Category

Finance

All merchants deal with finance — borrowing money, raising equity, dealing with banks, and selling (or buying) a business. We address all those topics, plus U.S. regulatory changes, financial technology, earnings of public ecommerce companies, and more.

Finance
8 Successful Ecommerce Startups Founded by Females

September 13, 2018 • Marcia Kaplan

Despite the fact that startups with all female founders receive only 2 percent of total venture capital investments, tenacious women are still achieving success in ecommerce. Here is a list of eight successful ecommerce companies that were founded by women.
Finance
Does Dual-class Stock Hurt Independent Investors?

August 16, 2018 • Marcia Kaplan

If you think buying stock in a public company guarantees you some input into how the company operates and who is elected to the board, you may be mistaken. Thanks ...
Finance
Why Wall Street Loves Amazon, Not Facebook

August 2, 2018 • Marcia Kaplan

Wall Street has always been kind to Amazon, waiting patiently for many years for the company to become profitable. Facebook used to be a Wall Street favorite but never to the same extent as Amazon. Facebook's second quarter financial results were not what rattled analysts.
Finance
ICOs Are the Newest Form of Alternative Funding

March 28, 2018 • Marcia Kaplan

If words like cryptocurrency, cryptocoin, Bitcoin, and blockchain befuddle you, you're not alone. Even the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is having a hard time keeping up with all the new alternative funding mechanisms. The latest funding craze is an Initial Coin Offering, an "ICO," which is a new form of crowdfunding using cryptocurrency.
Finance
11 Mistakes to Avoid When Seeking Business Financing

December 14, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

Obtaining funding for your business, whether it’s new or established, can be grueling and frustrating. Success is not a certainty. But you can increase your chances of securing funds if ...
Finance
17 Cryptocurrency Plugins for WordPress

December 11, 2017 • Sig Ueland

Cryptocurrencies have garnered much attention recently off of Bitcoin's meteoric rise in value — currently around $15,000. The Chicago Board Options Exchange has even launched futures contracts on Bitcoin for investors to bet on the currency’s rise and fall. While Bitcoin's volatility won’t necessarily attract users, cryptocurrencies offer low-cost peer-to-peer aspects that should be appealing to both merchants and consumers.
Finance
Sales Report: 2017 Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday

November 30, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

Robust growth marked holiday ecommerce revenue on 2017 Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, bringing some much-needed cheer to nervous merchants. With sellers starting discounts earlier and extending them ...
Finance
How Does Fintech Affect Ecommerce?

October 19, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

Fintech is the practice of applying technology to the financial services sector. Traditional financial institutions utilize it mainly to manage accounting and other back-office services. More recently, thanks to advances ...
Finance
Has Crowdfunding from Ordinary Investors Been Successful?

May 1, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

May 2017 marks the one-year anniversary of the implementation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of Regulation CF crowdfunding for non-accredited investors. Some observers believe it is a disaster while ...
Finance
2016 Holiday Ecommerce Wrap-up

January 12, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

Despite concerns that political turmoil would dampen holiday spending, ecommerce sales made a strong showing in 2016. Even with a sluggish November start, revenues increased by 11 percent over 2015,
Finance
Ecommerce Companies Sought-after Acquisition Targets

December 22, 2016 • Marcia Kaplan

2016 was a tough year for initial public offerings of venture-capital-backed ecommerce companies. However, it was a year of notable acquisitions of ecommerce companies by large retail chains and consumer ...
Finance
Sales Report: 2016 Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday

December 1, 2016 • Marcia Kaplan

Amidst concerns that election results would dampen November holiday spending, consumers expressed confidence in the economy by spending a total of $12.8 billion online in the U.S. during the five-day ...
Finance
Equity Crowdfunding Investments Open for Everyone

July 13, 2016 • Marcia Kaplan

It took four years after President Obama signed the JOBS Act, but the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission finally allows businesses to solicit people who are not considered wealthy to ...
Finance
Will LinkedIn Change after Microsoft Purchase?

June 15, 2016 • Marcia Kaplan

On Monday Microsoft announced that it is acquiring LinkedIn — the social media site for business professionals — for $26.2 billion in a cash deal, its biggest acquisition ever. The ...
Finance
6 Alternative Funding Resources for Ecommerce Businesses

April 13, 2016 • Marcia Kaplan

Small businesses often struggle to find affordable funds to keep their businesses running. Online lending solutions offer an alternative to conventional bank loans with the advantages of a much shorter ...
Finance
Sales Report: 2015 Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday

December 2, 2015 • Marcia Kaplan

Who won the November 2015 holiday sales battle? Online merchants. Shoppers opted to buy online rather than fight the crowds in brick-and-mortar stores. Brick-and-mortar sales on Thanksgiving Day dropped to $1.8
Finance
Equity Crowdfunding Rules Are Finally Set

November 10, 2015 • Marcia Kaplan

Three years after legislation passed, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has finally approved final regulations that will implement equity crowdfunding. In the intervening period, many variations of crowdfunding have ...
Finance
Ecommerce Attracts Investors, Becomes More International

August 6, 2015 • Marcia Kaplan

Ecommerce continues to be a favored investment for venture capitalists — with a strong showing in the second quarter of 2015. While in the past American ecommerce firms were the ...
Finance
Shopify IPO to Value Company at $1 Billion

May 4, 2015 • Marcia Kaplan

Canadian-based ecommerce platform provider Shopify filed for an IPO in the United States and Canada last month hoping to raise $100 million. The valuation is expected to come in at ...
Finance
13 New Equity Crowdfunding Success Stories, for Ecommerce

April 16, 2015 • Sig Ueland

It’s been three years since the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act was signed into law. Currently, Title II is in effect, allowing small businesses to solicit investments from accredited ...
Finance
Can Etsy Keep Artistic Roots with IPO?

March 11, 2015 • Marcia Kaplan

Etsy, the online marketplace that offers artists, crafters, and vintage collectors a venue to sell their goods, filed for an initial public offering earlier this month. The company plans to ...
Finance
Black Friday and Cyber Monday Losing Mojo?

December 3, 2014 • Marcia Kaplan

Although Cyber Monday and Black Friday online sales both broke records, analysts are seeing signs that the two big shopping days are losing some punch. Forrester Research ecommerce analyst Sucharita ...
Finance
10 Ways to Finance Your Ecommerce Business

October 9, 2014 • Marcia Kaplan

It has always been a challenge for small businesses to get financing. Circumstances worsened when banks tightened their lending criteria five years ago. Most banks lend only to businesses with ...
Finance
Alibaba’s IPO to Impact U.S. Ecommerce?

September 22, 2014 • Marcia Kaplan

The much-anticipated Alibaba IPO closed last Friday with shares initially priced at $68. Once trading got under way, the price of a share rose to $93. Demand was so strong ...
Finance
Berkery Noyes Exec on State of Ecommerce Mergers, Acquisitions

August 8, 2014 • PEC Staff

Every day, it seems, we read of an Internet-based company acquiring another one, or raising capital, or expanding into a new segment. Mergers and acquisitions for Internet companies are booming.
Finance
13 Notable Ecommerce IPOs for 2014

June 16, 2014 • Sig Ueland

Ecommerce companies have been getting recent attention for their initial public offerings (IPOs). Alibaba Group Holding, China’s ecommerce giant, plans to go public in what could be the biggest tech ...
Finance
Intrastate Crowdfunding: Financing Option for Small Businesses

June 11, 2014 • Marcia Kaplan

Tired of waiting for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to issue final regulations for equity crowdfunding, several states have passed legislation enabling crowdfunding within their borders. Several more states ...
Finance
18 Ecommerce Crowdfunding Success Stories

April 21, 2014 • Sig Ueland

In “9 Equity Crowdfunding Sites to Finance your Business,” my article last week, I outlined leading crowdfunding sites that offer equity stakes in startups and small businesses. As a result ...
Finance
9 Equity Crowdfunding Sites to Finance your Business

April 14, 2014 • Sig Ueland

Thanks to the JOBS Act, startups and small businesses can now publicly raise equity funding via online crowdfunding sites. In September 2013, Title II of the JOBS Act went into ...
Finance
Ecommerce Companies Raise Funds with New Approach

April 9, 2014 • Marcia Kaplan

Will equity crowdfunding ever become a reality? This alternative to the usual financing mechanisms became legal two years ago when Congress passed the Jobs Act in April 2012. However, the ...

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