SyndicateRoom
| Web address |
www |
|---|---|
| Commercial? | Yes |
Type of site | Equity crowdfunding |
| Available in | English |
| Launched | 21 September 2013 |
SyndicateRoom is an online equity crowdfunding platform credited with being the first to have a company raise funds and go on to IPO (initial public offering) with the Mill Residential REIT listing on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) on December 23, 2014.[1]
The equity crowdfunding platform is the only UK-based platform to use the investor-led model [2] which creates a syndicate of investors around professional investors who take the lead investor role and allows online investors to join the syndicate of investors.
SyndicateRoom allows investors to invest in British early-stage and growth businesses that have secured lead investment from an experienced individual or group, generally a professional angel investors (also known as 'business angels') or early stage Venture Capital company.[3]
Companies seeking investment via SyndicateRoom are required to have at least 25% of the investment round already committed from business angels and/or professional arms-length investors.
SyndicateRoom is an 'all or nothing' equity crowdfunding platform. If a company seeking investment from the crowd fails to reach its declared financial target it does not receive any funding.
SyndicateRoom is headquartered in Cambridge and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (formerly the FSA).
History
SyndicateRoom was founded by Gonçalo de Vasconcelos (CEO) and Tom Britton (CTO) on September 21, 2013. The pair met by chance at a networking event in Cambridge. Both de Vasconcelos and Britton studied at the Cambridge Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge where they were awarded their Master of Business Administration in 2010 and 2012 respectively.
Key Events
- In its first year in business (September 2013 – 2014), SyndicateRoom raised over £10,000,000 of investment for British companies.[4][5]
- August 2014, Aeristech Ltd became SyndicateRoom's fastest raise with the funding round closing just 24 hours after it opened
- July 2014, SyndicateRoom became a founding member of Innovate Finance - an organisation whose goal is to accelerate technology-lead financial services innovation
- April 2014, Apta Biosciences closed a £1.85 million round - SyndicateRoom's biggest funding round for 2014
- March 2015, Con Air Director Simon West's film "Salty" closes funding round on SyndicateRoom raising £2,294,150[6]
Entrepreneurs
Companies offering equity via the SyndicateRoom platform have ranged from E-Go - an innovative light aeroplane which is the first to be designed and built in the UK for decades[7] to Lightpoint Medical[8] - ground-breaking technology that pinpoints and diagnoses cancer in real-time during surgery.
References
- ↑ "Hilton: Cheers all round for peer-to-peer funding revolution". Evening Standard. The Evening Standard.
- ↑ Forbes, Mar 11, 2015
- ↑ Knight, Julian (27 July 2013). "Is it time to put yourself on the side of the angels in this innovative take on crowdfunding?". The Independent. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
- ↑ Coleman, Alison (26 September 2014). "SyndicateRoom: Hollywood Calls On Investor-led Equity Crowdfunding". Forbes.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ↑ IdeaSpace (9 October 2014). "Equity crowdfunding startup hits £10 million milestone in first year". Cabume.com. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
- ↑ "Con Air director takes Salty path to a crowdfunding record". The Guardian (The Guardian). Retrieved 06/10/2015. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "First aircraft in decades to be designed and built in Britain to takeoff on SyndicateRoom". Cambridge Network. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ↑ "Success story: novel imaging system guides surgeons to cancers". GOV.UK. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.