If you want to start investing in high-growth start-ups and innovative real estate projects you must explore investment opportunities offered by the crowdfunding platform from Cyprus, Crowdbase!
Today we will have an interview with Stephanos Neocleous, Marketing Officer, at Crowdbase, and learn more about how Crowdbase helps people make money by investing in start-ups and real estate.
Stephanos, thank you for joining today, please tell us how Crowdbase works and what investment opportunities the platform offers.
Crowdbase primarily allows investors to invest in high-growth startups and innovative real estate projects, but we believe we're much more than just an investment platform. Since our first crowdfunding campaign in October 2022, we've built a loyal community of over 2,000 investors who trust us due to our focus on high-quality projects with strong potential for success.
One key differentiator is our low barrier to entry, with a minimum investment of just 100 euros. This democratizes access to investment opportunities, enabling more people to participate in high-growth ventures. So far, we've worked with companies in Cyprus, successfully completing four campaigns and raising over 1.5 million euros. We're now excited to expand into Greece with an upcoming campaign for a Greek-based startup and many more in the pipeline.
Our industry-agnostic approach allows investors to diversify their portfolios across various sectors, from tech startups to innovative real estate projects. This flexibility helps spread risk and tap into multiple growth areas. In summary, Crowdbase stands out due to our community-focused approach, low investment threshold, successful track record, and industry diversification, providing unique opportunities and a trusted platform for investors.
No doubt Crowdbase receives hundreds of applications but selects only a few, the best of them, so could you please guide us through the selection and evaluation process?
We have a rigorous selection process to ensure all opportunities on our platform meet high standards. We thoroughly examine financials, past performance, future projections, the founding team's background, and the detailed use of funds. We only work with companies at the MVP stage or later, ensuring proof of concept and initial market validation. This careful vetting process maintains investor confidence and secures high-quality projects.
Startups or real estate projects seeking funding can apply through the 'Raise Capital' section on Crowdbase.eu by completing the 'Get Funded' questionnaire. Our team conducts a preliminary review, and if the project aligns with our criteria, we engage in further discussions.
By maintaining these stringent standards and focusing on later-stage projects, we strive to provide our investors with the best opportunities for growth while minimizing risks.
How Crowdbase define a company value pre-money and target (if you provide information on target returns)?
When it comes to figuring out a company's pre-money valuation and target returns, we take it project by project because each venture is unique. Most of our equity projects don't have set target returns because it’s extremely tough to predict. Instead, we look for highly scalable solutions with big upside potential, ideally aiming for 10x returns or more. Valuing early-stage companies is more art than science.
We consider market conditions, compare similar startups in the region, and create financial models for the next 3-5 years to figure out the current value. This approach is mostly for campaigns we lead. If we’re part of a bigger round or using a convertible loan, we usually don’t set the valuation ourselves.
But no matter the situation, our team has the experience to ensure investment terms make sense for both investors and founders.
How Crowdbase make sure that investors provide the money that is spent on the intended purpose and is well spent?
Well, you can never be 100% sure that every Euro will be spent exactly as intended, either deliberately or not.
However, we perform extensive due diligence before collaborating with any team, which gives us the confidence to trust that they will deliver on their promises.
Also important to mention is that our collaboration with the companies we crowdfund for doesn’t end when the campaign does. We stay involved, keep in touch, and are always available to help them succeed in any way we can. This ongoing support is another way we can do our part to ensure that the funds are used effectively to achieve their intended goals.
How does Crowdbase monitor project progress and what updates do you provide to investors?
During an active campaign, we monitor its progress on a daily basis. We are always working behind the scenes to ensure each campaign is as successful as possible.
Regarding updates, these are broadcast through various emails to our user base, as well as on the 'Updates' page of each campaign, where we inform our investors of any noteworthy milestones.
After a campaign has ended and is successful, all projects send out quarterly updates to keep their investors informed and updated on their activities and latest developments. This is a mandatory term we set to the companies we partner with as transparency is one of our key pillars as a company.
If a company goes bankrupt how Crowdbase will support investors/shareholders?
In the unfortunate event that a company we've invested in through equity goes bankrupt, the remaining assets are liquidated, and creditors are paid first. Any remaining funds are then distributed to shareholders. While this can be challenging, we encourage our investors to diversify their investments to spread the risk. This way, even if some investments don't pan out, the successful ones can more than make up for the losses. Our goal is to help investors build a portfolio where the gains from a few high-performing investments outweigh any setbacks.
What are other tools and processes Crowdbase is using to protect investors?
We take investor protection seriously and use a few key tools and processes to ensure everyone feels secure. First off, regulation plays a big part in keeping everything above board. We adhere to the regulations set through our European Crowdfunding License, as well as the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission (CySEC), whose solid framework ensures compliance and transparency. We also work hard to secure favorable investment terms that benefit both investors and founders.
Please tell us about Crowdbase future development plans.
We're excited about the future of Crowdbase and have ambitious plans ahead. Currently, we're expanding into the Greek market, which offers significantly larger opportunities compared to Cyprus. Our goal is to replicate the success we've achieved in Cyprus by establishing ourselves as the clear market leaders. This involves not only providing robust crowdfunding services but also becoming integral members of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Greece.
Looking further ahead, our long-term vision extends beyond national borders. We aspire to evolve into a leading Pan-European crowdfunding platform. This means facilitating innovation and growth across multiple European markets, offering diverse investment opportunities, and fostering a dynamic community of investors and entrepreneurs continent-wide. By staying true to our commitment to transparency, reliability, and support for our users, we aim to build Crowdbase into a trusted and influential force in the European crowdfunding landscape.
Stephanos, thank you very much for joining and answering all the questions, I believe after reading this, Crowdbase existing and new inventors feel safer and more keen to invest.
Dear investors, I hope you now understand better how Crowdbase works and how it helps you protect your investments, but remember when investing there are always risks of losing all funds thus you should always conduct your own analysis.
Start investing on Crowdbase and make up to x10 and don’t forget to rate your experience and leave a review – Crowdbase review.
Remember: Direct and indirect investment in crowdfunding involves significant risks as there is a potential risk for loss of part or all of the invested capital.
Don’t miss out on amazing investment opportunities follow us on LinkedIn or Facebook and learn more about crowdfunding on Crowdinform.com
We wish you a good day and successful investing!
CrowdInform
