Splint Invest‘s goal is to provide the opportunity for each individual investor in Europe to expand the variety in their investment portfolio through alternative means. This is achieved by offering a platform where only pre-selected and certified suppliers are allowed to offer their investment-grade-assets. To invest, you simply download the app and create an account.
Splint Invest, the Switzerland-based company, completed its community fundraising campaign with Seedrs in March 2023, raising almost €1.5 million from 333 investors. We sat down with the CEO and Co-Founder, Aurelio Perucca, to discover more about his experience raising funds on Seedrs as opposed to other European platforms.
Could you tell us a bit about yourself and where the idea of Splint Invest came from?
My name is Aurelio, CEO and Co-Founder of Splint Invest. I come from an economics background and following my studies, I spent over 7 years at PwC in Switzerland working as an auditor and consultant, primarily within the banking sector. Observing the investment strategies of affluent families and high-net-worth individuals, I was inspired to apply a similar approach to my own finances. Yet, I quickly realised that this was financially unfeasible. Recognising a shared challenge, my co-founder Mario, a former PwC colleague, and I began working on a solution. This marked the inception of Splint Invest, a mobile app providing retail investors access to a diverse range of alternative investments, all with an entry ticket as low as 50 EUR. Presently, the Splint Invest community boasts over 12,000 investors across Europe.
What are you doing that sets Splint Invest apart and makes your business unique?
What distinguishes Splint Invest is our distinctive legal and technological framework within Europe. This framework enables us to offer retail investors fractional access to alternative investments, such as art, cars, handbags, watches, and more. We prioritise security and reliability, ensuring that investors become co-owners of the asset and consequently, eliminating unwarranted counter-party risks. Moreover, ownership tokens are exportable, providing the flexibility for investors to choose between centralised custody by Splint Invest or decentralised custody.
Why did you choose to raise through your community and why did you choose Seedrs over other European fundraising platforms?
Involving our community is essential as it resonates with our core values and beliefs. Our mission centres around empowering retail investors to diversify their portfolios. Thus, aligning with these values, we sought to diversify our cap table and extend the opportunity to invest in our company to a broader audience. We firmly believe in the collective strength of the retail investor community and often leverage their intelligence, engaging shareholders in strategy decisions or workshops and capitalising on collective wisdom. Our choice of Seedrs stems from the positive experience we had with their team and their approach to collaboration, which resonated with us.
Can you tell us about your experience with the capital raise process?
Raising capital is consistently a challenge, particularly in today’s landscape. Fortunately, our funding rounds have been remarkably successful and smooth thus far. This success can largely be attributed to our extensive network of individual investors, which has significantly streamlined the capital raising process. With regard to the process itself, executing the campaign demanded significant effort and meticulous preparation, a factor that should not be underestimated.
Would you recommend Seedrs to other European businesses looking to raise capital?
In general, we would recommend capital raising through a community. Seedrs has proven to be an excellent platform, but each company should assess its individual needs, particularly considering differences between UK and local regulations. Following our Seedrs campaign, we witnessed a significant increase in networking opportunities and were fortunate to engage with numerous intriguing individuals, establishing valuable new business partnerships.
What are you using the proceeds of the campaign for?
The campaign proceeds are being utilised to develop new features and unlock additional asset categories. After successfully incorporating cars, precious metals and handbags, our next focus is on private equity funds. Furthermore, we are working on providing retail investors with the ability to exit their investments at any time, augmenting liquidity alongside the secondary market.
What advice would you offer to other founders seeking to raise capital?
Commence the capital raising process early and be prepared for a workload that may surpass initial expectations!
Looking to raise funds through your community?
Apply to raise on Seedrs here and our team of fundraising experts will be in touch.
