Seedrs

seedrs

Without any further ado we can say that this is  the defining moment in the history of the Smartlands + Smartee ecosystem. And now it gives us great pleasure to announce that - a leading equity crowdfunding platform for investing in startups and later-stage businesses throughout Europe. The private stage will go on for 5-7 days, you are welcome to participate, and as an early backer you will receive an Exclusive Golden Smartee Co-Owner Payment Card. In the case shares remain available post-private sale, the campaign will open to the general public so if early-stage investing is not for you we hope to see you later anyway! Smartlands + Smartee has now launched a private stage of the fundraising round on Seedrs Just to recap, in just under three years, Smartlands has managed to create a proprietary technology and a viable mechanism for issuing digital shares in multiple asset classes. We also launched Smartee - a Smartlands-powered full-featured digital banking-like product designed for investors/asset managers on Smartlands as well as crypto enthusiasts in need of a free current account for EUR and GBP, a wallet for the most popular digital currencies, reliable exchanges, fast cross-border transfers, contactless payment cards, p2p lending options, instant credit lines for customers and many other great possibilities. Today, Smartlands + Smartee ecosystem has a 16K-strong community with over 10K wallets. Smartlands lists over 30 investment projects in the pipeline and plans on continuing to be involved in the most lucrative asset classes. The reason we chose to list our fundraising round on Seedrs - a highly advanced crowdfunding platform - should be fairly self-explanatory, though, in case you’re still wondering, we put together a to the latest successes on Seedrs; the bullet points that distinguish Seedrs from its competitors are high visibility, user-friendly interface, quality offerings, and comprehensive support from the Platform. nifty little guide One of the unique benefits of fundraising with Seedrs is its Secondary Marketplace, which attributes almost unlimited liquidity to shares listed on . www.seedrs.com/secondary-market We will continue to be involved in the most lucrative asset classes, develop our own secondary market and strive to deliver only the best level of service to our customers. We will continue growing Smartee and gradually roll out more and more exciting features. We are almost there and ready to make the final push to the top. Participating in our equity round on Seedrs is a unique chance to welcome your friends, family, partners, and associates to the network of Smartlands stakeholders alongside yourself and the growing network of angels, VCs and institutions on Seedrs. Get inspired! Whatever you bring to the table - a like, a share, or a good word or a desire to claim a stake in Smartlands + Smartee -  you’re investing in yourself and your future, and we would absolutely love it if your path to success as an investor and our path towards a global digital banking ecosystem would become one. Investing involves risks, including loss of capital, illiquidity, lack of dividends and dilution, and should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio. Please read the Risk Warnings before investing. This email has been approved as a financial promotion by Seedrs Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (No. 550317). Not all shares will be eligible for the Secondary Market and, even if they are, the ability to buy and sell shares will depend on demand. It can be difficult to find a buyer or seller, and investors should not assume that an early exit will be available just because a secondary market exists.

Smartlands Launches Fundraising Campaign on Seedrs

102 Stories To Learn About Fundraising

175 Stories To Learn About Tokenization

Let's learn about via these 34 free stories. They are ordered by most time reading created on HackerNoon. Visit the to find the most read stories about any technology. Crowdfunding /Learn Repo 1. 5 Reasons For Investors To Consider Tokenized Assets in 2020 With the word “tokenized” being present in the title, most likely some readers thought that this is another think piece on blockchain and how it’s going to inevitably disrupt every industry as it was widely mentioned in 2017 during the bull market. I won’t lie – the blockchain will be mentioned. But not in the way you've heard before. 2. The Future of Finance Writing Contest by Bricktrade x HackerNoon Participate in the Future of Finance Writing Contest and win from $2000 prize pool! 3. Why Decentralized Crowdfunding Could Be The Better Option Running a successful crowdfunding campaign in the cryptocurrency space has posed many roadblocks over time. Finding a solution to this problem will require a decentralized approach. Centralized crowdfunding is not what this industry needs right now. 4. Deeper Network's Connect And IDO Launch: the Latest News Deeper Network, which is building the decentralized internet infrastructure for the Web 3.0, has broken Indiegogo records by raising over $1 million to become the most successful blockchain project in the history of the crowdfunding platform. 5. The Real Take on Real Estate Crowdfunding Challenges in 2020 Could crowdfunding be the new frontier for real estate investing? Crowdfunding is an emerging industry alternative to property investment trusts for modern investors looking to gain exposure to real estate. 6. Smartlands Launches Fundraising Campaign on Seedrs Without any further ado we can say that this is  the defining moment in the history of the Smartlands + Smartee ecosystem. And now it gives us great pleasure to announce that Smartlands + Smartee has now launched a private stage of the fundraising round on Seedrs - a leading equity crowdfunding platform for investing in startups and later-stage businesses throughout Europe. The private stage will go on for 5-7 days, you are welcome to participate, and as an early backer you will receive an Exclusive Golden Smartee Co-Owner Payment Card. In the case shares remain available post-private sale, the campaign will open to the general public so if early-stage investing is not for you we hope to see you later anyway! 7. Decentralized Crowdfunding: A New Way of Funding Seed Stage Startups Many decentralized funding platforms are emerging that are helping new startups raise funding for their business by tokenizing the business ownership. 8. TRON + Streaming Solution = Barrier-Free Content Consumption We live in a day and age where technology has made everything easy. Gone are those days when we need a pigeon to deliver a message, write letters to communicate or have difficulties in traveling long distances. One more aspect in which technology has made life convenient is in creating marketplaces for buying and selling. Technology has made it possible to sell anything from anywhere you are to wherever your buyer is located, independent of borders or distance. Isn’t that fantastic? 9. Introducing HanafundMe.com: the Crowdfunding Platform for Women Starting up business, if you are cash strapped, can be pretty tough. It is still workable, but the journey is longer. Having extra funds helps you sustain your business operations and makes it easier to scale for growth. 10. How NFTs Can Turn Musicians Into Entrepreneurs and Fans Into Investors Security NFTs combine the ownership and transparency of NFTs with an innovative investing framework turning musicians into entrepreneurs and fans into investors 11. Blockchains for Crowdfunding It is no secret that Crowdfunding hold a tremendous potential in helping entrepreneurs and creators in pushing their projects forwards and gathering much needed financial resources. In 2018, The crowdfunding market size was valued at 10.2 billions dollars and was set to almost triple by 2025. 12. The Banks Have Gone Mad and the System is Broken The rise of peer to peer crowd-lending, tokenization and the slow death of bank 13. Top 6 Types Of Finance Technologies To Grow Your Business Finance technology has a broad scope of application that keeps revolutionizing the field. Here is an overview of the main 6 ones that enable business growth. 14. Create a Crypto Crowdfunding Widget From a Few Lines of Code Create a crypto crowdfunding widget from a few lines of code 15. Can the Combination of STO + IEO Become the New Step in Crowdfunding Evolution? Content of the Article: 16. Outtakes From The First Draft of Hacker Noon's Crowdfunding Campaign It's been over 14 months since we launched the Hacker Noon Equity Crowdfunding Campaign and almost a year since we successfully raised the max amount of $1.07M. 17. Why Is Crypto A Technical Revolution? Cryptocurrency is the buzzword. But have you thought why? With this article read about why it's the technical revolution & how it has been a game changer. 18. Poor Acting VCs are a Threat to Credible DeFi Projects: Unhashed #22 Unhashed is a QnA series where I speak with top execs of new and established blockchain projects to unravel the mystery of blockchain & crypto. 19. How Didactic's Move to Crowdfunding Signals Opportunity for All Didactic's crowdfunding will change the crowdfunding space. 20. How Crowdfunding 2.0 Solves The Pope’s Vision of A Better World Business enterprises all over the world have started looking beyond just means of generating revenue and begun taking measures to address social issues. There is no dearth of problems around us which need solving, and companies have come up with innovative ideas to connect their core business practices with social enterprise opportunities. 21. The Crowdfunding Landscape: From Smartwatches to ICO Scams and IDOs Crowdfunding has been hugely successful for many B2C companies but how do you fund a startup when your product is digital? 22. Millennial investors: the most powerful crowdinvesting force In 2019, small and medium businesses looking to raise capital often choose crowdinvesting over venture capital and other traditional fundraising methods. 23. How SeedOn Is Bringing Smart Contracts to Equity Crowdfunding SeedOn is using smart contract technology to create a blockchain-based escrow system for crowdfunding platforms.SeedOn is a crowdfunding platform 24. The Difference Between Launchpads and Equity Crowdfunding Platforms The difference between launchpads and equity crowdfunding platforms is often vague, but they're actually widely different. We share the full details here! 25. How to Build an Awesome Web3 Crowd-Funding Platform with React, Solidity, and CometChat How do you develop a smart contract for your Dapp? How do you best design the Dapp interface? How do you connect the front end to the backend smart contract? 26. Why Are Businesses Raising Equity with Crowdfunding? Equity crowdfunding was not the easiest choice to make, but it kept us true to our core values of trust, transparency, and user-centricity. 27. Pros and Cons of Equity Crowdfunding Investing in Startups is really great thing that you can do with you investment portfolio. 28. What is a Cryptocurrency Crowdsale and How Does It Work? Cryptocurrency crowdselling is a form of crowdfunding within the digital realm of cryptocurrency. 29. 5 Ways Crowdfunding Supports Women-Led Startups Whether you are just starting out or already have a business or growing your own brand, IF you believe that your idea and business can go further (and you should think BIG if you are a Womenpreneur!), do explore the option of crowdfunding them. 30. Is Real Estate Crowdfunding Worth It? Curt M. Westfield , managing partner of WC Companies in Tampa , Florida, says 9 out of 10 millionaires have made their fortunes by investing in real estate. Actually, this is the secret of the so-called American dream - you invest money in some premises and start increasing your capital every month, without making any special efforts. 31. How to get Funding for Your Startup If you are a startup looking for funding, it can be difficult to know where to begin with all the options available. 32. A Thorough Guide on How Wefunder Works What is Wefunder? How do you get starting crowdfunding your business? Read this in-depth guide to find out. 33. How Crowdfunding Impacts the Crypto Market Let's look at how crowdfunding and how it relates to the crypto market. 34. 10 Non-Influencers redefining Influence. Opportunity: $1 Million USD Funding to fight COVID-19 Since my previous article about COVID Innovations, in which I highlighted 20 ordinary professionals and companies undertaking extraordinary actions to drive change to tackle this pandemic, new change makers have emerged on the horizon. Acting as role models worthy of our admiration and attention, more and more industry giants are taking the lead, including: Thank you for checking out the 34 most read stories about Crowdfunding on HackerNoon. to find the most read stories about any technology. Visit the /Learn Repo

34 Stories To Learn About Crowdfunding

If 2020 has proven anything, it’s that predicting the future is a mug’s game. With that said, here are my predictions for where front-end development is heading over the next 12 months 🙄 React frameworks finally mature Frequently referred to as the ‘V’ in MVC, has both benefited and suffered from its lack of an opinionated framework. Years on and we’ve not seen the industry coalesce on a single stack, architecture or blessed toolchain. While this flexibility has undoubtedly aided its popularity, 2021 may be the year we finally see such frameworks reach maturity. React Over the last year has continued to dominate the React space, growing their framework, and their self-titled service offering — all while launching an , an , and hosting their largest (virtual) conference yet. While Next has been on the scene for a long time, it’s come a long way from its buggy beginnings. The batteries-included approach isn’t for everyone, but additions over the past year have culminated in a that’s both stable and surprisingly mature (sub-path routing at last 🙏). Vercel Next.js e-commerce starter kit analytics tool v10 release - Vercel was trying hard to channel Apple with their latest Keynote, complete with product ‘drops’ and all-black attire. Adding to the mix this year was the quiet ‘supporter preview’ launch of , a new closed-source React framework. Created by two of the biggest names in the community, Jackson and Florence of fame, Remix takes a different approach from Next — both in business model (charging a modest sum for an annual license fee) and philosophy (Remix is a product, not a platform). Instead of leaning into static page generation, Remix promises to leverage more traditional techniques, such as aggressive HTTP caching, and refocus on . Remix React Router web fundamentals It’s early days — Remix isn’t due to officially launch until next year — and we’re unlikely to ever approach the cohesive vision that an all-in-one tool such as enjoys. Nevertheless, it’s refreshing to see developments in what has long been a stagnant space. Ember We get a glimpse at container queries The desire for container queries has reached fever pitch. With Google finally announcing their , 2021 might be the year we get our first look at them. intent to prototype In the meantime, the increased adoption of combined with APIs such as CSS’s min/max/clamp and JavasScript’s ResiveObserver provide ever better methods of ‘faking it’. These kind of implementations have gotten increasingly (maybe even dangerously?) elaborate over the last few months, and it’s hard to imagine that this trend will stop next year. intrinsic web design I’m hopeful we’ll see more smart ways of approaching container-first design, such as Mathias’s and Heydon’s . Raven Watched Box WASM explodes The adoption of (WASM) has been slow, in no small part due to its positioning as a specialist tool (‘you’ll know if you need it’). However, in 2021 we’re likely to see that mindset shift. WebAssembly With the role of the front-end developer the domain of ‘full-stack’, we’re starting to see more engineers embrace lower-level systems languages such as , which is currently enjoying an unparalleled boom in , despite the initial uncertainty following the Mozilla layoffs. creeping towards Rust interest As a consequence, we’re seeing WASM-based solutions such as and enter the front-end framework wars. Benefiting from the performance and that Rust provides, it’s likely that 2021 will be the year we start to see a massive boom in production WASM. Yew Seed.rs safety We’re a long way off from any of these taking the spotlight away from the big players, but I’m confident adoption will spike in 2021. The monolith makes a come back The industry’s love of distributed services and carefully partitioned responsibilities continues, having evolved past the back-end ( ) and hit its unfortunate peak in 2019 with the introduction of (equally maligned and loved) micro-frontends. The UNIX-philosophy approach to architecture continues to rein — at least in the domain of tech reports and Medium articles. micro-services Over the last few years, the widespread use of micro-services has necessitated patterns such as (BFF), which introduces an intermediary between each client and the APIs which service it. Backend For Frontend - The BFF acts as the ‘glue’ that is the client’s single point of contact. This allows for it to be tightly coupled (and very well suited) to the client it services. This is particularly relevant in 2021 given the current interest in the , which, at its most complex, of its service . The answer to ‘how do I federate my APIs’ will be, amusingly: build one. JAMStack suffers under the weight dependencies We’re sure to see the adoption of the BFF technique increase in 2021, but — with a little luck, we might also see the gradual return to the monolith — or at least a slow retreat in the form of larger ‘ ‘ or compromises such as the . macro-services citadel No doubt Basecamp’s DHH, the most of the ‘majestic’ monolith (who recently launched yet another proudly traditional web-app, ) will be leading the charge. vocal proponent Hey In summary Interestingly, the biggest developments in the front-end are unlikely to be traditionally concerns. Back in our forecast, we noted that the role of the front-end developer was increasingly shifting towards ‘full-stack’, and this has borne out to be true. Even the evolution of our frameworks and tools suggests this, with an increased focus on data-fetching, concurrency, security and scalability. front-end 2019 There is a natural meeting point occurring, where engineers are faced with increasingly ‘back-end’ problems while tooling and services are becoming sophisticated enough to lower the barrier to entry. It’s a perfect storm, and I expect to see it continue throughout 2021. Previously published at https://www.browserlondon.com/blog/2021/01/04/front-end-predictions-2021/

Predicting The State of Front End Development: 2021 Edition

Fintech startups looking to transform current investing trends or disrupt traditional banking are facing their first major test as Covid-19 pandemic bites into the very fabric of our society. As interest rates fall and fearful consumers seek safety in tradition, brand new industries like digital banking and online investing that never experienced a major market slump now must prove their business models can withstand a crisis. Photo by Katrine Bengtsson on Unsplash Digital banking platforms which thrive on fast and accessible online account services and entice new customers with low fees/high-yield savings accounts now have to face the challenge of having to actually pay those higher rates with central banks slashing base to- or close to zero. But those who are prepared from the standpoint of technology seem relatively comfortable with their capacity to cope with even a long-term slowdown. Many digital entrepreneurs are becoming increasingly aware that highly technologically advanced banks and banking-like services will play a crucial role in the eventual recovery from the sharpest economic downturn in history. In this sense, - a Smartlands-powered digital banking-like service - is in an advantageous position because on top of providing services well-expected of a digital bank (current accounts in EUR and GBP and others) it's designed as a comprehensive investment tool for users. Smartee Smartlands Digital banks connected with legacy banking systems on the back end are going to experience difficulties overcoming the crisis - no doubt about that. Smartee, on the other hand, will offer much more than just account management, fast transfers and reporting. First and foremost, it’s a well-rounded solution for generating supplemental income through investing in projects listed on Smartlands. That’s something that similar services don’t offer - full integration with a blockchain-based investment ecosystem where a participant gets cash back from daily expenditures, a digital wallet for the most popular digital currencies, extensive and even an auto-invest option. P2P lending capabilities All that is to say that the way out of the pandemic-induced crisis is innovation. Through innovation we can and must face the fear of losing customers who in times of market upheavals run for the safest of all possible options - investing in safe-haven assets or simply storing their cash. The timeliness of the “ ” approach is best illustrated by the setbacks major digital investment platforms suffer due to their unpreparedness. flight to quality Robinhood had to down its entire $200 million credit facility to stop the unraveling calamity, which goes to show that the best-prepared for the crisis are going to be the fintechs who have been founded on the lessons of the 2008 recession. draw We have to face the possibility of scepsis being the overall attitude towards post-crisis fintech. Three, four, five year old fintechs never had to weather a market downturn; their current customers barely passed their teens in 2008. This is all brand new to the millennials who became purposeful participants in financial markets fairly recently. To keep them excited about the possibilities of the app-based, tech-intensive investing and money management we have to continuously work on refining the existing solutions and creating new ones. Many of those solutions are going to be based on the fact that in the coming months (and probably years) SMEs and individuals are going to be struggling to raise capital from traditional banks. In that sense, tokenised credit products and blockchain-based fractional ownership in equity shares/assets are going to have a major impact on the way small merchants access capital in the post-pandemic world. It’s especially important to act fast because the default rate for alternative lenders remains unknown, which means that the very definitions of “refinancing”, “personal loan” and others will undergo massive scrutiny. The sooner we create a decentralised technological solution for those in need of restructuring (or to invest in, and new instruments to do it with), the clearer the post-crisis path for the economy would become. new digital commodities The success of challenger banks and alternative investment platforms will largely depend on the level of consumer confidence governments are going to be able to maintain in the coming months. After all, willingness to spend remains one of the major drivers of any economy; in order to invest in the future, one has to believe in it strongly. In the declining market, the banking sector’s overexposure to discretionary purchases drives consumer confidence down; travel and shopping have fallen the first victims of the virus outbreak. However, by the time the epidemic subsides, even if the economy at large remains rattled, the rock-bottom valuations will present a golden opportunity for investors to get in on a ground level. This will be a peculiar situation when both overvalued and undervalued assets will reenter the market as equals after a reset. This goes first of all for the luxury real estate sector: HNWIs already want to “ ” and reevaluate before committing to major buys. take a step back In the face of a new global financial crisis, fintechs need to make sure their business model meets the challenges of the future, keep calm and carry on. Following this strategy, we have launched our and will move forward with other plans from the pipeline, such as the with UK Sotheby’s International Realty. equity funding round on Seedrs tokenisation project The financial crisis once again shows the importance of portfolio diversification, and tokenised assets are going to be gaining serious momentum in the post-crisis economy. In that same economy, visionary startups will remain a subject of interest for investors. This is where Smartlands will shine, because our business model was for the prospecting world of the future. built About the author Ilia Obraztsov is an experienced technologist, visioner and business leader skilled to deliver efficient and robust proprietary solutions that rapidly facilitate the transformation from the startup phase to a fully-funded global enterprise. Over his 10-year career in the technology sphere, Ilia has quickly moved through the ranks of the IT sector growing from a backend engineer in a Russia-based machine learning company to CTO of multiple California-based fintech startups. In this role, he specialized primarily in full-cycle product development – cloud solutions, storage design, fault-tolerant and high-load systems, security, event-driven architectures, distributed and scalable apps, blockchain, smart-contract and distributed ledger technologies. He is now CEO of Smartlands , a global digital securities issuance and investment platform headquartered in London, UK.

The Tragic Covid-19 Pandemic Could Be an Opportunity For Fintechs Who  Learned The Lesson of 2008

have taken a battering in recent months. Just by writing this article I tie myself in with a model that is now synonymous with ‘scam’. The problems are well-trodden. Project teams exploited them to raise capital quickly with no ability to deliver upon promises. Funds sprung up to take advantage, able to secure lucrative bonuses with little to no restrictions on selling. Exchanges charged outsized fees to list new projects, knowing that projects had both the resources and incentives to make a deal. Investors late to the party lost, and lost big. ICOs This has obscured that the ICO is actually an amazing thing. It took crowdfunding to a new level, smashing the records of platforms in existence for far longer and which lacked many of the barriers to entry that ICOs did. Kickstarter, the most popular global crowdfunding site, has raised a total of $4.1bn since 2012. EOS raised that by itself. Crowdfunder, listed as one of the larger equity crowdfunding sites, has raised $150m in its history. Seedrs, one of the most prominent UK based crowdfunding platforms, raised £300m from inception to the end of 2017. IndieGoGo has raised $1.5bn since launch. ICOs, by contrast, raised $13.7bn in the . It is worth mentioning that a large amount of that would have been recycled ICO funds as people flipped from one project to the next, but it is still a significant amount. first half of 2018 alone This is worth noting because it highlights the extent to which ICOs unlocked a latent desire for capital deployment. This probably has roots in the wider global asset boom of the past decade, and was likely also a result of a desire to recreate the success of and early ICOs such as Ethereum. It is easy to forget, but even when ETH sat at $8–20 around the time of the DAO hack, ICO investors were already sitting on 3000%+ gains. Bitcoin The model for success was already set. Do a big premine, hand a whole lot to a small amount of individuals and then hopefully the team will do some work. Indeed, you can arguably trace a lot of the problems that came to afflict ICOs back to patterns set by Ethereum and other early ICOs. These problems include the duration of fundraising, investor protection and the regulatory issues they ran into: 1. One round of raising There are few other forms of equity raising which put everything into one round of investment. Traditional investing takes place over a series of rounds. This happens for good reasons; it limits investor downside if the project isn’t viable whilst protecting the team’s upside (their stake in the company) and leaving them with more control. It also means the team isn’t handed a blank cheque; they raise enough funds to get them to the next stage, at which point they can look to do another round of investment raising and so on. Most ICOs opted instead to do one big round of raising. This left investors vulnerable, but it also prevented many teams from doing subsequent raises. Some of the best projects held comparatively small raises. This has subsequently hamstrung them, leaving them with few options for alternative capital raising. The common argument is that premines aren’t overly different from the limited number of people who were aware of Bitcoin when mining first started. This is fallacious but there isn’t the time to cover that here. Although I disagree with some of the points they raise, Hasu and Arjun Balaji cover the differences in launch . here 2. Lack of equity Not only did many teams gain the power of one large round of raising, they also handed themselves a large chunk of the tokens didn’t tie equity of their company to the token. This left investors exposed, giving them little more than the word of the team and some marketing to back up their investments. and It makes sense for something like Ethereum to not tie tokens to equity. However, other projects aiming to form more conventional companies took on the same characteristics. This was an ill-suited adaptation. ICOs don’t make sense for normal companies to do (with some exceptions). 3. Securities and regulations Despite the efforts of teams to make it clear that their token did not represent an equity/security, regulators varied in their acceptance of such an argument. A regulatory crackdown was inevitable, as tokens and ICOs were undoubtedly being used to circumvent investment regulations. Teams flew as close as they could to the sun, with many inextricably tying it to existing or promised business operations. Simply tacking up some legalese as a footnote does not extricate you from that. This was a big problem for many teams, as they had foregone anonymity and many had commenced operations in jurisdictions with a harsh regulatory climate. Photo by on Denny Müller Unsplash 4. Greed Much like the DAO, ICOs are an interesting idea implemented poorly. Unlike the DAO, this has not been confined to one mistake but has instead seen the same mistakes replicated by hundreds if not thousands of different teams. Most of these have been a result of greed. The staggering amounts raised by ICOs at the top of this article should be seen as much as a failure as a success. It saw investors, in their desperation to get their money into anything that resembled a crypto project, pour millions into ideas that should never have been funded. Ultimately this saw them cede all power. Teams set more and more lopsided terms, desperate to take as much money as they could whilst also taking all the upside of the token supply they freely generated simultaneously. Change the model ICOs remain an effective means through which to raise capital but to redress the power balance they could be improved by changing many of the ways they are currently run: Multiple funding rounds These can be pre-set to when objectives are hit, at specific times (e.g. 18 months later) or as and when the team requires them. This is a means to replicate team dilution. Teams could start off holding 90% of circulating supply, selling a small amount to early investors. With each new fundraising round their stake will be reduced as new tokens come onto the market (to safeguard early investors the non-team accounts could receive an airdrop equal to their stake, as well as being given preferential access to invest more). Raise less You don’t need it. Raising too much can be as dangerous as not enough. Raise what you need, convert most of it post ICO to fiat. Don’t take on the responsibility of being a fund too. You’re raising to implement the idea you sold investors on, not to make yourself rich or play the markets. It is the height of irresponsibility to gamble with raised funds (and those teams who actively trade their own token deserve a spot in Dante’s nine circles). Transparency If you’re raising money from investors, you can produce a monthly or quarterly report showing where those funds went, the individual holdings of teams and other such basic statistics. Many teams state how many tokens a team hold but they should also indicate holdings for each of the five largest shareholders, as well as clearly separating funds dedicated to marketing, sales, salaries etc. Roadmaps should be updated with burn rates and planned hires. Team wallets should be clearly marked and labeled, with any large movements explained ahead of time. This is not asking for a lot. Alternatives include independent foundations or DAOs, but these bring problems of their own. Consider remaining anonymous At first glance this flies in the face of the previous point, but the two are compatible. One of the biggest risks projects face is regulation, an external problem that is hard to ‘fix’. Anonymous teams or those domiciled in less regulatory harsh countries will have a significant advantage over their US or public counterparts. It is eminently possible for an anonymous team to adhere to the transparency outlined above and they would also be natural contenders for multiple funding rounds. It is unlikely they would be able to raise much early on, but as they deliver over time investors can have more confidence in them and thus additional funding is more likely. And of course, if you’re anonymous and happy to flout regulations then this gives you significant regulatory arbitrage which means you can do stuff like… Give claim to tokenholders on raised funds Tying tokens to the assets held by the company will likely be the preserve of those with diminished regulatory adherence. However, one thing teams can do more of is promise to return what is left of raised funds to token holders should the project fail. If a company fails, token holders should be given rights on the funds left. This is difficult to ensure, but most ICOs are run by people who care about their reputation and will likely continue to work within the industry. The social stigma of running off with investor funds, let alone the threat of legal action, will give stronger guarantees than what investors have now. This is by no means perfect as it is hard to enforce and hard to prove if a team is just spending money for sake of it, but it is a start. It also means the token inherently has some value, even if otherwise useless (of course, if it is a redundant token then perhaps an ICO isn’t the best fit to begin with). This obviously assumes there are some funds left (Photo by on ) Melinda Gimpel Unsplash Stop being an arsehole 90–95% unlocked bonuses aren’t cool yeah? You’re raising millions. Stop acting like some low-rent criminal. Many early investors are likely to be an early adopter and cheerleader. Do you really want to be exploiting people you need for your project to be a success? Introduce something like the Troll Bridge as implemented by LTO Network (although amend it to lengthen the vesting period). Smaller does not mean worse If you’re thinking that many of these changes will make the amount raised by ICOs smaller, you’re right. But is that a bad thing? There is no other form of fundraising which makes capital as easily accessible and where money is thrown at bad companies so rapidly. A little more restraint from teams in what they raise would not do a lot of them much harm. ICOs are not the correct model to raise capital for many companies. The changes above will not help if there is no need for a token at all. It’s in the interests of everyone if we can improve how ICOs are conducted. The globally distributed desire for investing they unlocked isn’t going to disappear. Instead, it will be redirected into other opportunities such as that savior of the crypto world, STOs. Crypto investors are like those from the Fyre Festival documentary who not only got conned for the festival itself but then lost tens of thousands on the follow-up scam. Nothing changes with scams bar the façade masking them as legitimate. Many of those who exploited investors with ICOs will now be turning their attention to STOs. Best to fix ICOs before that bandwagon gets rolling. Full disclosure here . You can follow me @flatoutcrypto

Save the ICO

What can you look at if traditional channels let you down It is not a secret that we live in an era of abundance, and money is certainly abundant out there. What sometimes is missed is a way to channel them toward specific objectives and activities. I am actively involved in fundraising work with both startups and a venture fund, so this is a problem I am seeing nowadays more than ever. And whether you are raising money from a VC (entrepreneurs) or LPs (investors), you might be glad to know that other ways exist to obtain the money you need to run your company. The following methods are surely a partial list of the ones existing, but I am in search mode for new innovative ways to efficiently channel money, so if you have ideas or saw something interesting please comment below and let me know. Crowdfunding Image Credit: https://it.depositphotos.com/portfolio-2877797.html Well, this is not exactly new but is worth to mention and talk through in a more systematic way. Crowdfunding is a way to pull and pool together small amounts of money from a multitude of (usually small and not-sophisticated) investors. To my knowledge, there are at least six different types of crowdfunding (borrowing this classification from — read his book by the way, very interesting if you want to get into angel investing): brian cohen a way for not accredited investors to buy an infinitesimal equity stake in a startup; Equity crowdfunding: a peer-to-peer lending example where the entrepreneur borrows money from those small investors and agree to repay the loan if the company starts off; Debt crowdfunding: the investment is still small in the reward-based model, but the money is directed toward social projects and usually the investor gets rewarded with a perk or a symbolic token; Reward-based crowdfunding: this is a donation-based type of funding where people donate money to support a project that usually has some ethical or moral implications; Good-cause crowdfunding: this model envisages people pledging money today with the expectation of receiving the first batch of shipped products in the future (a product that, to be clear, it only exists on paper!); Pre-order crowdfunding: a sort of hybrid model between a reward and a donation one, where makers describe their inventions and request seed money from individuals who are basically very excited about what the inventor is building. Inventor-based crowdfunding: There are multiple very well-known platforms which are examples of what described above, such as , , , , , , , , , etc., and I think they will stick around for a while since they try to democratize an asset class that has been historically very selective and not within everyone’s reach. Kickstarter Indiegogo Lendingclub Kiva Seedrs Crowdcube OurCrowd Quirky SeedInvest Token Offering Image Credit: zoommachine/Shutterstock Call it ICO or token issue or whatever you feel like, but the idea is not extremely far from a crowdfunding one. The main difference is that you as an investor receive a token that represents the smallest functional unit of a specific network (or application). , an ICO is a hybrid concept that has elements of a , a campaign, and a with a limited power and application’s domain. As I already said before shares allocation pre-sales/crowdfunding currency In the startup world, there are nowadays so many examples, scandals, theories and problems in the ICOs world that does not make any sense to give you here examples or a up to date (but clearly , , and , within many, have done the history of the field so far). list of the most relevant ones FileCoin Tezos Telegram SingularityNET In venture capital world however, a fascinating concept proposed some years ago was ( ), which in 2016 was also hacked and “unloaded” by about $50M. A new variation of the DAO has been recently postulated and named (DAO + ICO), which basically merges the characteristics of a decentralized venture fund with the ones of an ICO (leaving some sort of voting power to the initial contributors). the DAO Decentralized Autonomous Organization DAICO DAICO original concept: https://ethresear.ch/t/explanation-of-daicos/465 Another recent (and more interesting, at least to me) case is instead the , which tokenized the opportunity to invest in a group of pre-vetted early-stage startups (coming out from the 22nd Batch of 500 Startups). This option gives you (and this is one of the key points of the ICO mechanism itself) not only access to deals but also a certain degree of liquidity (you can sell your token and exit your position). 22xFund Finally, still in the VC sector, and are trying to do somehow similar things, with the first two respectively more oriented toward real estate and luxury asset classes (the first one) and e-commerce, logistic and biotech (the second one), the third one fostering and investing only in the tokenized ecosystem itself, while the latter specialized in AI and targeting anyway accredited investors with the intent though to make VC fundraising faster, easier, more transparent and more liquid. EQUI Capital , JWC Blockchain Ventures , SPiCE VC Asgard VC Syndication Platforms Image Credit: phive/Shutterstock To this class belong software platforms that allow (i.e., investors who are financially sophisticated and with enough means to properly invest) to pool together and invest in a bigger round alongside micro VC, super angels, and other wealthy individuals. accredited investors is the best example of this class, but (focused on the healthcare domain) or are equally valid alternatives. AngelList Gust , AngelMD Propel(x ) Enabling Platforms Image Credit: I’m friday/Shutterstock This is kind of a new concept, which could, in theory, be included in the previous group, but I am intentionally trying to separate them since this concerns different types of . decentralized marketplaces In this cluster, I would include companies and platforms that are not using alternative fundraising themselves but rather creating the foundations for others to leverage non-traditional channels. The best example to explain it is likely , which basically allows the “tokenization of real-world objects”. And by the way, it is a non-profit company, so when they say they do that for increasing trust and transparency in the industry I think it is easier to believe them. Swarm Fund A second alternative is given instead by , which has recently launched a fund backed by other VCs to invest exclusively in decentralized applications built on the Blockstack platform itself (it is slightly more complicated than that, but I am trying to oversimplifying here). This project falls within the group because what they are really trying to do is building a new decentralized version of the internet (but sure, why not revolutionize the investment world in the meantime?) Blockstack Enabling Platforms Conclusion This is not a full list of alternative fundraising mechanisms, but rather a first attempt to map what options both entrepreneurs and investors have. I am not on purpose distinguishing between fundraising for startups and for venture funds because I am more interested in what is conceptually possible and how emerging technologies such as AI and blockchain are changing the industry. In addition to unlocking a new phase for the investment world, those technologies and new business models are democratizing venture funding (from both sides) as never before, as well as solving some major issues the field has ever had. They are indeed i) getting more companies in front of a larger audience; ii) reducing the cost of investing; iii) increasing the market liquidity, and iv) increasing the capital availability (and the possibility to achieve a certain financial goal). However, whether all this democratization will have a positive effect on the industry is still unclear and I would not rush to line up with one side or the other until the long-term implications of those channels will be deeply thought and analyzed.

Alternative Mechanisms of Fundraising

Equity crowdfunding is not complicated, but there are fair number of myths floating around. Some of this is due to misinformation and the rest has to do with evolving financial instruments, and changing policy surrounding equity crowdfunding. These seven myths will dispel everything entrepreneurs have been told — from messed up cap tables to venture capitalist grievances. 1) MYTH: “Only for early stage companies” Not true! Equity crowdfunding works for all different stages and types of companies, including those who have already raised angel or venture funding. Many companies use equity crowdfunding to gain awareness and/or to build a long-term fan base. There are two core benefits to equity crowdfunding: First, you can raise money. Companies of all stages do this. Second, you can gain investors who are also your most loyal customers and brand ambassadors. Equity crowdfunding helps you share the value of your startup with members in your ecosystem. In that case, an equity crowdfunding raise could even be part of a larger round. More later stage startups are realizing this: A recent example, , a company with $3.5M in yearly revenue, ran an equity crowdfunding campaign on Republic as a way to acquire new customers and develop long-term relationships with clients. Geostellar In another example, raised $700K+ with an equity crowdfunding raise on First Democracy VC. They could have sought out institutional funding, but an equity crowdfunding raise made sense as a way to gain exposure and attract new customers for their distilled spirits company, which sells direct to consumers. Napa Valley Distillery , who raised $250K on Republic this spring and also raised from TechStars Ventures, Chicago Ventures and others, used equity crowdfunding as a way to share in their success with customers and small business partners. Pearachute 2) MYTH: “The regulations are too complex and limiting” Not really. If you do it on your own, it might get overwhelming, but that’s where platform’s expertise comes in: leading platforms have figured out the most efficient and founder-friendly way of complying with all the regulations and lay out the step-by-step roadmap for you when you prepare the campaign. What are some of the “worst” regulations? Disclosure regulations. The most complex part is filing a disclosure document with the SEC: the Form C that is accompanied by a snapshot of your company’s finances. The good news is that the Form C can be filled out by a bot system like iDisclose in a few hours. You don’t even need to have an in-house CPA or attorney. Some have expressed fears over the dreaded , but this is unfounded: it is only required if this is not your first time raising via equity crowdfunding. financial audit You don’t have to provide an annual tax report to your crowd investors. Your sole requirement post campaign is filing a simple Form C-AR and posting it on your website 120 days after the end of your next fiscal year. Advertising regulations The rules only say that you can’t advertise your campaign before it launches. After you launch the campaign, you can advertise as much as you want, with the only limit of not including more than 1–2 deal terms in each of your ads. 3) MYTH: “Venture capitalists look down on equity crowdfunding” Not true. A successful equity crowdfunding raise proves that your customers stand behind you. Venture capitalists see this as a competitive advantage and as a signal that you’re onto something — and many are happy to invest alongside of an equity crowdfunding raise. Top VCs see crowdfunding favorably and recognize the potential: predicted that crowdfunding platforms will bring in 10 times that of what VCs bring in annually. Fred Wilson Here’s what other venture capitalists have to say about equity crowdfunding: “From an investor perspective network effects are one of the few, possibly the only, source of sustainable competitive advantage in a world where almost everything else can be copied quickly.” — , Union Square Ventures Albert Wenger “Angels and VCs bring expertise, but the crowd brings customers and fans.”— , AngelList Naval Ravikant “…to raise capital an entrepreneur has to know VCs or someone who knows VCs. Distribution is closed off and secretive. Equity crowdfunding is quite the opposite: it is global, open, instantaneous, and non-discriminating for both sides of the marketplace.” — , Origin Ventures Jason Heltzer In an article titled, ”, Simon Cook, Executive Director of (founded by Tim Draper), wrote: “Venture Must Embrace Crowdfunding, it’s Where the Future Lies Draper Esprit “This is why VC firms like ours are changing in several critical ways. The first change we’re making is to regularly invest alongside the crowd — we’ve been doing so on platform Seedrs (UK-based), on the same terms as their investors. This enables those of you investing using platforms to invest in a company which is also being buoyed by the networks, management advice and guidance of a seasoned VC. This is surely a win-win for everyone.” Speaking of the Drapers — , pitching their respective companies to Tim, Jessie, and Bill Draper, along with guest judges. there’s a new show coming to Sony Television, airing this November, which features companies that are raising through equity crowdfunding on Republic 4) MYTH: “The cap table will be ruined for your next round” Not anymore! Many venture capitalists were originally concerned about how equity crowdfunding might mess up the cap table with too many investors, but there has since been a new instrument formed, called the , which fixes this problem. Crowd Safe A Crowd Safe does not expire or accrue interests. It only converts into cash or equity upon an IPO or the company’s acquisition, preventing alterations to your cap table for the considerable future. It is up to you to decide on the terms of the offering like the valuation cap and discount rate. With a Crowd Safe, there is no expiration or maturity date — so you don’t have to deal with revising interest rates or the like. 5) MYTH: “Raising equity crowdfunding is too expensive” The benefits outweigh the costs. As with any kind of raise, there are costs — and they can add up. Here are the costs that are required to comply with equity crowdfunding regulations: $1,500 for iDisclose to file your Form C with the SEC $1,500 for an escrow account, a requirement to host a campaign Other costs: Accounting Video production (optional) Marketing Portal fee Accounting costs depend on how complex and well-kept your financials are. If you have a licensed CPA on the team, your additional accounting costs could be zero. It isn’t. There are costs to doing a campaign, but to raise up to $1,070,000, you need a few thousand dollars. It would cost you as much time and money to hold and attend numerous investor meetings. The following costs are required to comply with equity crowdfunding regulations ~$1,500 to file a Form C with the SEC ~$1,500 to have an escrow account which is required to host a campaign. You might incur a range of costs in addition. Accounting costs depend on how complex and well-kept your financials are. If you have a licensed CPA on the team, your costs can be $0. You can spend as much as you choose to spend on the video production and marketing, starting from $0. To raise a larger round, startups typically spend more on marketing, but it’s money well spent: you’re acquiring investors and loyal customers! A typical funding portal will charge you between 7% and 15% of your equity crowdfunding raise as fees. charges 5% of the cash proceeds, and a Crowd Safe equal to 2% of the total amount raised (not 2% of your company). Investors do not incur any fees. Republic Other platforms such as Wefunder, SeedInvest and First Democracy VC typically charge between 7% and 12%, with in some cases additional fees that are incurred by founders and investors. When you take into consideration the time you and travel expense you’ll likely incur with a traditional venture raise, equity crowdfunding seems a lot less expensive. With a typical seed stage, you’ll be in motion for 40–60+ meetings. Also, , “The odds are 40:1 against getting money from angels and 400:1 against a company receiving an investment from a VC fund. This means that it is a “buyer’s market,” and it is infinitely more common for an investor to decline to make an investment offer than it is for a company to decline to accept an investment offer.” David S. Rose, reports in Forbes Just think about all of the time you might save by reaching out to your wider network for a raise rather than setting up one-on-one meetings with one investor or firm at a time. Your customers already know you, so if you have an existing and actively engaged community, who better to invest? 6) MYTH: “I can’t fundraise from VCs or angels during an equity crowdfunding campaign” Yes, you can. On the legal side, equity crowdfunding is different from other types of securities offerings: it won’t combine or interfere or prevent your from pursuing other fundraising methods. It’s a stretch for one person to do a VC raise at the same time as the campaign, but they are not mutually exclusive for any reason. In fact, high-profile investors will see a successful crowdfunding campaign as a strong positive signal, which will make closing your VC/Angel round easier. 7) MYTH: “Running a campaign takes too much time and effort away from my business” It does take time, but not away from your business. Compared to the time spent raising venture capital, your effort goes to growing and strengthening your business at the same time as fundraising. Double value. Read the full comparison: e . quity crowdfunding or VC? Pros and cons compared Spending time on equity crowdfunding is spending time developing the relationship you have with existing customers — as well as developing new ones. Your business depends on your ability to sustain the resources that are required for growth, so spending time running a campaign is actually time well spent. Plus, interacting with your customers in a deeper way, while fundraising is a great way to build long-term engagement. Equity crowdfunding as a way to: Fundraise: Bring capital in for growth Share ownership : Invite your customers to invest (own part of your company and be part of the upside) Engage: When your customers invest, they’ll be invested in your long-term success If you compare the time that would be required to raise a venture round, equity crowdfunding can actually be easier because you’re convincing people who already love what you do or what you’re offering to write small checks. As the campaign is both a fundraising and marketing effort, you can use the time campaigning for investments as time to expand your network and fan base!

7 Equity Crowdfunding Myths, Debunked

I wear two hats: a fintech entrepreneur and an angel investor. Also, I’ve spent the last 15 years investing and trading in various types of securities in public markets and worked in £bn+ public to private transactions. Over the past 18 months we at have raised £400K in two rounds. During that process I’ve met with at least 50+ investors, from angel investors, VCs, and family offices. Our company has won several awards and gotten some positive press, so there’s been a lot of interest in us. But even with all that, fundraising has been a real b*tch. CityFALCON There’s a lot said about the conservative nature of investors in the UK and Europe compared to our friends in Silicon Valley or New York — and it’s not all unfounded. But I’ve been on both sides of the fence, so I know it’s not all the fault of timid investors. We entrepreneurs are doing several things wrong. There is ‘no risk of losing out’ in the UK and Europe When does an investor actually sign the cheque to invest in a company, be it public or private? Most times it’s when they have a fear of losing out on an opportunity. For example, Oil is below $30 and everyone knows there is value there, because of the cost of production and the long term demand-supply dynamics. But how many of the investors and traders are buying Oil? Everyone wants to be part of the bounce back, but are waiting till the time they see some positive momentum. There have been very few exits compared to the number of start-ups raising funds In the UK, you don’t hear stories about people investing £10K in a start-up and then exiting for £100,000 — seemingly a regular occurrence in the Valley. It’s tempting to blame entrepreneurs for this, but that’s not the whole story. The key reason for this is we don’t have the start-up ecosystem of mentors, investors and employees who have built or worked in start-ups. In the UK we lack the experience and support of people who have gone through the different phases of and had their own successes and failures. We do have some ‘smart’ investors here, and we’re lucky for it, but most of the money in the UK is ‘dumb’ money. growth As it stands, a rational investor would stay away from start-ups. Most of the time, investing in is mostly for the tax benefits (SEIS, EIS, etc.). startups Forget exits, some entrepreneurs do not even update their investors on a regular basis One of the most frustrating things angel investors face in the UK is not getting updates from a company they have invested in. Imagine the unease these investors would feel about putting money into more start-ups. And ask yourself how likely someone is to give follow up investment after receiving no updates. At , I get the team to provide me with all metrics so that we send an update within 5 days of close of each month. It’s vitally important, and not that difficult! CityFALCON It’s become an investors’ market at an early stage There’s a popular misconception built by the media that the UK has an abundance of money, just waiting for hungry entrepreneurs to come and grab it all. This has led to entrepreneurs from all over Europe and Asia looking to raise capital in the UK. While there is money in the UK, . The traditionally risk averse investors in the UK, coupled with the flood of some of the best entrepreneurs from all over the world has given investors more choice, and made it more difficult for many start-ups to get off the ground. a lot of it isn’t for you Hustling is fine but spamming investors to raise funds is not cool Every two or three days, I get an email that says something like, “We are closing our EIS round, expected ROI of x%….”. Most of the angel investment works on references, and I’m not sure how many entrepreneurs get funding using this approach. It’s like bombarding your CV to 200 companies when you’re looking for a job. There is a lot we entrepreneurs can learn about building relationships from business development executives. The successful ones don’t start selling from my their first sentence, they first work on building a rapport, a connection with the potential customer. It’s not abundance but scarcity of assets that drives up its value. Let the investors chase opportunities instead of us chasing them. Be ready to walk away Some potential investors will take up too much of your time. They will request tons of documents and information without any real intention of investing in the company. I’ve been guilty of this too. Most of the investment we raised came with less than three meetings with the potential investor. We need to go back to the basics of negotiating. Late-stage and “successful” entrepreneurs are giving too much away Several in-demand start-ups are undervalued Take a company like Crowdcube. Their fundraise was subscribed in 15 minutes. In pure finance terms, they left too much on the table. They could have raised money at a much higher valuation. This has been the case with Seedrs, and other popular brands that have raised funds and have been oversubscribed. I’m hoping that crowdfunding sites in the future will start thinking about the basic principles of demand and supply, and have a book-building process on the site. Late-stage investors want upside of common equity with downside protection of debt — real expensive capital One of the biggest shocks for me after entering the entrepreneurial world was the term sheets that entrepreneurs are forced to sign. In the public markets when you’re buying a share in a company, you get equity in the company at the same terms as other investors. But in the start-up world, late stage investors who face less risk than early-stage investors, employees, and entrepreneurs, demand preferential liquidations, warrants, etc. The sad part of it all is that this has become accepted and most people think that it’s fair! Unfortunately, most of us will have to sign these term sheets, because they have become the standard, but do remember that you are giving too much away. The graph below shows the risk-return profile of debt and equity in public markets. READ MORE

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