Raising Crowd Capital with Jonny Price of WeFunder
What if you, as an ordinary person, had the opportunity to invest in a startup you loved, just like angel investors do? Wefunder is a platform that enables these opportunities, and today’s guest, Jonny Price, VP of fundraising at the platform, joins us to share some insights into how it all works.
We talk about the benefits of this model of crowdfunding, both for investors and for founders. Not only does it democratize the space, but companies then have a built-in army of loyal followers. Disruptive technology that can work to distribute wealth is going to be a game-changer in our increasingly unequal society, and with a company like Wefunder leading the charge, we are excited to see where this movement will go.
Key Points From This Episode:
What Wefunder does and the policy changes that enabled them to publicly crowdfund.
The fundraising model Wefunder uses is growing in popularity.
The difference between fundraising from individual investors and accredited investors.
How founders are typically using Wefunder and some of the use cases.
Wefunder’s market share in this crowdfunding space.
Tips Jonny would give founders who are looking to fundraise through Wefunder.
The dual benefit of using Wefunder: quicker fundraising and an army of brand ambassadors.
How a Wefunder campaign differs from a traditional pitch deck.
The company size that works best on Wefunder.
Where Jonny sees the democratized fundraising space going.
Investing in startups is not risk-free, but there is potential for great upside.
Get to know Jonny, his background, and why his family moved to Nashville last May.
The work Jonny did at Kiva and the Zip Pilot Program he worked on.
What Jonny’s role on the Community Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve entailed.
Tweetables:
“Wefunder is a platform that allows anyone to invest in startups that they love. Normally when startups raise money, they are raising from accredited investors, rich people basically. And with Wefunder, we allow ordinary people, the customers, fans, community members, friends and family of the startup founder to invest. ” — @JonnyCPrice [0:10:21]
“This is the disruption of early stage investing through democratic platforms.” — @JonnyCPrice [0:16:41]
“I would argue that in almost all cases, it’s going to be easier to raise the money on Wefunder because you just have so many more things that you can do.” — @JonnyCPrice [0:25:57]
“Enabling ordinary people in those explosive upside potential investment opportunities is a big part of why we do what we do.” — @JonnyCPrice [0:36:24]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
