Top 10 Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Have Raised $711,196 Since May 16th Using Title III, Regulation Crowdfunding
Austin, Texas – Here is a update of the first round of Title III, Regulation Crowdfunding campaigns that launched on May 16th, almost a month ago. In aggregate, the crowdfunding campaigns have raised $711,196. And that figure would be much higher if we included the all 40 of the equity crowdfunding campaigns that have been approved by the SEC for issuing Title III offerings.
To give crowdfunders an idea of which platform is raising the most money, we added up the totals for each platform and so far, WeFunder is ruling the roost with 61% of all money raised:
- WeFunder.com $433,094
- NextSeed $112,500
- StartEngine $91,302
- SeedInvest $74,300
Total: $711,196
Why are some companies raising a lot of money and others are struggling? It comes down to how much money these crowdfunding campaigns are spending on marketing. Its hard to raise money unless campaigns are spending money on advertising, email, PR, social media and website marketing to raise awareness for their campaign and its products or services. Simply listing a campaign on a fundraising portal is not enough and why 60% of rewards-based campaigns fail.
For example, check out the profiles below to see their company websites, their social media credentials on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and then Google their founders names and company names to see what they have done to promote their company in the news media.
It will be easy to see what management teams have done the proper prep work and planned effective marketing campaigns and which teams haven’t even been able to cobble together a simple company website.
If a management team can’t build a simple website, how in the world can they run a successful business?
One founder commented that, “They didn’t build a website because they wanted everyone to focus on their crowdfunding campaign profile.”
Most investors will read everything they can about the company, their products/services, news stories, research reports, industry analysts projections for the marketplace, etc., etc.
The goal should be to provide enough information to remove all the fear, doubt and uncertainty from the investment sales equation and give them the urge to invest before they even start reviewing the SEC financial disclosure information on the crowdfunding portal’s website.
For example, let’s take at look at NextRX. They are on the StartEngine platform.
The good news is that they have a website, but not one shred of industry facts, figures or industry growth projections to support the fact that the Medical and Recreational Marijuana industry is currently the fastest growing industry in the United States and is expected to reach more than $22.8 billion in revenue in the next 4 years. Not one single fact about the 16 additional states that will probably sign new cannabis regulations into law during 2016 that will take the U.S. from 4 legal markets to more than 20.
Is providing some research on local or national marijuana industry markets important? Hell yes.
As an investor, I want to know, in detail, about my possibility of earning a nice return-on-investment for buying shares in their company. I would love to say this is why they haven’t raised any money, but its not. A smart investor relations team would use their current banking problem and turn it into an opportunity to expose the hurdle they face with setting up an escrow account and use the example to try and put more pressure on the financial banking system and the U.S. Government to remove marijuana as a Class One drug so banks don’t have to worry about breaking federal law.
Why not provide a Marijuana Pitch Video like this one? It practically makes the investor want to jump in before it’s too late! If the big investors are doing it, then I certainly don’t want to miss out on the next big industry that is almost guaranteed to boom in the U.S.
Why not include a Marijuana Industry Analyst Report like this that projects a $22.8 billion industry in the next 4 years. It would be kind of like investing in a liquor company right before prohibition ended.
As a reporter, perhaps I want to write a story based on the marijuana’s industry’s potential growth. But the company’s management team has failed to provide a media kit with company backgrounders, executive head shots, bios, press releases, market research, white papers, photos, graphics, etc., which means they are very inexperienced business executives and have never worked in a big corporation. To me this means this company will mostly likely fail as business because they certainly do not understand marketing, which is the key to all sales growth.
6/13 Weekly Title III, Crowdfunding Update:
1. Taxa Biotechnologies (genetic plant engineers)
Crowdfunding Platform: WeFunder
Amount Raised: $221,115
2. The Legion M Entertainment (media company)
Crowdfunding Platform: WeFunder
Amount Raised: $188,229
3. Native Hostel Austin (Luxury hostel in Austin
Crowdfunding Platform: NextSeed
Amount Raised: $112,500
4. MF Fire (an app-drive, low emissions wood stove)
Crowdfunding Platform: SeedInvest
Amount Raised: $63,300
6. Gigmor (Connecting bands with venues and gigs)
Crowdfunding Platform: StartEngine
Amount Raised: $17,505
8. Treasure State Internet (fiber optic installation)
Crowdfunding Platform: WeFunder
Amount Raised: $11,800
9. GameTree (Social network for gamers)
Crowdfunding Platform: StartEngine
Amount Raised: $11,060
12. NextRX Inc (Medical marijuana network pass)
Crowdfunding Platform: StartEngine
Amount Raised: $0 (on hold because escrow account closed by bank)
Crowdfunding PR, Social Media & Marketing Campaigns 