on the top right of this blog.

Notice to other websites: You are free to copy and use this map, provided you agree not to alter or resize the image and you will set a link to this article.

Notice to p2p lending sites: If you want to be included in a future version of this map, contact me to learn how.

Cashare Plans To Use Digital Signatures in P2P Lending Process

wiseclerk 7 Comments

In Switzerland P2P Lending Service Cashare announced that it plans to be one of the web service pioneering the use of SuisseID a digital signature. Documents signed with this digital signature are as binding as a conventional signature on paper.

Opportunities for P2P Lending

Several European countries (e.g. Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium) have enacted laws that equate digital signatures with conventional signatures.

P2P Lending can use digital signatures to

  • validate the identity (and depending on the signature card the address) of users
  • automate processes that otherwise would require a signature on paper and enable paperless process chains.

Studienaktie – P2P Student Loans with a Twist

wiseclerk

Studienaktie.org is a Swiss non profit association offering p2p lending to students. The name translates to student share and is rather fitting, since the concept literally allows the investor to invest in a student and profit from his career development. Unlike with other p2p lending platforms for students,  investors do not really give a loan, but rather buy a share offered by the student.

An example illustrates how this works out. A student might offer to sell you a share for 100 CHF (approx 97 US$) now while in return promising to pay you 0.25% of the annual salary he will earn in 2017. Meaning if his salary will be 80,000 CHF in 2017 the investor will be repaid 200 CHF for his share then.

So this is really a bet of the investor on the students career chances.  To help on the selection investors can browse anonymous dossiers of the students and contact them. Chances for a positive ROI a probably good since Studienaktie originated at the university of St. Gallen, which has an elite reputation. Studienaktie is open to students of other universities, too.

The contract is signed directly between investor and student and the payment is directly facilitated between the 2 parties. Studienaktie only provides the platform. Investors pay a yearly membership fee of 100 CHF to participate.

The aim of the non-profit organisation is to enable more and better education.

Swiss Private Banker: P2P Lending a Threat to Bank Balance Sheets

wiseclerk

In an video interview in June, Konrad Hummler, managing partner at Swiss Bank Wegelin & Co, states how he sees p2p lending as a threat to banks.
P2P lending services could replace vital functions of banks. He says government influenced major banks are to inefficient. Established institutions will use calls for regulation to protect their business against newcomers.

(The interview is in German language)

Review of peer to peer lending developments in 2008

wiseclerk 3 Comments

As the end of 2008 approaches here is a look back on the highlights of peer to peer lending news in 2008: