Seedrs

Seedrs is an equity crowdfunding platform, headquartered in East London's Tech City, founded by Jeff Lynn and Carlos Silva in 2012.[1][2]

Seedrs
Type of site
Crowdfunding
Available inEnglish
Headquarters
London
,
United Kingdom
Founder(s)Jeff Lynn, Carlos Silva
CEOJeff Kelisky
URLwww.seedrs.com
CommercialYes
LaunchedJuly 6, 2012 (2012-07-06)

In 2020, Seedrs announced that 250 startups had raised funding through its crowdfunding platform during 2019.[3][4]

History

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.[5]

In March 2012, Seedrs raised $1 million in seed funding from private investors including venture capital firm Draper Esprit.[6]

In May 2012, Seedrs became the first equity crowdfunding platform to receive regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority.[7]

In July 2012, Seedrs launched its platform to the public.[6][8]

In November 2013, Seedrs raised £750,000 in funding through its own platform.[9]

In June 2015, professional tennis player Andy Murray joined Seedrs in an advisory role, having previously used the platform as an investor.[10][11][12]

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.[13][14][15]

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.[16][17]

In August 2017, Seedrs raised £4 million investment for challenger bank Revolut.[18][19]

In October 2017, Seedrs announced it had raised £10 million in funding.[20][21]

In December 2018, Seedrs launched a venture capital fund aimed at passive startup investors.[22]

In August 2019, Seedrs raised £4.5 million in funding.[23]

References
  1. Silver, James (7 July 2012). "East London's 20 hottest tech startups". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  2. "Just some of the investors you'll run into at #TheEuropas, June 13, London". TechCrunch. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  3. "Seedrs says amount invested on its platform jumped 49 per cent in 2019". CityAM. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  4. "Fintechs help deals on Seedrs jump nearly 50 percent". AltFi. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  5. "New Oxford Saïd research to study the economics of equity crowdfunding | Saïd Business School". www.sbs.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  6. Russell, Jon (6 July 2012). "Seedrs Launches in the UK, Allowing Anyone to Invest in a Startup". The Next Web. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  7. Business, Editor (18 August 2012). "FSA warning over crowdfunding sites". The Independent. Retrieved 20 August 2012.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  8. "Eating Its Own Caviar, UK Equity Crowdfunding Platform Seedrs To Crowd-Raise £500K As It Expands To Europe". TechCrunch. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  9. Sparkes, Matthew (25 November 2013). "Crowdfunding start-up Seedrs raises £750,000 through its own website". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  10. Dann, Kitty (8 June 2015). "Andy Murray joins crowdfunding firm Seedrs". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  11. Sweney, Mark (19 August 2015). "Andy Murray uses crowdfunding firm to invest in UK startups". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  12. Association, Press (15 May 2017). "No1 Seedr? Andy Murray backs more UK startups". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  13. "Start-ups might be about to receive a boost after Seedrs announces launch of secondary market". The Independent. 8 May 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  14. "Seedrs lifts cap on size of share lots in shakeup of its secondary market". AltFi. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  15. CNBC.com, Neil Ainger; Writer at (8 May 2017). "Seedrs to launch secondary market for crowdfund investors". CNBC. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  16. "CEO switch for equity crowdfunder Seedrs". AltFi. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  17. "Jeff Lynn steps down as CEO of Seedrs to become executive chairman | Startups.co.uk". Young Guns by Startups.co.uk: Start up a successful business. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  18. O'Halloran, Barry. "Andy Murray among Revolut investors on Seedrs". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  19. "Revolut's $5.3 million crowdfunding campaign is oversubscribed". TechCrunch. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  20. Bounds, Andy (17 December 2017). "Crowdfunding a mission to save capitalism from itself". FT.com. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  21. "Seedrs valued at £50m after crowdfunding raise". BusinessCloud.co.uk. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  22. Evans, Peter. "Seedrs serves start-up fund". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  23. 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.
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