Imagine walking in a Cupertino neighborhood in 1976 and finding two geeky kids holed up in a garage. “We’re building the world’s next great computer,” the lanky one says. You ask how much it would cost to go from garage band to full-fledged business, and they offer you shares in the startup. You’d walk away having invested in the world’s most valuable publicly traded company, and Steve Jobs gets to drive away with his Volkswagen bus.
Only this is 2020, where fledgling entrepreneurs can turn to crowdfunding to build the next great thing — be it the “Amazon of Pharmacy” or a fully autonomous robotic lawnmower. Anything is possible, if not incredibly risky.
In fact, there can only be risk when investing in startups. Many are pre-revenue, untested and banking on ideas that could be ahead of their time, just right on time or completely off the reservation. You could just as easily invest in the next Theranos before the next Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).
That’s where we come in. InvestorPlace’s foray into private investing features many of our top writers and analysts. Each of whom have taken deep dives into equity crowdfunding offerings. Reading their insights can give you a leg up when investing in startups.
Here you’ll find snippets taken directly from the articles of our writers on various equity crowdfunding investments. Read through, breathe it in and step confidently into shoes that just 10 years were filled by accredited investors:
Startups to Invest In: NowRx Could Be a Big Winner
Equity Crowdfunding Site: SeedInvest
Days Left to Invest: 17 days
Let me start this piece by saying three very important things:
First, I’d like to introduce you to NowRx, an on-demand e-pharmacy which — much like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) leveraged technology and same-day shipping to disrupt the multi-trillion dollar retail market — is leveraging technology and a same-day prescription delivery service to disrupt the several hundred billion dollar U.S. legacy pharmacy industry.
In this sense, I like to think of NowRx as the “Amazon of Pharmacy.”
Second, NowRx is not a public company. You can’t buy and sell shares of NowRx like you can buy and sell shares of Amazon. Bummer.
Third, thanks to some major advancements in crowdfunding technology and legislation, you can now invest in next-generation startups like NowRx for the long haul.
Simply go to SeedInvest.com. Create an account (it only takes a few minutes). Search for NowRx, and click the button that says “Invest in NowRx.”
It’s that simple.
Searching for the Next Amazon: TerraCycle
Equity Crowdfunding Site: StartEngine
Amount Raised: $3.19mm of its $12.75mm funding goal
Hunting for the next Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) doesn’t necessarily mean you’re searching for the next big consumer tech explosion. “The next Amazon” largely means finding the next high-growth stock of the future. And the earlier you invest in these companies, the bigger the gains. Few options can beat privately traded firms in this regard, but private investing has historically held a high barrier to entry.
Does your net worth exceed $1 million (not including your primary residence)? Do you make more than $200,000 per year ($300,000 if you file taxes jointly with your spouse)? If you do, congratulations! You’re an accredited investor and can invest in private businesses.
If not, don’t fret. You can still invest in privately traded companies through equity crowdfunding … but, boy, if there were ever an area of the market that felt as if it were pioneered by the likes of Saul Goodman, it’s regulation crowdfunding.
That’s because regulation crowdfunding stipulates that firms raise no more than $1.07 million … per year. This severely hampers the quality of offerings, as few startups worth investing in need such small amounts of cash. Regulation A+ offerings, though, can raise substantially more. So when looking through offerings, I stuck to swiping through companies in the latter category … and I stumbled on an anomaly in TerraCycle.
Now I’m sure many of you have heard of this company in passing before, but what caught my eye was the amount it’s raised ($12 million) and the revenue it already brings in ($20 million in 2018).
By the end of its funding round, TerraCycle hopes to raise $25 million. Just what is this company that I’ve never heard of and how is it that it’s already profitable. And why does it continue to attract so much cash from everyday people?
Startups to Invest In: Graze Is a High-Potential Automation Play
Equity Crowdfunding Site: SeedInvest
Amount Raised: $1.09mm raised
As readers of mine know, I’m hugely bullish on the equity crowdfunding space, seeing it as an enormous opportunity for retail investors to diversify their portfolio with potentially explosive early-stage investments in tomorrow’s most important companies.
With that in mind, one of the more interesting private investments that I’ve come across on crowdfunding platform SeedInvest is robotic commercial lawnmower maker, Graze.
In short, Graze is a pre-revenue company that has developed a fully-autonomous, robotic commercial lawnmower. Management believes this breakthrough technology has the power to disrupt the $54 billion U.S. commercial landscaping market, by addressing and eliminating the market’s biggest pain-points: labor costs, fuel costs, safety-related workers compensation and pollution.
Those pain-points are painful enough — and the benefits of Graze’s solutions clear enough — that I do believe this company has a good opportunity to become a meaningfully large player in the U.S. commercial landscaping market.
If so, an investment in Graze today could yield huge returns.
Graze’s current financing round on SeedInvest values the company at $23 million (pre-money). My modeling suggests that a $1 billion valuation is possible within the next decade. That represents several thousand percent return.
Hearo.Live: Going Virtual With Live Events
Equity Crowdfunding Site: Republic
Days Left to Invest: 59 days
Technology has certainly helped to deal with the terrible impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic, as seen with Slack Technologies (NYSE:WORK) and Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ:ZM). But there are a variety of early-stage startups that are looking to provide solutions as well. Just look at Hearo.Live. The company’s mobile app allows you to chat while doing such things as watching movies, games, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) streams or shows. What’s more, through the crowdfunding site Republic, you can invest in Hearo.Live.
The founders include CEO Edward Lerner and Dwight Kwok, the company’s vice president of business development. Lerner is the person who wrote Electronic Arts’ (NASDAQ:EA) first 3D game. He has also created companies likes Looking Glass and Multitidue. As for Kwok, he was the general manager in Greater China for Xsolla, where he was responsible for monetizing media and entertainment properties.So far, the company has raised $196,536 from 629 investors and the valuation is $12.5 million.
Startups to Invest In: Fleeting Wants to Shake Up the Trucking Industry
Equity Crowdfunding Site: Republic
Days Left to Invest: 75 days
Fleeting, which operates a platform to better manage trucking fleets, is using the crowdfunding site Republic to raise capital. So far, the company has received commitments for $219,559 from more than 1,000 investors. And the valuation is $10 million if you want to invest in Fleeting.
The company got its start back in April 2018. There are also three founders, which include:
- CEO Pierre Laguerre: He has 11 years experience as a CDL Class A Truck driver and owned his own operation, which generated $1 million in revenues during the first year. Laguerre has started several other businesses, with the aggregate revenues of $4 million.
- CTO Anil Jagarlamudi: He has over two decades experience in the software industry and has held executive-level positions at companies like Luma and AirWatch, which was acquired by VMware (NYSE:VMW).
- COO Paul Munguia: His background is in the fintech industry. He also co-founded Upright, which helps to build startups.
Genobank: Looking to Remake the DNA Kit Market
Equity Crowdfunding Site: Republic
Days Left to Invest: 60 days
Genobank.io, a startup that is developing a secure DNA kit, is currently raising a round of capital though the Republic crowdfunding platform. So far more than $325,000 has been raised from more than 1,000 investors. The valuation is set at $10 million.
The founders include Daniel Uribe, who is the CEO, and Everardo Barojas. Uribe is a serial entrepreneur and has worked at companies like Sun Microsystems. Some of his areas of expertise include cybersecurity, blockchain, and cloud computing. He also has a degree in electrical engineering and an executive MBA from Stanford GSB.
As for Barojas, he is a PhD candidate and has a computer science degree. His main focus at Genobank is on the technology side, such as with the development of the RexChain fork for encrypted data.
Startups to Invest In: Upshift Is Looking to Redefine Car Ownership
Equity Crowdfunding Site: Republic
Days Left to Invest: 121 days
The past decade has seen much transformation of transportation, as seen with breakout companies like Uber (NYSE:UBER) and Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT). But for the founders of startup Upshift – Ezra Goldman, who started a dockless bikeshare service in 1999 and Ayako Hiwasa, a social entrepreneur – believe that there is still much room for interesting ideas in the space.
Now Upshift is essentially reimagining the traditional car purchase model.
To prove this out, Upshift is raising capital on the crowdsourcing platform, Republic. The valuation of the round is at $8 million.
Then how does Upshift work? Let’s take a look at the workflow. If you need a car, you text Upshift for where you want the vehicle delivered and at what time. The company will then drive it to you, all gassed up and clean.
You can then take it anywhere you want. Keep in mind that there are no mileage restrictions. And when you are finished, Upshift will pick up the vehicle.
OK, why do this instead of getting a ride from Uber or Lyft?
Teooh: The Virtual Event App for the Novel Coronavirus Era
Equity Crowdfunding Site: Republic
Days Left to Invest: 10 days
Teooh, which is a developer of a mobile app for virtual events, is attempting to raise a round of capital. The approach is to use a crowdfunding platform called Republic. For Teooh’s funding, the valuation cap is $10 million.
OK then, let’s get some background on the company: When Don Stein graduated from college, he moved from Detroit to San Francisco, with the goal of becoming a venture capitalist. But this proved extremely difficult as he had few contacts in the industry. He kept networking and met a prominent angel investor, who liked Stein’s approach. With the investor’s help, he seeded a small venture fund called Candela Partners.
A key part of the strategy was actually to host events with the portfolio companies. Yet there was a nagging issue: Only those around the Bay area could attend.
Stein wondered if he could use cutting-edge technologies like Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) to create virtual events. In other words, would it be possible to replicate the face-to-face experience?
Startups to Invest In: 3 Reasons to Invest $500 in ModVans’ CV1 Campervan
Equity Crowdfunding Site: StartEngine
Days Left to Invest: 29 days
I recently wrote about three equity crowdfunding investments raising funds on StartEngine, which the 2020 Inc. 5000 calls the 10th fastest-growing private company in the state of California. The star of the article was BrewDog USA, the American subsidiary of the U.K. craft brewer, that’s used its Equity for Punks platform since 2010 to raise millions of dollars of capital to fund its growth. In both crowdfunding and craft beer circles, BrewDog’s reputation is legendary. In addition to Brew Dog, I recommended investors check out two other StartEngine equity crowdfunding investments worthy of consideration. One of them was ModVans, a California-based manufacturer of CV1 modular van conversions.
“Why do I like it?” I stated April 19. “Millennials will love the company’s CV1 campervan. Plus, it already has $3.7 million in sales.” How popular are campervans with millennials? Thor Industries (NYSE:THO), the largest manufacturer of motorhomes and trailers in the U.S., has big plans for this segment of the RV market.
“We see growing potential for [the camper van] product category in North America,” Thor Industries CEO Bob Martin said in April. “Last year, the camper community there grew by 1.4 million households — 56 percent of which are millennials. These new participants are often returning to the roots of campervanning and prefer a lifestyle that involves less effort while offering more adventure and experiential quality.”
Knightscope: Invest In a Different Kind of Cybersecurity
Equity Crowdfunding Site: StartEngine
Amount Raised: $7.12mm of $11.75mm goal
Founded in 2013, Knightscope is the developer of fully autonomous security robots or bots. The company’s mission is “to make the United States of America the safest country in the world.” But is Knightscope a business you can invest in?
The company is actually raising capital through an online crowdfunding platform, called StartEngine. The goal is to raise $50 million.
Note that Knightscope has already raised $46.6 million from prior rounds of financing, such as from family offices and retail investors. So let’s get a backgrounder on the company and its prospects.
As of this writing, John Kilhefner did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
