This round-up shows the flexibility of crowdfunding for a wide range of users. They include organisations that were asking for donations, selling equity, and encouraging people to invest in community shares.
First, did you know women-led crowdfunding projects outperform men’s by success rate in achieving funding, with 20% shorter campaign completion times.
Equity Crowdfunding
Established in 2009, the made-to-order and sustainable fashion brand Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (WISC) closed its equity crowdfunding campaign after beating its £150,000 target by 7%. The money will be used for marketing costs and new machinery.
The Smart Container Company is offering equity through crowdfunding to raise funds and accelerate the development of its smart beer kegs. IoT blockchain technology enables tracking their location and checking the temperature the contents is stored at. By February 28 the company had raised 112% of its £150,000 target with 22 days left to tun. EIS benefits (Enterprise Investment Scheme) are available for investors who are UK taxpayers.
JNCK Bakery offers low-sugar, nutritionally enhanced cookies, and recently launched in 550-plus stores across the UK. In February the fmcg startup closed an equity crowdfunding round after raising more than £260,000 to further accelerate growth.
Equity crowdfunding by Reality Games raised £1.56m to further develop an immersive geolocation and augmented reality version of the classic Monopoly board game. Players can explore their own city, trade virtual properties, and compete in global challenges.
UK healthtech startup MultiplAI Health is developing an AI and RNA-based screening test to detect earliest stage cardiovascular and complex diseases. By February 28, with 8 days left to run, MultiplAI Health had reached 71% of its £300,000 target to accelerate commercialising as a lab-developed test in the U.S. market.
Vegan fashion startup Immaculate Vegan, founded in 2019, raised £183,375 through equity crowdfunding from 114 investors. Its target was £150,000 to expand its women’s offering, build newer men’s, home, kids, beauty and pets categories, plus accelerate US customer growth.
A new night train service called “European Sleeper” has crowdfunded for a number of years and in total has raised over €5.5m from over 4,000 backers. The Sunday Times reported on one of its pilot journeys from Brussels to Venice, complete with passengers sleeping in refurbished carriages that are 50 or more year old.
Not at all such good news for investors in Gunna Drinks. The Grocer reported that the collapse of the premium soft drinks brand had left crowdfunding investors particularly angry. They hadn’t even been told the founder and CEO had stepped down last November. “Why are we always the last to know?” complained one exasperated backer.
On a happier note, two guys in Salford who have been friends since school launched The Salford Rum Company in 2018 with £5,000 of savings. Their premium rum rivals luxury gins, and they quickly raised over £314,000 from a round of equity crowdfunding. This has already beaten their £250,000 target and as from February 28 there’s still 26 days left to invest.
P2P Lending Through Bonds
British luxury home decor, wallpaper and lifestyle company, the B-Corp House of Hackney, is crowdfunding to raise £2 million by issuing fixed-interest bonds through Triodos Bank UK. It wants to buy out existing private equity shareholders and pursue its ESG commitments with more vigour. By February 28 it had raised just over £308,000 with 28 days left to run. Looks like it’s going to be a tough call.
Donations and Rewards Crowdfunding
Bramley Baths is an Edwardian heritage treasure in Leeds, and its fundraisers gave themselves until the end of February to raise the final balance of its community shares crowdfunding target of £350,000 to repair and restore the roof, while also installing new energy-saving features. By the time the crowdfunding project closed at 5pm on February 28 it had raised £374,360 from 531 investors in 140 days.
Community shares are an opportunity for people to champion a local organisation or community asset through financial investment. Community shares are unique to co-operatives and community benefit societies, and they can’t be sold to anyone else. Also, no matter how many shares anyone buys, each shareholder gets just one vote when it comes to making decisions.
A group of anaesthetists (doctors trained in anaesthesia) claim the General Medical Council has blurred the distinction between Doctors and Associates. They are crowdfunding to afford legal action against the GMC. It had raised £176,927 by February 28, and was scheduled to run for a further 30 days.
Aptitude Health & Fitness, a gym in Cheshire that launched during Covid, has gained permission to triple its size in new premises. In February the founder launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise £30,000 to meet some of the costs and also strengthen user loyalty. By February 28 he had raised over £17,600 with 16 days remaining.
The owners of Devon-based Sharpham Cheese, Greg and Nicky Parsons, hope their round of reward-based crowdfunding will raise £65,000 to enable them to invest in renewable energy, water recycling and new cheese making equipment.
Coming soon
In April I’ll be covering the EU-Startups Summit in Malta for Crowdsourcing Week and BOLD Awards. Two days of networking, inspiration, and learning includes 15 selected startups pitching to a panel of VCs and angel investors for funding. Find out more at https://eu-startups.com/summit/
In the meantime, if you have ideas and plans for using crowdfunding that you’d like to discuss with an impartial and independent crowdfunding adviser, please get in touch by email to [email protected].