Editor’s note: This is a sponsored post to alert you to the crowdfunding options in the region. Research before investing – early stage companies are high risk.
Back in the day, investment was only the privilege of those with a lot of free cash lying around but today this is being challenged by easier investment opportunities and also absolutely new ways of investment such as equity crowdfunding.
Not only is it a brand new opportunity, it is also a relatively simple one. For instance to get into stock trading you need to understand a lot of basic terminology, learn your brokerage software and if you want it to be at least one step away from gambling – spend a lot of time on education and research.
With crowdfunding, it is that much simpler. The facts are normally laid out in front of you flat out, you can reach out to companies for additional information and get a general understanding of the concept and chances for success based on fundamental analysis and perception of “quality”. Once you are ready, you can for instance take a look at our crowdfunding round-ups, such as this one, and see if there is anything you like. In this issue, we will have 6 startups from the region by FundedByMe and Invesdor, who are all looking for funding.
FundedByMe has had an interesting month with a lot of new companies joining the platform but also because the have launched a new iteration of their site which basically merges their equity crowdfunding and rewards-based crowdfunding into one big system. Let’s take a look at what funding rounds you can join in on:
By now, you should be familiar with the Lastu brand. With a “Tech Meets Nature” slogan, it should rise interest out of pretty much anyone in the Nordics. The company makes wooden phones and other electronic devices. The Nordic design approach can be felt in all of their products and perhaps what is most impressive is that they are already selling their products and are looking for funding in order to expand their business. The valuation is also reasonable and there are already a number of interested investors and you can join them here.
Then there is Danish Water Surveillance, which might not sound as cool project to invest into. However when you look at their business model, you can quickly change your mind. The team also thought very strongly about the possible risks and seems to understand the actions that need to be taken in order to succeed. If that is not enough, they are also an Accelerace alumni, which means they have a strong back-up by the accelerator which boasts that over 93,4% of their alumni are still alive and kicking, which is extremely impressive by any indication. Check them out and invest here.
Finally, you should also consider Frily. If you think it sounds like free, then you are right. The company basically offers their subscribers free or discounted goods and services in exchange for marketing insight and surveys. This way they are disrupting at lest three industries such: Marketing, Marketing Research and Discount Coupons. After all, research does seem to confirm that giving something away at a discount or for free without a reason makes us look down on the offer and perhaps even lowers brand value. When you know that you have to fill out a survey, this problem disappears. Still not impressed? Well how about the fact that in testing they grew so quickly that Facebook restricted them a couple of times. That is 100 000 invites in 3 hours. Think about that and then click here to invest.
Now, let’s take a look at Invesdor who are continuing to grow and with recent successful round by Dikital, adding a number of success stories to their portfolio. Moreover they have added a number of interesting cases both in terms of ideas and valuation.
First of all, there is Audrey, which is a new way to look at dating. We have covered them before and now they are also located in our co-working space – Minimum Viable Office, so it is safe to say that we know a bit about them. Their main concept is that they guarantee real identity behind the people on the site. No more “HappyDude81” or “CrazyGirla888”. No more fake people. Since the founders themselves are dating, they know what the dating community needs and it looks like they are hitting the right spots with steady growth and media attention. To start dating and to invest, go here.
If you are a little bit more technical in nature and enjoy golf then this next one is for you. Have you heard of Roomba? The automatic vacuum cleaner? Well, Acema is building “roomba for golf courses”, except they are not going to vacuum them and will instead mown the course and provide maintenance. Do you have any idea how much money there is in that? Suffice to say that current golf courses buy 2 billion worth of lawn mowers every year, and that is just the equipment cost. Currently the main three providers control over 90% of the market and Acme wants a cut, a big one. Roomba is cool, so this sounds like it will be too, invest here.
Last and most definitely not least is the Pop-Up Company. In fact, this is more than just a company – they want to build a new model in self-employment and help as many people as possible to start businesses, transform their lives and become business owners. Something a government should do, right? Well, they decided to take the matter into their own hands and as this is a social enterprise with good intentions in mind, so is their equity offering. They want to raise up to EUR 250 000 and are willing to give away a whooping 61.58% of the company. So if you choose to invest in them, not only are you helping the whole community but you are also getting a decent bang for your buck, which you can do here.
Top Photo by Shutterstock.
