This month, we’ve already seen the fourth Seedrs startup reach 100% of their investment amount. These successes have provided us a few early lessons on things for both entrepreneurs and investors to take note.
Crowdfunding lessons for Entrepreneurs
Videos matter
All four successful listings so far have included videos as part of their pitches. Some are 100% homemade, some are professionally edited, some are just people talking to the camera, others are pure animations. As investors generally don’t have the opportunity to meet you face-to-face, a video helps instil trust in you and your company.
Small amounts fund faster
Obviously, if you’re looking to raise £150,000, it’ll take a bit longer to raise everything you need. If possible, break your round up so that you raise a small amount first, make a bit of progress, and then come back (with the validation of a successful first round behind you) and raise the rest—potentially even at a higher valuation.
Engage with your community
You can’t just sit back and expect people to find and invest in your business. You need to reach out to your friends, family, neighbours, fans, followers – everyone you know – to not only inform them you’re seeking capital but why they should part with their spare cash. Engage through your online channels, send out press releases, make fun t-shirts – if you’re not passionate, why should they be? Moreover, showing that you can raise money from your networks—even if it’s just a bit—is a great signal about you and will encourage external investors to come on board.
Crowdfunding lessons for Investors
If you see a great startup, don’t hold off investing!
You don’t want to kick yourself when they reach full-investment and you wish you’d been a part of it. Remember, if a business doesn’t fully-fund, you get all of your investment back in-full when it expires.
Ask enough questions to make yourself comfortable
If there’s something you need clarification on or want to learn a bit more about – just ask! We’ve got a great Q&A facility at the bottom of each listing that allows you to publicly ask entrepreneurs questions to make you confident in your investment decisions.
Read through all the listings
We think that the crowd can make great decisions about what is a great idea by investing in them. But, have a gander at the listings, as even the most obscure could be right up your alley! You could find some real gems hidden throughout the listings that haven’t made their way to the front page yet. Use the different filtering options at the top of your screen to find the “right one”.
