In a tweet this week, Wefunder said it expects the first quarter of 2020 to be their best quarter ever. This is in an environment where Fintech investment is struggling and the emergence of the Coronavirus, or COVID-19, is hammering the entire world. While Q1 numbers may be encouraging one would be hard-pressed to predict the outcome of Q2.
According to @CBinsights, #coronavirus will significantly disrupt funding for startups.
But Q1, 2020 will be @Wefunder‘s best ever quarter for investments, by a distance.
It is still early, but so far we are seeing citizen investors continue to invest in #startups they love. pic.twitter.com/v3hDHzQpwa
— Jonny Price (@JonnyCPrice) March 23, 2020
In light of the choppy environment where many early stage firms are struggling, Wefunder has announced a new type of security offering for issuers.
According to a page on the platform, Wefunder is facilitating emergency funding for your business during the COVID-19 crisis
Investors will receive payments based on revenue – deferred until 2021. Businesses may reward investors with perks when business is back.
To quote Wefunder:
“…for this crisis, we’ve designed a revenue share agreement that is very small business-friendly. In these hard times, we expect customers will support businesses they care about with flexible repayment.”
Zero payments will be expected in 2020 with returns kicking in at some point in 2021 – hopefully when COVID-19 will be done.
Wefunder has created a page where businesses may calculate the details of these loans. Its an interesting concept.
Wefunder is a Reg CF funding portal that enables issuers to raise up to $1.07 million. If you need to raise more, Wefunder also facilitates Reg D offerings for accredited investors. Since launch, Wefunder has facilitated about $130 million.