Netherlands based Symbid Corporation, a crowdfunding platform that helps private investors, SME-entrepreneurs and start-ups come together in a secure ecosystem, has announced it has become publicly listed on the OTC Markets 
exchange under symbol SBID. The company stated it was using the to accelerate the roll-out of their platform’s services across Europe and the United States.
Equity based crowdfunding for accredited investors commenced in 2013 and it is expected to become allowed for non-accredited investors in the near future.
“As a leader in equity crowdfunding, Symbid believes this to be the perfect time to enter the US market with the JOBS act in law,” said Korstiaan Zandvliet, Chief Executive Officer of Symbid Corporation. “The essence of the JOBS Act, the essence of crowdfunding, is the democratization of the world’s financial system. The assessment and preference of the crowd that decides to invest based on an entrepreneur’s ability to perform and deliver, allows funding to conquer the limitations of our current financial system. The JOBS Act was created to allow access to capital by those who have been denied it in the past, contributing to an immense entrepreneurial and financial freedom. We look forward to expanding our platform through Europe and introducing it to the US crowdfunding marketplace.”
Through the platform and Symbid Groups, Symbid connects a diverse network of investors comprising over 18,000 European investors that have funded 30 companies for a total of € 3 million (USD 4.127 million). Entrepreneurs use Symbid to obtain business growth funding from the crowd in exchange for an equity stake in their company. Investors can participate with a minimum investment of as little as $25, and become shareholders in start-up companies or small and medium enterprise (“SME”) companies in need of capital. The crowdfunding platform enables investors to easily invest in a selection of companies as well as communicate directly with the company and other investors. The companies and business plans have been tested, and the entrepreneurs follow a coached trajectory that prepares them for their financial funding round.
Symbid Delivers Fully-Equipped Equity Funding Ecosystem:
Over the last four years, the Symbid team has engaged in the development of a rapidly emerging industry throughout Europe: Equity-Based Crowdfunding. What was once considered a groundswell approach for the funding of creative projects and an easy way to collect online donations, has evolved into a new method for venture funding.
Unlike many of the crowdfunding platforms, Symbid is an established, revenue producing company that is currently active and growing rapidly in Europe. The Symbid platform, which was officially launched in the beginning of 2011, took several years to unroll before resulting in a crowdfunding ecosystem delivering a diversified revenue stream through sales of valuation software (Equidam.com), on-going education programs for accountants, licensed white label solutions, and crowdfunding fees. Symbid and its affiliated companies, Gambitious B.V. and Equidam Holding B.V., provide a complete crowdfunding ecosystem that educates entrepreneurs, provides company valuations, raises capital, and allows a peer-to-peer secondary market.
The Symbid management team includes industry leaders Korstiaan Zandvliet and Robin Slakhorst. Symbid’s platform claims to be one of the most robust in the field boasting a banking grade back-end system. Additionally, the financial streams on Symbid platforms are governed by a European banking license. Symbid’s legal and fiscal structure has been in development for more than two years and continues to be tested and further built up in coordination with international professionals such as BDO Netherlands and AKD Legal Services.
Additionally, Symbid is co-founder and council member of the CAPS initiative; an accreditation standard for crowdfunding platforms. In Europe, Symbid is a founding member of the European Crowdfunding Network and the founding entrepreneurs are members of the Advisory Board of the European Commission that aims to structurally improve small and medium sized business funding.
Major angel investors in the company include financial professionals from the United States and Europe, as well as the Dutch based investment firm Soops Investments. BDO Netherlands was a significant contributor to Symbid and served as an advisor to complete the US listing.