DealMaker Highlights Issuer’s Multi-Round Funding Strategy

DealMaker, a  broker-dealer that specializes in online capital formation, has posted an example of an issuer that has raised funding multiple times utilizing different platforms.

In venture capital (VC), it is typical for a company to start with a Seed Round and then move on to Series A, B, C, etc. At each stage of funding, the company is expected to show it is executing on its business plan with existing investors participating in follow on rounds (otherwise they may get diluted). For investment crowdfunding platforms, this approach is still evolving – but it will come to be if companies prove they can be successful (and delivering a return for investors). At the same time, some VCs are partnering directly with issuers pursuing a crowdfunded securities offering.

In the DealMaker example, LiquidPiston started with a Reg CF funding round in 2017, raising around a million dollars. In 2023, LiquidPiston raised over $31 million utilizing the Reg A+ securities exemption. In total, LiquidPiston has raised more than $50 million in three Reg CF offerings and two Reg As. The company has also offered securities under Reg D.

Rebecca Kacaba, co-founder and CEO of DealMaker, describes LiquidPiston as a perfect example of an early stage venture utizing securities crowdfundign to “bypass traditional bureaucracies,” appealing to individual investors that are interested in the type of innovation they are pursuing.

In total, over 10,000 investors have backed the company – something you do not see in traditional VC funding.

As for LiquidPiston, it needs to execute on its vision of a commercially viable rotary engine (and not your Wankel engine previously used by Mazda). LiquidPiston aims to replace current engine tech in drones, hybrid-electric cars, hydrogen engine, mobile power generators, and more.

You may read the offering circular for LiquidPiston’s most recent Reg A+ offering here.