Startup investing today is much simpler and easier than it was a few years ago. In today’s investing world, there are several ways to find startups to invest in, and Republic is one of the top online equity crowdfunding platforms. Since 2016, its one-million-plus investors have put more than $500 million into companies on the platform, resulting in more than 500 funded deals.
So what are some of the interesting startups to invest in on Republic now? Well first, it is notable to mention that all companies on Republic are vetted and pass due diligence. This initial screening is very important, and Republic mentions that it accepts less than 5% of the startups to get featured on its platform.
However, if you’re interested in investing in one of these, you should do your own due diligence and make sure you have a clear understanding of all the risks related to startup investing.
Today, let’s look at seven of the best startups on Republic:
- Performlive
- Maine Craft Distilling
- Troop
- Miso Robotics
- Amplio.ai
- La Borra Cafe California
- NatureTrak
Startups to Invest In: Performlive
Online shopping is nothing new, but it often lacks in the customer experience unless you know exactly what you are looking for. Browsing turns into scrolling down past page after page of items and their descriptions to decide whether to buy or not.
What if there was a platform that would make online shopping more interesting, interactive and profitable for sellers and creators?
Performlive is a platform connecting individuals, businesses and brands for e-commerce via interactive live stream. Forget text descriptions of the items, sellers and creators can monetize their talent and services by using live streaming across multiple social media platforms to show off their items.
With the use of augmented reality technology, customers can try products virtually before they buy, and the interactivity can be essential to build a community and ultimately a loyal audience. This is ideal for customers searching for the extra value and satisfaction, and for sellers looking to maximize their earnings.
At first, Performlive is focusing on the health and wellness markets, as that market is presenting a large business opportunity. But in reality, the choices are endless, from mentoring and consulting to selling goods and services and live streaming their features, uses, and even answering live frequently asked questions. Livestream commerce seems to be the future and present of online shopping. You just have to act fast — funding ends tomorrow!
The minimum investment in Performlive on Republic is $100.
Maine Craft Distilling
Maine Craft Distilling is a Portland-based distillery focusing on farm-to-flask spirits founded in 2012. In a world full of mass-produced spirits, authenticity and uniqueness are features that are often lost to meet the commercialization needs.
Maine Craft Distilling is “an authentic, on-trend spirits and canned cocktails brand,” having a line of six sparkling craft cocktails made with natural ingredients. The company touts two major principles in its business model: creativity and ingenuity, which are reflected in the design of its cans that are inspired by the Maine landscape.
The company sees a large market opportunity as the ready-to-drink (RTD) market is expected to grow 26.5% between the years 2018 to 2023. Some of the most important factors that support the rising demand for these RTD products are that they are convenient, flavored and versatile, with new flavors and ingredients always ready to be tested out.
Maine Craft Distilling is a profitable company with $2.6 million in revenue generated in 2020.
Funding closes on Nov. 13. The minimum amount of investment in Maine Craft Distilling on Republic is $100.
Startups to Invest In: Troop
Troop believes life is too short to compromise on your alcohol. That is the main idea behind Troop, a premium ready-to-drink cocktail brand made with real ingredients and no chemical flavors. They have low calories, are low in sugar, and boast a variety of cocktails ranging from Gin Spritz to Rum Mojito, with more coming soon.
The cocktails are canned in Napa, California by using only natural fresh-squeezed juices, herbs, and botanicals. They are 10% alcohol by volume, and have 3g of sugar and 125 calories, so that you can just enjoy the moment of drinking.
This ready-to-drink beverage category that Troop targets is a quick-growing part of the $250 billion U.S. alcohol market. And traction is present for Troop, with revenue projected to be more than $1 million in 2021.
The business model has three channels — wholesale, hospitality, and online or direct to consumer via the website at DrinkTroop.com.
Funding closes on Nov. 13. The minimum investment in Troop on Republic is $100.
Miso Robotics
Would you like robotic help when cooking? Most people would say yes to an extra hand or two, and Miso Robotics is building this helping hand using artificial intelligence and robotics. It is building a fully autonomous robotic kitchen assistant to disrupt the restaurant industry.
Two of the main problems for restaurant owners are low margins and a lack of skilled labor due to the rising demand and the shrinking supply of workers. But we live in an era full of technology, and the kitchen can be tech-savvy too.
What if restaurants could help boost their profits by lowering labor costs while providing the same quality? Miso Robotics is providing this solution with its autonomous kitchen assistants. Restaurants can operate their artificial-intelligence-powered robotic kitchen to automate tasks such as frying and grilling.
This robotic kitchen assistant is named Flippy. Meanwhile, the company recently launched Flippy 2, which has more advanced features. There is a second product also, named CookRight, which is essentially an AI-powered cooking platform with the ability to identify products and tasks on a grill.
Miso Robotics has been active in deploying its products, having partnerships with White Castle, CaliBurger, and Major League Baseball stadiums. The business model is Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS), meaning there is a subscription model of an average amount of $3,000 per month without any upfront costs. And the QSR (quick-service restaurants) market is a large business opportunity, estimated to be a $6.9 billion market just in the U.S.
Funding closes on Nov. 19. The minimum investment in Miso Robotics on Republic is $950.
Startups to Invest In: Amplio.ai
Performance at work is a highly desirable feature. Corporations are always looking at how to get the best out of their employees, but that is easy to aim for and hard to achieve. Reality differs from desire in our daily lives for our work environment. So how can corporations make their employees ready to perform and avoid burnout, which can result in loss of customers and a decrease in revenue and productivity?
Amplio.ai provides all the technology that businesses need to help employees avoid burnout. Amplio app is an AI-driven dashboard that covers more than 200 factors to create models for everyone, providing both recommendations and guidance so that each person can perform daily without any unwanted burnout symptoms. A total solution to fight chronic stress.
The business model is a business to business enterprise SaaS approach. Amplio.ai has a contract of $2.1 million with the Department of Defense in 2020, which was extended to a contract of $3.6 million for 2021. The total addressable market is estimated to be more than $411 billion, including the corporate wellness sector and the learning and development sector.
Funding closes on Nov. 22. The minimum investment in Amplio.ai on Republic is $5,000.
La Borra Cafe California
La Borra Cafe California is a coffee chain with over 70 branches in Mexico, that is now expanding to California. It wants to address the problem most coffee shops face today — a lack of community built by their customers. What if you could go to a coffee shop and watch a movie, enjoying the environment that is unique at each location? Or could book a private meeting room at La Borra Cafe California to discussa project you are currently working on?
La Borra Cafe California has been nominated for Best Franchisee of the World 2020 and also nominated by The Economist as the “fastest-growing café in western Mexico.”
The company has a history built in Mexico, where the coffee beans are roasted in-house and are sourced directly from farmers in Mexico. La Borra Cafe California wants to write new history now in California, bringing in Mexican snacks and desserts other than coffee drinks.
The total addressable market is estimated to be more than $47.5 billion.
Funding opens soon and you can sign up to be alerted when it does.
Startups to Invest In: NatureTrak
Investing in cannabis gained a lot of interest in 2021, with the President Joe Biden administration being friendlier to the cannabis industry. That stoked hopes that cannabis may be made federally legal both for personal and pharmaceutical use soon.
Still, running a cannabis business today in the U.S is very stressful and risky due to a mix of legal, operational and regulatory issues.
NatureTrak is providing a solution to financial institutions, creating an app to help them track and understand their risks. It is a complete solution for tasks such as local and state regulations, financial documents and compliance software, so that cannabis operators can become clients of banks. NatureTrak’s enterprise risk management platform is offering banks the assurance that they will comply with the very strict AML (anti-money laundering) policies and federal and state laws.
All of these tasks are provided under full transparency and a risk analysis methodology.
NatureTrak had revenue of $179,000 for 2020 and is expected to generate revenue of $1.2 million for 2021.
Funding ends on Dec. 2. The minimum investment in NatureTrak on Republic is $100.04.
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.
