Wefunder
IndustryCrowdfunding
Founded2011
FoundersNick Tommarello
Mike Norman
Greg Belote
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
,
United States
ServicesEntrepreneurship, startups, investment
Websitewefunder.com

Wefunder is an online service which allows individual investors to crowdfund startup companies.[1][2] Wefunder uses a provision in the 2012 JOBS Act which allows unaccredited investors to purchase equity in early stage private companies.[3][4][5]

Foundation

Wefunder was founded by Nick Tommarello, Mike Norman, and Greg Belote in 2012.[6] The startup incubator Y Combinator backed Wefunder during its development and launch.[7] The company raised more than $500,000 in 2012, receiving startup capital from nearly 60 investors, including angel investors Nihal Mehta, Dharmesh Shah, and Bill Warner.[8] As of 2019, the company has raised over $9.8 million from over 100 investors via the Wefunder platform.[9] Annual fund rate increased to over $200 million in 2021.[9]

Function and reception

Wefunder is predicated upon the idea that anyone, regardless of wealth, should be able to invest in a company.[10] Initially, only accredited investors were legally able to fund startups, and these investors had to put up at least $1,000 to have an equity share.[10][11] Once the full deregulations promised by the JOBS Act were unrolled, the company lowered the barrier of investor entry to $100.[12][13][14] Tommarello said Wefunder's goal is to “fill the funding gap between angel investors and that first major round of capital.”[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Luckerson, Victor (September 24, 2013). "The Crowdfunding Economy Is About to Pop". Time.
  2. ↑ Pepitone, Julianne (April 17, 2012). "8 crowdfunding sites to watch". CNN.
  3. ↑ Weisman, Jonathan (March 27, 2012). "Final Approval by House Sends Jobs Bill to President for Signature". New York Times.
  4. ↑ Prive, Tanya (November 6, 2012). "Inside The JOBS Act: Equity Crowdfunding". Forbes.
  5. ↑ Khazan, Olga (March 22, 2012). "JOBS Act: A potential boon for entrepreneurs or a bust for investors?". Washington Post.
  6. ↑ "LinkedIn Page". LinkedIn.com.
  7. ↑ Lawler, Ryan (March 19, 2013). "Y Combinator-Backed WeFunder Launches To Bring Crowdfunding Startups To The Masses". TechCrunch.
  8. ↑ Rao, Leena (November 28, 2012). "Wefunder Raises $500K To Help Unaccredited Investors Put Money Into Startups". TechCrunch.
  9. 1 2 "Wefunder on Wefunder".
  10. 1 2 Grant, Rebecca (March 26, 2013). "Wefunder gives startups a 'green button' to meet their fundraising goals". VentureBeat.
  11. ↑ "FAQ". Wefunder.com.
  12. ↑ https://help.wefunder.com/#/investor/investing
  13. 1 2 Isaac, Mike (March 19, 2013). "Meet Wefunder, the Crowdfunding Platform for Would-Be Investors". AllThingsD.
  14. ↑ "Company of the Week - Wefunder.com". Mit.edu.
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