Crowdfunder launched its equity-based campaign on Crowdcube at 9am yesterday. 15 minutes later the platform found itself on the receiving end of £230k’s worth of investment. The innovation charity Nesta was the first to pledge its support – investing a massive £150,000 into the platform.
Phil Geraghty, Managing Director of Crowdfunder, was understandably elated:
“It's been an awesome day - a massive endorsement of what we've been doing at Crowdfunder - and the sheer power of crowdfunding as a way to raise investment. I'd like to thank all of those who have backed our great idea - and our desire to turn more ideas into reality.
“Crowdfunder makes a great investment because we are a digital high-growth business in a fast growing market, but also we are really proud of the social and economic impact that we are having across the whole of the UK. We welcome the support we have received in helping us crowdfund the future.”
To date, Crowdfunder has raised upwards of £1.5m for over 4,000 projects – ranging from businesses, to charities, communities and social enterprises. The platform has grown by a factor of 15 over the past year. The Crowdfunding Centre recently revealed that Crowdfunder displays more projects than all other UK platforms – laying down a challenge even to the likes of Kickstarter on UK soil.
Co-Founder of Crowdcube Luke Lang was full of praise for the rewards-based platform:
"It is a tribute to Crowdfunder and its team that it secured it £500k target in just over 3 hours, which sets a new record for the fastest equity crowdfunding raise ever. With investment form NESTA and more than 200 investors Crowdfunder is now well placed to take advantage of the growing crowdfunding market."
