For those of us who are fortunate enough to be considered an “Accredited Investor”, crowdfunding is available today. In fact Private Placements or Regulation D offerings have been around for quite some time. It is just with the internet and a vibrant interest in crowdfunding that platforms facilitating these private placements have come to the forefront.
In a recent comment there was a statement that in the United States there are 8.6 Million Accredited investors but only 3% are actively funding start ups or small businesses. This follows the thesis regarding the inefficiency in allocation of resources to companies, which have merit, as they struggle to raise capital to fund their business venture.
There is also a preponderance of angel investors and venture capitalists in specific communities. This creates super centers for business formation but may exclude other parts of the country. There is only one silicon valley but that does not mean that start ups cannot grow in other cities or states where initiative and the entrepreneurial spirit is supported. Crowdfunding of all kinds can allow start ups to raise capital regardless of artificial geographic boundaries.
And what exactly is an accredited investor? You may find a brief description here. But just having the financial resources does not make one willing to invest in risky start ups. These new portals are designed to engage and encourage accredited investors to not only finance a growing business but to support the American dream.
Below are some of these US based accredited, crowdfunding portals which are disrupting venture capital and funding start ups now.
AngelFund
AngelFund lets its members who are accredited investors crowd invest in startup companies through an investment typically ranging from $500 – $50k. Investors can screen companies and make investments directly through AngelFund into interested startups, reviewing and signing all legal documents online.
AngelFund works with angels, angel networks and accelerators to select startups that will be listed on AngelFund. AngelFund has designed a safe and secure process on how the selection of startups is done. Only a very small fraction of startups submitted, will be presented to AngelFund members for investment.AngelFund has an Investment Committee to select, screen and choose the investments listed on the site.The current Investment Committee is composed of venture capital leaders, as they key objective is to make sure the investments AngelFund prepares to its members, are fundable to their next stage of investment, the Venture Round (as that is where everyone wins).
Fundable
Fundable.com is a crowdfunding platform focused exclusively on startup companies. They claim to be the first platform to support rewards-based and equity-based funding. Startups present their business ideas on the Fundable platform to raise money from interested Backers. Entrepreneurs use Fundable’s platform and tools to facilitate their raise. Companies must apply to be accepted onto the Fundable platform. Each company creates a profile including a pitch video, explanation of goals, and target amount of fundraise. A completed fundraise must meet or exceed its stated goals or no funds are collected
from the backers.
CircleUp
For years, CircleUp saw passionate consumer entrepreneurs struggle to find the support they needed to grow their brand—to hire more employees, produce more product, and share their dream with more consumers. Consumer companies were often forced to reach out to friends and family—a long and often awkward process. At the same time, we saw investors that were passionate about these high-growth consumer product and retail companies, but didn’t know how to get in touch with the entrepreneurs. They created CircleUp to make this process more efficient. CircleUp believes that great entrepreneurs deserve funding from passionate investors and technology allows for accredited investors to find, vet, and invest in companies in a new way.
ConfidentCrowd
ConfidentCrowd is an equity crowdfunding platform whose sponsoring members consist
exclusively of FINRA-registered broker-dealers. In an environment that shows failure rates of startups and early-stage companies as high as 90%, FINRA-member firms are best positioned to screen and structure these challenging, high-potential investments for success. Dinan & Company, LLC, the leadership team behind ConfidentCrowd, is the parent company of a registered Broker-Dealer with a 25-year reputation for providing premier investment banking services.
FundersClub
FundersClub is a new type of venture capital platform, built around a unique online marketplace
that allows accredited investors to become equity holders in FundersClub managed venture funds – which then fund pre-screened, private companies. The platform combines industry-standard venture funds, with an easy-to-use web-platform that allows members to browse and screen fund investment opportunities, view investment profiles and sign legal documents. The result – deserving companies get the capital they need, and investors get unprecedented access to the opportunities they want and the ability to build a diversified portfolio.
GrowVC
Grow VC Group, is the first global, transparent,
community-based platform dedicated to entrepreneurs and investors. Grow VC enables great ideas and great teams to get visibility with the right investing audience, funding and support earlier. Grow VC is more than crowdfunding, it’s a nurturing ecosystem where entrepreneurs can connect with experts, funders, team members, new customers and partners to realize their ideas. Grow VC can help startups companies to build their teams and secure initial funding of up to $1 Million. Headquartered in Hong Kong with offices in New York and the UK.
IRAVest
IRAvest.com is the preeminent self-directed IRA crowdfunding network. Launched in
2009, IRAvest.com enables accredited participants with self-directed IRAs to find, review, and inquire about investments. To take full advantage of IRAvest.com, you must create an IRAvest account, be accredited, and have a self-directed IRA account or equivalent. Please see our list of preferred resources.
Please Note: the site is currently being reconfigured. Please create an account, and we will notify you as soon as IRAvest relaunches.
MicroVentures
MicroVentures is an investment bank for startups. They conduct due diligence on startups and
then if approved will help them raise capital from angel investors. Their process of raising capital is similar to crowdfunding. We give angel investors the ability invest small amount of capital to crowdfund a startup raising capital. The concept is similar to peer to peer lending but instead of debt you get equity for your investment.
RockThePost
RockThePost is a crowdfunding website designed to fund startups. It is the ideal tool for
entrepreneurs to leverage networks, reach out to new contacts, and fill in the missing pieces of their projects. RockThePost provides budding businesses with the means necessary to amass resources and flourish.
SeedUps
Seedups was established to help early stage Startups with great business ideas solve the sub-$500k equity gap problem, which regularly exists when they attempt to raise smaller amounts of equity capital. Who can use Seedups? Startups and qualified High Net Worth Individuals /
Sophisticated and Accredited Investors can use SeedupsDoes it cost anything to create a new Seedup? No. It’s free, just enter some contact details and create a 1-Page Opportunity SnapShot™Are there any Matching fees? Yes. You pay a success fee to Seedups, but only if you are successful and only on completion of the deal
SeedInvest
SeedInvest is an equity-based, crowdfunding platform that connects accredited investors to high-quality start-ups and small businesses seeking funding. SeedInvest’s mission is to help both
entrepreneurs and investors leverage the disruptive power of the internet to make early-stage investing and fundraising easier.
To fulfill its mission, SeedInvest created an innovative, web-based platform which greatly reduces the traditional barriers for investing in private companies. SeedInvest’s platform has many innovative tools that help investors improve deal flow, diligence opportunities, and execute investments.
StartUps.Co
Over 300,000 startups have used Startups.co to connect with millions of dollars in funding. Join today and connect with over 20,000+ investors.
Startups.co works with thousands of well-qualified angel investors, venture capital firms, and private investors who are specifically looking for new startup and small business opportunities.
All we do is help entrepreneurs find funding. We’ll walk you through the entire funding process, help you create the right pitch, and find the best investors for your deal.
