Indiegogo announced the launch of their equity crowdfunding vertical in partnership with MicroVentures this past Tuesday . In just a few days the first four companies raising capital online have quickly captured the interest of hundreds of investors raising thousands of dollars.
The inaugural four, listed below, have registered over 400 investors raising around $200,000. In the scheme of the wider world of early stage investing that is not a lot of money, but for the Reg CF sector, that only launched in May, this is pretty impressive.
One of the issuers, Republic Restoratives, a craft distillery and bar in Washington, DC, has already topped its funding goal. This is perhaps a record for the Reg CF industry as this was accomplished in under 3 days.
- ArtCraft Entertainment: Funding the creation of Crowfall, a massively multi-player video game touted as a Throne War simulator.
- Play Impossible: A new gaming company using miniature sensors to transform athletic balls into game controllers connected to a smartphone.
- BeatStars: A social music marketplace and distribution company where music producers and recording artists collaborate, sell, distribute and share their music around the world.
- Republic Restoratives: A women-owned craft distillery and cocktail bar in the heart of Washington DC.
Georgia Quinn, a Crowdfund Insider Senior Contributor and CEO of iDisclose, shared her opinion of the early success;
“I think we are entering a new phase of investment crowdfunding. Indiegogo and MicroVentures are raising awareness and taking this mainstream, which is exactly what needs to happen if we [investment crowdfunding] are going to have any success.”
To date, over 50 companies have been fully funded under Reg CF raising about $12.7 million. This sector of crowdfunding is still very much in its infancy but the early success is encouraging for both industry participants and young companies in need of growth capital.
The Reg CF securities exemption is not perfect and many industry participants are hopeful that Congress will address some of the shortcomings in the coming months. Some industry followers believe that if this occurs, the US may experience an unparalleled expansion of innovation, access to capital and economic growth.
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