Equity crowdfunding platform
Seedrs is an online equity crowdfunding company, headquartered in East London's Tech City , founded in 2009[ 1] and launched by Jeff Lynn and Carlos Silva in 2012.[ 2] [ 3] Since 2022 it has been a subsidiary of American crowdfunding company Republic .
In 2020, Seedrs announced that 250 startups had raised funding through its crowdfunding platform during 2019.[ 4] [ 5] By 2022, Seedrs reported that over £1.9 billion had been invested through the company.[ 6]
The company was founded in 2012 by Jeff Lynn and Carlos Silva as part of an MBA project at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford .[ 7]
In March 2012, Seedrs raised $1 million in seed funding from private investors including venture capital firm Draper Esprit .[ 8]
In May 2012, Seedrs became the first equity crowdfunding platform to receive regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority .[ 9]
In July 2012, Seedrs launched its platform to the public.[ 8] [ 10]
In November 2013, Seedrs raised £750,000 in funding through its own platform.[ 11]
In June 2015, professional tennis player Andy Murray joined Seedrs in an advisory role, having previously used the platform as an investor.[ 12] [ 13] [ 14]
In June 2017, Seedrs launched a secondary market , becoming the first equity crowdfunding platform to allow investors to buy and sell shares in unlisted companies.[ 15] [ 16] [ 17]
In August 2017, Jeff Lynn stepped down as CEO to take up a position as Executive Chairman. Former COO Jeff Kelisky was promoted to CEO.[ 18] [ 19]
In August 2017, Seedrs raised £4 million investment for challenger bank Revolut .[ 20] [ 21]
In October 2017, Seedrs announced it had raised £10 million in funding.[ 22] [ 23]
In December 2018, Seedrs launched a venture capital fund aimed at passive startup investors.[ 24]
In August 2019, Seedrs raised £4.5 million in funding.[ 25]
In 2020, Seedrs and Crowdcube agreed to a merger.[ 26] This was abandoned on 25 March 2021 after the Competition and Markets Authority raised concerns about the deal.[ 27]
In December 2021, Seedrs announced that it had agreed to be acquired by Republic , a US-based equity crowdfunding platform, for $100 million.[ 28] The acquisition was criticised by some of Seedrs' small investors over preferential treatment given to large shareholders.[ 29]
^ "Seedrs Limited" . Companies House . Retrieved 27 August 2022 .
^ Silver, James (7 July 2012). "East London's 20 hottest tech startups" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ "Just some of the investors you'll run into at #TheEuropas, June 13, London" . TechCrunch . Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ "Seedrs says amount invested on its platform jumped 49 per cent in 2019" . CityAM . 6 January 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ "Fintechs help deals on Seedrs jump nearly 50 percent" . AltFi . Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ "Republic – Seedrs Ramp Up Cross-Listed Securities Offerings" . Crowdfund Insider . 16 June 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022 .
^ "New Oxford Saïd research to study the economics of equity crowdfunding" . Saïd Business School . Retrieved 2 August 2018 .
^ a b Russell, Jon (6 July 2012). "Seedrs Launches in the UK, Allowing Anyone to Invest in a Startup" . The Next Web . Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ "FSA warning over crowdfunding sites" . The Independent . 18 August 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2012 .
^ "Eating Its Own Caviar, UK Equity Crowdfunding Platform Seedrs To Crowd-Raise £500K As It Expands To Europe" . TechCrunch . Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ Sparkes, Matthew (25 November 2013). "Crowdfunding start-up Seedrs raises £750,000 through its own website" . ISSN 0307-1235 . Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ Dann, Kitty (8 June 2015). "Andy Murray joins crowdfunding firm Seedrs" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ Sweney, Mark (19 August 2015). "Andy Murray uses crowdfunding firm to invest in UK startups" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ "No1 Seedr? Andy Murray backs more UK startups" . The Guardian . Press Association. 15 May 2017. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ "Start-ups might be about to receive a boost after Seedrs announces launch of secondary market" . The Independent . 8 May 2017. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ "Seedrs lifts cap on size of share lots in shakeup of its secondary market" . AltFi . Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ CNBC.com, Neil Ainger; Writer at (8 May 2017). "Seedrs to launch secondary market for crowdfund investors" . CNBC . Retrieved 4 June 2020 . ((cite web ))
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link )
^ "CEO switch for equity crowdfunder Seedrs" . AltFi . Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ "Jeff Lynn steps down as CEO of Seedrs to become executive chairman" . Startups.co.uk . 31 August 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ O'Halloran, Barry. "Andy Murray among Revolut investors on Seedrs" . The Irish Times . Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ "Revolut's $5.3 million crowdfunding campaign is oversubscribed" . TechCrunch . Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ Bounds, Andy (17 December 2017). "Crowdfunding a mission to save capitalism from itself" . FT.com . Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ "Seedrs valued at £50m after crowdfunding raise" . BusinessCloud.co.uk . Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ Evans, Peter. "Seedrs serves start-up fund" . ISSN 0140-0460 . Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ Alois, J. D. (30 August 2019). "Seedrs Confirms £4.5 Million Funding Round, Larger Raise to Follow. Seedrs Users May Gain Access to Round" . Crowdfund Insider . Retrieved 4 June 2020 .
^ Butcher, Mike (5 October 2020). "Crowdcube and Seedrs agree to merge, creating a significant private equity marketplace" . TechCrunch . Retrieved 8 March 2021 .
^ Lynn, Jeff (25 March 2021). "Seedrs Terminates Merger with Crowdcube, Announces New Funding Round" . Seedrs . Retrieved 28 March 2021 .
^ Butcher, Mike (1 December 2021). "Republic acquires the UK's Seedrs in $100M deal to push into Europe" . TechCrunch . Retrieved 18 April 2022 .
^ Hurley, James (8 December 2021). "Seedrs sale to Republic a betrayal, say small backers" . The Times. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2022 .
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