Republic is an online equity crowdfunding platform that offers investment opportunities across a variety of sectors. There are plenty of opportunities to explore, and I will present the seven best startups to invest in now. But as always, keep in mind that investing in startups comes with higher risk.
Republic takes the screening process for startups seriously. However, further due diligence is recommended. Think carefully about your goals, criteria and investing philosophy.
Here are seven equity crowdfunding startups that are highly funded on Republic now:
- GRID
- Terraformation
- Sugarfina
- Hawaiian Bros
- Lora DiCarlo
- Emrod
- Obi
Equity Crowdfunding on Republic: GRID
GRID is revolutionizing the gaming industry by making it easy for everyone to create video games quickly and with no code. Can games become more than just entertainment? GRID believes that games can be used to educate and add value. Beyond just playing games for fun, GRID suggests that teachers or businesses could use games to express ideas in novel ways. These are just two of its limitless applications for storytelling.
The main problems preventing most people from creating games are time, money and the coding skills required. But GRID is offering its software as a service (SaaS) platform, allowing anyone to create purposeful games for educational, business or marketing reasons.
According to GRID, there is a business opportunity “at the intersection of no-code/purposeful video games/content creation.” The company says the purposeful games industry will be worth $28.8 billion by 2025.
The idea is to make communication both fun and impactful via games. The business model is a SaaS subscription model with additional revenue such as business-to-business (B2B) game development services, advertising and royalties.
The minimum investment in GRID is $100.
Terraformation
Terraformation is attempting to reverse climate change. Can we achieve forest restoration to save our planet and maybe reverse climate change and its devastating effects?
If we are to reverse climate change, we need to remove a lot of carbon from the atmosphere. Terraformation believes the best solution to capture and remove carbon is reforestation. It has a solution to build natural carbon removal systems. According to Terraformation, “native forest ecosystems are the most effective, cheap, and scalable” solution to this problem.
Terraformation has designed low-cost, scalable restoration sites. Deploying these sites requires seed supply, training and equipment, funding and water, all made possible by improvements in solar panel technology. Carbon credits offer a revenue stream that will only become more desirable in the future.
The minimum investment in Terraformation is $50.
Equity Crowdfunding on Republic: Sugarfina
Sugarfina asks, “why can’t candy be luxurious and playful?” There is hardly any person who does not love candy.
Sugarfina offers high-quality, luxury candy with a strong focus on being fun and engaging. Sugarfina has collaborations with artisan candy makers to create unique flavors for all tastes.
The Candy Bento Box is at the core of the offerings available, offering customization by creating your collection of candy either online or physically in a store.
The traction is present with 25 boutiques in North America and two franchise locations in Hong Kong. In the trailing twelve months, the company has $28.5 million in revenue.
The business model includes five channels: e-commerce, retail, wholesale, corporate and international sales. Sugarfina says that “industry analysts valued the global confectionery market at $190B in 2018, and project growth to $245B by 2026.” A significant share is already achieved in the U.S. market and there are ambitious plans for international expansion.
The minimum investment in Sugarfina is $507.15.
Hawaiian Bros
Hawaiian Bros is a different approach to the limited-service restaurant field. Most only three types of food: pizza, burgers and chicken. Why not have more options when it comes to food that is fast, affordable and fresh?
Unique food opportunities are a great experience. That is what Hawaiian Bros is all about.
The company’s Hawaiian plate lunches made both with an emphasis on tradition and quality. The company promises that its “restaurants have no freezers, fryers, or microwaves,” which is great news.
The idea of not offering a huge variety of choices but focusing on a limited number of options is clever and effective, as it keeps costs down and supports profitability.
The traction is here with reported revenue of more than $20 million in 2020 and trailing twelve months revenue of more than $33 million as of July. The restaurant is quickly expanding, with five locations in 2020 and 25 to 30 by the end of 2021.
The minimum investment in Hawaiian Bros is $200.
Equity Crowdfunding on Republic: Lora DiCarlo
Lora DiCarlo is making sensual health and wellness products for women. Right now, there is lack of innovation in the products offered in the women’s sensual health and wellness industry.
Lora DiCarlo’s products use technology to mimic the touch and movements of humans. These products are made based on the knowledge and experience of certified wellness coaches.
Lora DiCarlo products have made sales of $7.5 million in 2020, and the gross margins reported were 68%. In 2019 the revenue reported was $0.
That fast expansion is because what used to be a single product has now become a range of 11 products with a business model supporting global sales. Another important thing to mention is that Cara Delevingne is an investor and creative advisor to Lora DiCarlo. Celebrity endorsements are useful for supporting sales and building brand recognition faster.
According to Lora DiCarlo, “the global sensual wellness market has doubled in recent years to $74.7 billion.” The minimum investment in this sensual wellness for women startup is $100.
Emrod
Emrod has developed the world’s first commercially viable long-range wireless power transmission. Traditionally, electricity has required massive amounts of wired infrastructure to be sent to long distances. Emrod is changing this completely and wants to disrupt the energy infrastructure. The traditional lines of poles that are used for transporting energy are very costly.
Antennas are used along with proprietary technology to send power. The company already important partnerships, such as with Powerco, the second-largest energy distribution company in New Zealand.
The business model is based on direct sales, channel partners that will offer maintenance contracts and licensing Emrod intellectual property. The projected revenue for 2021 is $3.3 million.
The company’s vision is interesting and the opportunity is big, as the technology applies to several key industries.
The minimum investment in Emrod is $150.
Equity Crowdfunding on Republic: Obi
Obi is an app that combines all the major ride-hail and taxis companies globally so that you can get real-time price comparisons, pickup times and other useful information using a set of filters.
The ride-hail industry is booming globally and Obi is a solution to availability, price and service comparison to avoid overpaying and low quality in these services. The app is easy to use in just three steps. Step one is to enter your location and your preferred destination to get all available ride options. Step two is the use of machine learning technology to make smarter ride decisions. Step three is to choose from the largest network of drivers in the world.
The ride-hail industry is expected to bounce back this year, and Obi offers savings and convenience to riders.
The business model is based on multiple revenue streams, from the service fee of each booking to advertising, subscriptions and licensing related to the advanced technology used.
What about the market growth and opportunity? According to Obi, “the global ridehail marketplace is projected to grow from $260 billion in 2021 to $386 billion in 2025.” The minimum investment in Obi is $250.
On the date of publication, Stavros Georgiadis, CFA did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
Stavros Georgiadis is a CFA charter holder, an Equity Research Analyst, and an Economist. He focuses on U.S. stocks and has his own stock market blog at thestockmarketontheinternet.com/. He has written in the past various articles for other publications and can be reached on Twitter and on LinkedIn.
