SyndicateRoom

SyndicateRoom
Type of site
 Equity crowdfunding
Available in English
Headquarters Cambridge, United Kingdom
Website www.syndicateroom.com
Commercial Yes
Launched 21 September 2013

SyndicateRoom is a UK online equity investing platform,[1] providing cross-sector private and public investments as well as running the world's first passive EIS fund, Fund Twenty8.[2] The company is headquartered in Cambridge, and authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (formerly the FSA).[3] SyndicateRoom made history in 2016 by becoming the first crowdfunding platform to offer public market investment opportunities after being accepted as a member company of the London Stock Exchange.[4][5]

SyndicateRoom initially launched itself as a crowdfunding platform for high-net-worth and sophisticated investors, inventing and operating through the investor-led model of equity crowdfunding. Since launching in September 2013, SyndicateRoom has raised ~£100 million for more than 100 companies (October 2017).[6] Notable companies that have raised on the platform include: Salty, the first-ever equity crowdfunded Hollywood film, directed by Simon West;[7] Mill Residential REIT, the world's first crowdfunded IPO; and Axol Biosciences, which uses Nobel Prize-winning technology to produce stem cells from human blood and skin cells that can then be turned into cells for scientific research, potentially removing the need for animal testing.

Approximately a third of the companies that list on SyndicateRoom are from the life sciences industry,[8] an unusual statistic given that the vast majority of crowdfunded businesses are in the B2C (Business to Consumer) sector.

Investor-led model

The investor-led crowdfunding model differentiates itself from the usual company-led model by necessitating the participation of an experienced business angel in every round. This 'lead investor' conducts due diligence on the investment opportunity and negotiates the economic terms of the investment before contributing at least 25% of the round. The intended benefit is that any less experienced investors will 1) have the reassurance of knowing that an experienced investor has already assessed the round and 2) invest on the same economic terms as the lead investor.

History

SyndicateRoom was founded by Gonçalo de Vasconcelos (CEO) and Tom Britton (CTO) on 21 September 2013.[9] The pair met by chance at a networking event in Cambridge. Both de Vasconcelos and Britton studied at the Cambridge Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge where they were awarded their Master of Business Administration in 2010 and 2012 respectively.

Awards

  • Alternative Finance Provider of the Year, High Potential Business Awards 2016.[10]
  • Best Investment Platform, Growth Investor Awards 2015.[11]
  • Alternative Finance Platform of the Year, AltFi Awards 2015.[12]
  • Crowdfunding Platform of the Year, AltFi Awards 2015.[12]

Entrepreneurs

Companies offering equity via the SyndicateRoom platform have ranged from E-Go – an innovative light aeroplane which is the first to be designed and built in the UK for decades[13] to Lightpoint Medical[14] – ground-breaking technology that pinpoints and diagnoses cancer in real-time during surgery.

References

  1. ↑ "Startup of the year 2014: SyndicateRoom". the Guardian. 2015-04-14. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  2. ↑ White, Lucy (2018-03-07). "World's first passive startup fund has fully invested its £4.5m total". Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  3. ↑ "Financial Conduct Authority". register.fca.org.uk. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  4. ↑ Fedor, Lauren (2016-03-14). "A crowdfunding platform has joined the public markets". Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  5. ↑ "'Crowdfunding is growing up': SyndicateRoom just partnered with the London Stock Exchange". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  6. ↑ "SyndicateRoom raises $4.5M Series A to push for growth in equity capital markets – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  7. ↑ "Gun Shy is the first Hollywood movie backed by 'equity' crowdfunding". This is Money. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  8. ↑ Ward, Andrew. "Biotech entrepreneurs embrace crowdfunding". FT.com.
  9. ↑ "CEO Gonçalo de Vasconcelos: 2016 Was a Phenomenal Year for SyndicateRoom | Crowdfund Insider". Crowdfund Insider. 2017-03-08. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  10. ↑ "Past Winners – High Potential Business Awards". awards.highpotentialbusiness.com. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
  11. ↑ "SyndicateRoom wins at Growth Investor Awards 2015". www.syndicateroom.com. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
  12. 1 2 "AltFi". www.altfi.com. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
  13. ↑ "First aircraft in decades to be designed and built in Britain to takeoff on SyndicateRoom". Cambridge Network. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  14. ↑ "Success story: novel imaging system guides surgeons to cancers". GOV.UK. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
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