Editor's Note: You rely on Crowdability to bring you the very best equity crowdfunding deals each week. Now, rely on us to share the most up-to-date news, trends and opinion. This is the stuff you won’t read in the mainstream press, and the stuff that will keep you on the leading edge of the early-stage investing community. We publish “This Week’s Best Reading” every Friday at 8:00 AM Eastern.
This Week’s Best Reading
Eye-Opening Infographic: VC Activity in Q1
VC’s invested more capital last quarter than they’ve ever invested before – but there are a few other surprises as well. See what they are.
Facebook and Oculus: The Outrage that Shouldn’t Be
There’s a lot of anger by and on behalf of early investors in Oculus, as we showed youearlier this week. But a counter-point is gaining steam. See if you agree.
In Equity Crowdfunding, The Redcoats are Winning!
Crowdfunding is starting to deliver on its massive promise, but unfortunately the United States is behind the eight ball on this one. Read more here.
Equity Crowdfunding to WhatsApp: We Got Your Message
The staggering $19 billion price tag for an instant messaging company was a clear reminder of the power of networks. Read more.
Crowdfunding’s Next Hot Frontier: Real Estate
Crowdfunding has disrupted how artists fund their creative projects, and how startups raise capital to grow. Now, it’s changing the way buildings are purchased. Read more here.
It seems it’s 1999 all over again: since the successful listing last November of Twitter, young technology companies have been lining up to go public. But will quantity become quality?
What do Failed Start-ups Have in Common?
The second-biggest determinant of start-up failure is that no one asked potential customers if they’d use the product. But what’s the #1 biggest factor? Find out here.
Randy Komisar of Kleiner Perkins Caulfield Byers says that if we judge people strictly on their ability to execute on “Plan A,” we’ll miss out on some of the greatest start-up success stories. An amazing talk and a must-see for founders and early-stage investors alike. Watch it here.
3 Successful Start-ups that Built Products for Gmail
By figuring out how to engineer solutions for the mega-platform, Gmail, each of these companies engineered a successful exit. Read about it here.
Marc Andreessen Unleashes Tweet-storm
The Silicon Valley VC – a seminal figure in the tech world and prolific Tweeter – even manages to take a stab at Warren Buffett. See what he said.