Nvested, a new St. Louis Economic Development Partnership-developed platform, claims to be St. Louis’ first “hyper-local” regulation crowdfunding platform designed to more easily connect local investors and business owners.
“The hypothesis is it’s not because they’re rejecting the asset class, it’s just that they aren’t aware of the opportunities,” Cliff Holekamp, a partner in Cultivation Capital who teaches entrepreneurship at Washington University Olin Business School, told the St. Louis Dispatch.
[clickToTweet tweet=”.@STLPartnership’s new crowdfunding platform @nvstedwithus @Wellbeing_Brew #beer #Crowdfunding #StLouis #business #startup” quote=”@STLPartnership’s new crowdfunding platform @nvstedwithus @Wellbeing_Brew #beer #Crowdfunding #StLouis #business #startup”]
Nvsted plans to tap into both accredited and non-accredited investors and received its FINRA approval earlier this month.
”If you’re a company that wants to connect to the St. Louis community, it makes sense to use Nvsted,” Nvsted CEO Jamey Edgerton told the Dispatch. While early interest has come from consumer brand startups, “we’ve gotten a really strong response from the tech community.”
The Nvsted platform allows companies looking to raise capital to set a minimum investment amount if they want to limit the number of investors; the platform then helps investors and companies with the required documents to crowdsource capital. Nvsted said that it wouldn’t take an equity stake in the company, unlike some crowdfunding platforms; instead the platform charges a 5 percent fee after a successful capital raise.
”The barrier to entry is really low,” Edgerton added. “From just a pure financial position, it makes sense to go with Nvsted as opposed some of the for-profit crowdfunding platforms.”
According to the St. Louis Dispatch, Nvested was financed with a $1 million forgivable loan from St. Louis County Port Authority funds through a Partnership nonprofit called the Critical Technologies Corp to set up a private company owned by the Partnership. A St. Louis application development company, Happy Medium, that programmed the website and platform, also received a small stake in Nvsted.
[clickToTweet tweet=”‘Near Beer from Heaven’ @Wellbeing_Brew @nvstedwithus ” quote=”‘Near Beer from Heaven’ @Wellbeing_Brew @nvstedwithus “]
Founded by Jeff Stevens and Genevieve Barlow, Wellbeing Brewery is the first Reg C campaign to launch on Nvested. Wellbeing, a non-alcoholic “healthy” craft beer, aims to “breakdown the stigma of people who aren’t drinking alcohol by brewing the world’s finest Non Alcoholic beer, so everyone can fully participate.” Pre-valued at just over $600K, Wellbeing aims to raise $125,000 for a Convertible Note with 6.0% Interest and a 2023 maturity date.
“We think it makes a lot of sense to a lot of people during a lot of drinking moments. First off, there are plenty of people who enjoy the taste of beer but can’t drink alcohol for health, medical, and recovery reasons. Add to that all the occasions that happen where you don’t want alcohol. You’re in training. You’re up early. You’ve had two regulars and want to still stay out but don’t want any more. You’re on a first date. You’re stoned. You’re driving. You’ve been out two nights straight. It’s spicy burrito business lunch. We could go on! Suffice it to say, we believe that craft beer without alcohol gives everyone a choice no matter the occasion,” explained the campaign. “In addition, once you remove the alcohol from beer, it becomes incredibly healthy. It’s chalk full of natural polyphenals that are anti-inflammatory and suppress colds. The Wellbeing Brewing Company plans to bring the world great tasting craft beers of all varieties, styles, healthy formulas, and tastes, all without alcohol.”
Wellbeing is currently available in over 200 retailers in 6 states, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Colorado, Wisconsin and Tennessee. The beer can be found on store shelves at Whole Foods, Fresh Thyme, Schnucks and Dierbergs.
Oversubscription up to $200K on Wellbeing’s campaign is possible, with a 6 July 2018 closing date. Minimum purchase is $500. For more campaign details, click here.
Have a crowdfunding offering you'd like to share? Submit an offering for consideration using our Submit a Tip form and we may share it on our site!