CrowdFundMe AI Overview on 09/2025

CrowdFundMe Platform Overview – Model, Advantages & Risks 💡

CrowdFundMe is an Italian crowdinvesting portal (founded 2013) that enables retail investors to fund startups, small businesses, and real estate projects online.

It was initially focused on equity crowdfunding but has expanded into real estate lending and mini-bonds, making it a one-stop alternative investment platform.

Notably, CrowdFundMe is the first and only crowdfunding platform listed on the Italian stock exchange (Euronext Growth Milan), reflecting its transparency and credibility.

Key advantages include a diverse product range (startup equity, property loans, SME bonds) and a large investor community (657+ projects funded, €200 M raised as of Mar 2025).

However, risks are high – investments are illiquid and highly speculative, so total loss of capital is possible ⚠️.

The platform itself emphasizes that these are risk investments with no guarantees, suitable only for those who can afford potential losses and diversify appropriately.

CrowdFundMe does not guarantee returns, and outcomes depend on each project’s success or failure, meaning investors must exercise due diligence and caution.

CrowdFundMe Investment Products and Returns 💼

CrowdFundMe offers several investment products: Equity crowdfunding (investors buy shares or quotas in a startup/SME), real estate crowdfunding (equity in property ventures), real estate P2P lending, and corporate debt (mini-bonds).

In equity campaigns, you become a shareholder of the company and potential returns come from exits (acquisition or IPO), future dividends, or selling shares via the platform’s bulletin board.

Real estate and corporate debt investments offer fixed interest: for example, property development loans through CrowdFundMe’s Trusters unit have short tenors (~9–15 months) and ~9–10% annual yields on average.

Mini-bonds are bonds issued by established SMEs (each issue up to €8 M) that pay periodic interest and return principal at maturity.

After crowdfunding, many mini-bonds seek a listing on Borsa Italiana’s ExtraMOT Pro3 market for potential liquidity.

Geographically, offerings are mostly Italy-centric (Italian startups and real estate), but the new EU crowdfunding passport could broaden scope.

Investment thresholds are low – minimum tickets often start from a few hundred euros, encouraging diversification (no fixed maximum apart from campaign limits).

Typical holding periods vary: equity stakes may be held several years until an exit (no guaranteed timeline), while loans and bonds have defined durations (months to a few years).

Major risk points include startup failure (equity holders can lose 100% of invested capital), default or delays on loans, illiquidity (no easy exit before term), and possible dilution of equity if startups raise new rounds.

CrowdFundMe clearly warns investors that promised returns may not materialize and that investments are not covered by any deposit or investor guarantee scheme.

In sum, the platform’s products offer a spectrum of return profiles – from potentially high-return equity (along with high risk) to steady-interest debt – and investors should align choices with their risk tolerance and time horizon.

CrowdFundMe Company Background & Regulation 🏢

CrowdFundMe S.p.A. is based in Milan (Via Legnano 28) and was founded by CEO Tommaso Baldissera Pacchetti in 2013.

Pacchetti remains the largest shareholder (~34% stake), and other key stakeholders include COO Benedetto Pirro (~12%) and Digitech Srl, the owner of Trusters (≈5.7% received from the Trusters acquisition).

The company made history by becoming the first fintech investment portal to go public in Italy – it listed on Borsa Italiana’s AIM (Euronext Growth) on 25 March 2019, raising €2.8 M and floating about 30% of its shares.

This public listing underscores a high level of transparency and ongoing disclosure (analysts like CFO SIM cover the stock).

CrowdFundMe’s corporate group now includes Trusters S.r.l., a real estate lending platform it acquired in 2022 to broaden its offerings.

The platform operates under robust regulatory oversight. It has been authorized by CONSOB (Italy’s securities regulator) since 2014 and in November 2023 obtained the new EU Crowdfunding Service Provider license (Regulation (EU) 2020/1503) in coordination with CONSOB and Banca d’Italia.

This EU authorization (CONSOB Delibera n. 22885/2023) allows CrowdFundMe to passport its services across Europe and confirms full compliance with the latest investor protection standards.

Similarly, its subsidiary Trusters S.r.l. received a parallel authorization (CONSOB Delibera n. 22918 of Dec 2023) to operate lending crowdfunding under the EU rules.

The supervisory authorities for CrowdFundMe are CONSOB (primary regulator for crowdfunding portals) and, for payment operations and investor funds, Banca d’Italia/European regulators via its payment partner.

CrowdFundMe uses Lemon Way (a French regulated payment institution) to handle investor payments and escrow funds, ensuring segregation and security of client money.

In terms of structure, CrowdFundMe is a public company (SpA) with a board and audited financials, and it maintains professional indemnity insurance coverage (policy with XL Catlin) as required by EU crowdfunding regulations.

The company has also formed partnerships to enhance its services – for instance, a 2025 agreement with Fidit (a mutual guarantee consortium) to provide up to 80% guarantees on certain SME and real estate investments, adding an extra layer of investor protection on those projects.

Overall, CrowdFundMe’s governance and regulatory status appear solid (no known sanctions), giving investors the reassurance of a fully regulated and transparent operator in Italy’s alternative finance market.

CrowdFundMe Performance: Volumes and Results 📊

Activity on the platform has grown steadily, placing CrowdFundMe among Italy’s top crowdinvesting portals. By early 2025, the platform surpassed €200 million in total funds raised since inception.

This milestone was achieved through 657 successful campaigns attracting over 93,600 individual investments (transactions) by investors across the platform.

The user base expanded from only 157 investors in 2016 to about 18,000 investors by 2022, indicating the rapid adoption of crowdfunding.

Annual funding volumes have increased dramatically – in 2016 only €0.3 M was raised, whereas 2022 saw €41.5 M raised (including Trusters’ lending projects).

Even amidst higher interest rates in 2023–24, CrowdFundMe managed to grow: in H1 2024 it facilitated ~€18 M of investments (+14.5% YoY), which boosted revenue and turned a profit at the operating level.

The company’s revenue model is a success-based commission on funds raised (~5–6% fee to project owners), and thanks to rising volumes and fees (implicit fee up to 5.4% in H1 2024 vs 4.6% prior) it recorded €972k revenue in H1 2024 (+35% YoY).

This scale has allowed CrowdFundMe to achieve positive EBITDA (€57k, 5.9% margin in H1 2024) for the first time, a turnaround from previous losses, aided by cost synergies from integrating Trusters.

For full-year 2023, revenues hit €1.5 M, though the company still posted a net loss of ~€0.9 M (CrowdFundMe has been reinvesting for growth).

In terms of portfolio performance, outcomes vary by project.
There have been notable successes (see §Success Stories 📈) but also several failures.

Some equity campaigns have resulted in startups folding – e.g. a project funded in 2019–2020 went into liquidation by late 2024, leading to investors losing their capital.

On the lending side, defaults have been relatively low so far (Trusters reportedly had only 1 loan default as of late 2023, ~1.6% of loan volume) and recovery efforts are pursued in case of delays.

Nonetheless, delays are common in real estate loans – Trusters’ reports show numerous projects extended beyond their original terms.

Average returns for investors differ by product:

• Equity outcomes are unpredictable (the PoliMi Crowdinvesting Observatory calculated a composite NAV index of 249 for CrowdFundMe’s equity portfolio vs 175 market average as of Jan 2023, suggesting a higher-than-average overall uplift)

• Real estate loans typically yield around 9–10% annually if repaid on time.

Top investor returns have been impressive in a few cases (over +400% in the best exits), but worst-case losses are -100%.

The median outcome for startup investments often takes years to materialize (if at all), and many are still in progress. Importantly, defaulted equity investments do not have “recovery” – they simply result in a total loss, underlining the need for diversification.

As of 2025, CrowdFundMe cites 13 successful exits for its funded companies and no investor has incurred platform-level fraud or misappropriation issues.

All data indicate that while CrowdFundMe has achieved growing volumes and a few outstanding successes, investor returns remain very case-dependent and accompanied by the volatility inherent to startups and real estate ventures.

CrowdFundMe Risk Management Approach 🛡️

Project selection on CrowdFundMe is highly rigorous.
The platform reports that on average only ~6% of applicant companies pass its due diligence and go live with a campaign.

This multi-stage due diligence covers legal, financial, and business factors.
During compliance checks, CrowdFundMe reviews the company’s incorporation documents, bylaws, and shareholder agreements to ensure nothing would unfairly prejudice crowd investors.

For example, if a startup’s statutes contain a drag-along clause, CrowdFundMe insists on adding a liquidation preference for crowd investors, so they’d recoup at least their investment in a sale.
They also push for tag-along rights for minority crowd shareholders and removal of transfer restrictions on the crowd’s shares, facilitating future exits via the secondary board.

The team performs an in-depth financial analysis of each issuer, examining past performance and projections: they verify debt repayments, tax compliance, receivables, net equity solidity, and cash sufficiency.
Projected financials are scrutinized for realistic assumptions and a Net Financial Position appropriate to the growth plan.

Round terms are also evaluated – the funding target must match the business’s needs (if not, the candidate is rejected).
Uniquely, CrowdFundMe requires a strong pre-commitment from lead investors before launching a campaign, using that as validation of the business model’s appeal.

They conduct qualitative due diligence on founders’ backgrounds (checking for relevant experience and any past legal/financial red flags), and analyze the target market size and growth prospects.
Only companies that clear all these checks and show credible potential are allowed to raise funds.

For Real Estate lending projects, similar rigor is applied by Trusters: property developers are vetted for permits, project feasibility, and collateral value (though a Consob report on the sector noted some platforms had lapses in project documentation – see Negative Publicity 🔍).

Risk scoring: CrowdFundMe does not publicly issue simple letter grades or scores for each project, but the thorough vetting process itself serves as an internal risk filter.
Additionally, conflicts of interest are managed – projects with ties to the platform or its principals are avoided (issues at a competitor showed why this is critical).

Sector limits: CrowdFundMe’s portfolio spans various sectors (tech, sustainability, real estate, etc.), but the team may avoid extremely niche or high-liability sectors to control risk.

Once a campaign is funded, the platform emphasizes ongoing monitoring and reporting.
Issuers are expected to provide regular updates to their new shareholders. CrowdFundMe’s site has a “Follow” feature for investors to automatically receive project news.

However, some investors have criticized the post-funding follow-up – e.g. if a startup stops sending updates or hits trouble, CrowdFundMe generally does not intervene beyond requesting disclosures, which in a few cases left investors feeling unsupported.
In response, the new EU rules require better periodic reporting, and CrowdFundMe will need to ensure issuers comply.

On the lending side, Trusters has a structured recovery process for late loans (legal recovery or restructuring), and notably in Feb 2025 CrowdFundMe partnered with Fidit to secure up to 80% collateral guarantees on eligible SME and real estate loans.
This guarantee can compensate a large portion of investor principal if a borrower defaults, significantly mitigating risk for those projects.

The platform also carries professional indemnity insurance and maintains a complaints policy to address investor grievances.

Overall, CrowdFundMe’s risk management is centered on preventative selection: only high-quality proposals are listed, with legal provisions to protect investors’ rights.

While this didn’t prevent all failures (some startups did fail quickly, sparking critique of the vetting), the incidence of outright fraud or egregious mismanagement appears low.

CrowdFundMe will need to continuously refine its due diligence (e.g. assessing business plan execution risk, not just compliance) and monitoring, especially after seeing Consob crack down on a rival for poor risk controls.

As a regulated entity, it must also enforce EU-mandated investment limits and investor education (all retail investors must pass an appropriateness quiz, see FAQ 🔎).

In summary, CrowdFundMe employs a strict front-end filter and legal safeguards to manage risk, though investors should still perform their own due diligence and maintain a cautious, diversified approach.

CrowdFundMe Platform Features & Tools 🧰

The platform provides a range of features to make investing straightforward while offering some liquidity options.
Upon registration, users get access to a personal dashboard/portfolio where they can monitor all their investments, view updates, and download reports or tax statements.

User experience is designed to be simple: investing is done entirely online with a guided process (including an appropriateness questionnaire for new investors, per EU rules).

Auto-Invest: Unlike some peer lending platforms, CrowdFundMe does not offer auto-investment algorithms for equity deals – each investment decision is manual, allowing investors to hand-pick campaigns. This is intentional given the varied nature of startups; however, for the Trusters real estate loans, investors can easily reinvest returned capital into new projects (no fully automatic tool, but frequent deal flow facilitates continuous deployment).
The platform does encourage diversification by presenting many opportunities and educational content on portfolio building.

A notable feature is the “Bacheca Elettronica” – an electronic bulletin board (secondary market) for crowd investors.
Through this bulletin board, investors who hold shares from equity crowdfunding can offer them for sale or place bids to buy from others.
It’s not a real-time exchange (by law it cannot automatically match trades), but it acts as a notice board: you list how many shares you want to sell and at what price, and interested buyers can contact to arrange a transfer.
Any sale is handled with platform oversight (often requiring notary or administrative steps off-platform), meaning liquidity is limited.

In practice, trading volume on the board is low, and some users reported difficulties (e.g. no response to purchase requests).
Still, it provides a potential exit route for equity investors, which many crowdfunding portals lack entirely.
For mini-bonds, as noted, liquidity may come via listing on ExtraMOT Pro; CrowdFundMe facilitates this listing process when possible.

Auto-diversification tools: There is no one-click diversification feature, but CrowdFundMe’s wide selection (startups in tech, food, energy, etc., real estate debt, and bonds) allows investors to diversify across asset classes within the platform.
They also publish a blog and insights (CrowdFundMe “Academy”) to help investors make informed choices, covering topics like building a portfolio, risk profiling, and understanding bonds.

Investor communications are robust: investors receive email updates for campaigns they follow or invest in, and companies often answer questions in a discussion section during fundraising.
Some larger campaigns include webinars or pitch events (especially since the platform collaborates with partners like Utopia SIS for certain raises).

Additionally, CrowdFundMe has integrated certain analytic tools: for example, each campaign page shows statistics (amount raised, number of investors, days left) and often includes documents like business plans, financials, and video pitches.

Language & currency support: The platform’s primary language is Italian, reflecting its investor base, but key pages and documents (e.g. investment contracts, some blog posts) have English translations or summaries, especially now that EU passporting can attract foreign investors.
Investment currency is Euro (€); foreign investors (from permitted jurisdictions) must convert to EUR and have an EU bank account or use the payment provider.
Payment handling is done via Lemon Way escrow – investors typically commit on the platform and then execute a bank wire or online payment to Lemon Way, which holds funds until the campaign closes successfully.
If the funding fails to reach minimum target, money is returned.

Tech features: CrowdFundMe’s interface is web-based and mobile-responsive; there is no dedicated mobile app reported, but the website works on mobile browsers.
For those investing in multiple deals, the platform provides a unified portfolio view and performance tracking (though since equity outcomes are mostly unrealized until exit, the “current value” is often just at cost).

Reporting: Annual tax reporting support is provided – e.g. Italian investors get documentation for tax deductions if applicable, and interest income is generally paid net of withholding tax where required.
The platform also offers an investor help center/FAQ and customer support via email.

Finally, third-party integrations include a connection with Lemon Way (which also allows credit card funding up to certain limits) and partnerships like with Directa SIM in the IPO process (historically, Directa helped with the CrowdFundMe IPO itself).

Insurance/guarantees: Aside from the Fidit guarantee on specific loans (discussed above), there is no general insurance on investments (the risk remains with the investor).
However, having 80% secured loans as an option is a rare benefit that can appeal to risk-averse investors.

In summary, CrowdFundMe’s platform functionality is solid: it provides a user-friendly investment flow, visibility on one’s portfolio, a quasi-secondary market, and educational resources, but it stops short of automated investing or fully liquid trading.
Investors still need to actively manage and it may take patience to exit positions.

CrowdFundMe Fees and Pricing Transparency 💰

Investors on CrowdFundMe pay no direct fees to the platform – using the site, opening an account, and making investments are all free of charge.
There are no entry or subscription fees for investors; if you invest €1,000 in a campaign, the entire amount goes into the project (minus any applicable withholding tax if it’s a debt instrument interest payment later).
The platform also does not charge investors any annual maintenance or account fees.
Even on the secondary bulletin board, CrowdFundMe currently does not levy transaction fees (though sellers may incur notary fees to formalize a share transfer off-platform, which is outside CrowdFundMe’s pricing scope).

The revenue model is primarily on the issuer side: companies that raise funds pay a success fee to CrowdFundMe upon closing a campaign.
According to financial reports, this commission averages around 5% of the capital raised (recently slightly higher – ~5.4% in H1 2024 due to some fee increases).
For example, if a startup raised €500k, CrowdFundMe might earn ~€25k–€30k from the issuer.
This fee typically covers the platform’s services like due diligence assistance, marketing the campaign, payment processing, and onboarding the new investors.

No performance fees are charged to investors – i.e. if your investment doubles in value, the platform doesn’t take a cut of your profit (the platform’s earnings were only from the initial fundraising fee).
Other fees to fundraisers can include a possible listing fee or fixed setup fee: CrowdFundMe sometimes asks issuers to cover legal or administrative costs (for preparing the offering prospectus, etc.), and if a campaign fails to reach minimum target, usually no success fee is due (some minimal costs might be charged to issuers for the work done, but this is case-by-case).

Transparency: CrowdFundMe is quite transparent about its fee structure.
Its website and user agreements spell out that investors are not charged, and companies are – aligning incentives such that CrowdFundMe only earns when investors commit capital successfully.
The exact commission can vary per project type (e.g. equity vs. lending vs. bond), but the ~5% range is documented by analysis and is in line with industry norms.

For Trusters lending projects, the borrower (real estate developer) likewise pays fees – often a one-time fee on funds raised and possibly an interest spread.
Trusters’ published stats indicate that lenders/investors receive the advertised interest (say 9%), while developers might pay slightly more (platform margin).

No hidden costs: Investors should note that while the platform doesn’t charge them, there could be external costs like tax on earnings (see FAQ on taxation) or illiquidity costs (opportunity cost of money locked in).
But CrowdFundMe itself doesn’t, for instance, take a cut of interest payments or charge withdrawal fees.

Exit fees: If an equity holding is sold via the bulletin board, CrowdFundMe doesn’t charge a fee for that facilitation either (as of now), though the process might involve third-party fees.

Overall, pricing is straightforward and well-communicated.
In fact, one of CrowdFundMe’s selling points to investors is that “CrowdFundMe does not apply any cost to the user investing,” making it an accessible platform for retail investors.
Issuers are aware of the commissions from the start, and in exchange get exposure to thousands of potential backers.
The platform occasionally runs promotions or co-investment deals (for example, anchor investors might get a slightly reduced fee or marketing support), but retail investors uniformly face no platform charges.

This high transparency in pricing has generally been appreciated – there are no notable complaints about fees in media or reviews.
If anything, criticisms lie elsewhere (projects risks, etc.), not on unexpected charges.

In conclusion, CrowdFundMe’s monetization is built into the fundraising process, keeping the cost structure transparent: investors pay €0 to use it, and companies pay a moderate success-based commission, aligning CrowdFundMe’s interests with successful fundraising outcomes.

Negative Publicity about CrowdFundMe 🔍

While CrowdFundMe has a strong reputation in the Italian crowdfunding space, it has faced criticism and negative reviews from some investors, primarily related to project outcomes and support.
On Trustpilot, CrowdFundMe’s user rating is low – 2.1 out of 5 (“Scarso” – Poor) as of mid-2025, with around 73% of reviewers giving a 1-star rating.
Many negative reviews stem from instances where investors lost money on failed campaigns.

For example, one investor complained that a startup they backed in December (with a campaign that even exceeded its fundraising goal) went into liquidation just 6 months later, by mid-2025.
He alleged that “CrowdFundMe did no real due diligence (or did it poorly)”, since the startup already had liquidity problems that surfaced within months, resulting in the funds being used just to cover 3 months of expenses before collapse.
Such cases “mina la fiducia” (undermine trust) in the platform’s ability to protect investors, the reviewer argued.

Another common theme is perceived lack of monitoring and communication once a project is funded.
One user who invested in a tech company (Radicalbit) in 2020 noted that when the company started underperforming, they stopped receiving updates and reports – yet “CrowdFundMe provided no warnings or intervention to alert small investors”, leaving him feeling “completely abandoned”.
This suggests that in some cases issuers ceased communication, and the platform did not step in aggressively, which frustrated investors.

Defaulted projects and delays also draw ire.
In the real estate segment, one reviewer mentioned they participated in two investments, including a property loan that was many months overdue with “no repayment and likely loss”, and an equity stake in a company that they found impossible to resell (complaining that even trying to use the secondary bacheca, “you get no response – in my opinion it’s a scam”).
This highlights the twin problems of illiquidity and project risk – once money is in, it can be stuck, and if a project fails or delays, investors have limited recourse.

Some blunt comments include “Non promette bene… Evitare…” (“It doesn’t bode well… avoid.”) and “da non consigliare” (“not to be recommended”) after a funded company failed and lost investors’ money.
In one 2023 review, an investor notes their project “totally failed after 3 years – capital lost”, and concludes that the project was “surely not evaluated well”, thus they won’t invest again.
These anecdotes underscore the high-risk nature of the investments and, in some critics’ view, inadequate vetting or oversight on certain campaigns.

There’s also a negative review from the issuer side:
An individual claiming to be a project owner complained in April 2023 that CrowdFundMe “rejects project submissions with no explanation”, calling the attitude unprofessional.
This indicates some dissatisfaction from startups who failed to get listed, although from an investor perspective, a high rejection rate might be a positive (fewer dubious projects).

Importantly, no scandals involving fraud by CrowdFundMe itself have surfaced.
Unlike some competitors, CrowdFundMe has not been subject to regulatory sanctions or legal disputes publicly.
In fact, in late 2024, CONSOB suspended a competing real estate platform (Rendimento Etico) for serious irregularities – conflicts of interest, poor due diligence, and failing to update investors – which was a wake-up call in the industry.
CrowdFundMe was not implicated in any such issues and successfully obtained its new license, implying it met the stricter criteria where others fell short.
However, the Rendimento Etico case shows the kind of “red flags” investors worry about: that platform had dozens of projects with delays and no updates, and Consob found that “even in cases of default, communication to investors was late or completely absent”.
Some of CrowdFundMe’s negative reviews echo similar concerns on a smaller scale.

CrowdFundMe’s response:
The company generally emphasizes that investors must understand the risks (they require signing an informed consent and passing a knowledge test).
They often cite that equity crowdfunding is high risk-high reward and not every startup will succeed – indeed, “nessuno pretende la protezione del capitale… si sa che si può perdere tutto” (“nobody expects capital protection… one knows one can lose everything”) as one reviewer grudgingly acknowledged.
Nonetheless, such losses “after just 3 months” in that case were seen as unacceptable, suggesting a due diligence gap.
CrowdFundMe will likely need to work on ensuring better project updates and perhaps stricter screening to avoid reputational hits.

Media coverage:
Outside of user reviews, there hasn’t been major negative press specifically about CrowdFundMe’s practices.
The Italian financial media mostly reports on its milestones and campaign successes.
No regulatory warnings have been issued against CrowdFundMe (it’s in good standing with regulators).

The biggest negative shadow is cast by investor word-of-mouth in forums or Trustpilot.
Retail investors on some forums caution that these investments are “extremely risky” and even suggest “you might as well invest in CrowdFundMe’s own stock to indirectly be part of the business rather than gamble on unknown startups”.
Indeed, an early Trustpilot comment from 2021 said “Meglio comprare direttamente azioni di CrowdFundMe… si partecipa indirettamente al successo dei suoi clienti” – meaning buying CrowdFundMe’s shares (listed on the market) might be a safer way to benefit from the crowdfunding trend.

Red flags or insolvencies:
To date, no insolvency of the platform itself (CrowdFundMe) has occurred – it remains financially viable (with recent capital raises and a small profit at operational level).
The “red flags” are specific failed projects like above.
Prospective investors should heed these stories: the main risk is not platform fraud but project failures and the lack of liquidity/exit options.
CrowdFundMe’s overall TrustScore is low because many people do not rate the platform highly when their investments go south, even though those outcomes are inherent risks.

In conclusion, while CrowdFundMe is legally compliant and has not had scandals, investor sentiment can be negative due to the high failure rate of startups and feeling of limited support in such cases.
This negative feedback serves as a reminder that crowdfunding is not a guaranteed win, and thorough personal due diligence plus caution are essential despite the platform’s efforts.
CrowdFundMe will need to continue improving transparency and perhaps provide more investor education and post-investment support to rebuild a stronger reputation among retail investors.

CrowdFundMe Success Stories and Milestones 🚀

Despite the risks, CrowdFundMe has facilitated several remarkable success stories that demonstrate the upside of crowd investments.
As of March 2025, the platform has seen 13 companies achieve successful exits (through acquisitions or stock market listings) after raising funds on CrowdFundMe.
These exits provided significant returns to their early backers.

For example, GasGas, a startup building EV charging infrastructure, raised €1.8 M from the crowd in 2021–2022 and was acquired in late 2024 by a larger company (E-Shore).
At the time of sale, GasGas’s valuation was €8.5 M, meaning the first-round CrowdFundMe investors saw an impressive +461% gain (5.6× their investment) in just over three years, and even those in the second round earned about +31%.
This was a headline exit that CrowdFundMe touted, as it validated the equity crowdfunding model with real investor profits.

Another success is Glass to Power, a cleantech spin-off from the University of Milan, which raised capital on CrowdFundMe and by 2022 went public on Euronext Growth Milan at a valuation giving early investors an estimated +760% return.

In a similar vein, CleanBnB, a short-term rental management startup, funded via CrowdFundMe and then listed on the stock exchange in 2019; early investors saw their shares appreciate roughly 10× (“dieci … il numero magico”, as reported).
These cases highlight that while many startups fail, a few can grow exponentially, rewarding the risk-takers.

CrowdFundMe proudly showcases these stories to illustrate the potential upside of crowdinvesting.
It regularly updates a “Hall of Fame” of sorts on its blog, detailing exits and follow-on successes of companies that raised on the platform (for instance, Bloovery was acquired, Winelivery grew and attracted VC funding, etc.).

Another milestone: by March 2025 CrowdFundMe surpassed €200 M in total funding raised, a testament to its leadership in Italy.
The CEO, Tommaso Baldissera, noted that this “traguardo conferma la fiducia degli investitori e la solidità del nostro modello” (“milestone confirms investors’ trust and the solidity of our model”).

The platform has also achieved partnerships and recognitions.
In February 2025, CrowdFundMe’s partnership with Fidit (to guarantee loans) was noted as an innovation in Italy’s fintech scene, potentially making alternative finance more secure.
The company itself received an upgraded analyst rating in October 2024: CFO SIM raised its target price on CrowdFundMe’s stock and reaffirmed a “Buy” recommendation, citing solid revenue growth and positive EBITDA thanks to synergies with Trusters.
This can be seen as a vote of confidence from financial analysts in CrowdFundMe’s business trajectory.

Awards:
CrowdFundMe as a platform has been recognized as a pioneer – being the first fintech listed in Italy garnered media attention and likely some awards in fintech circles.
While specific awards aren’t listed in our sources, its investee companies have won prizes: e.g., eSports startup 2Watch (funded on CrowdFundMe) won a “Premio 2031” innovation award in Italy.
Such accolades indirectly shine a light on the platform that enabled their growth.

Community growth:
CrowdFundMe reports over 93,000 investments made by tens of thousands of users, and has built a community of retail and professional investors.
It has achieved a number of “firsts”: first equity portal to finance a real estate project in Italy (it expanded into Real Estate equity crowdfunding early), first to have an exit via IPO (CleanBnB), etc.
Furthermore, its 2022 acquisition of Trusters was a strategic success, instantly positioning the group as a leader in real estate crowdfunding as well as equity.
In 2023 and 2024, even amid market slowdowns, CrowdFundMe helped fund some record-breaking campaigns – e.g., Bio4Dreams (a life-sciences incubator) raised €2.4 M in 2023, one of the largest life science crowdfunding rounds in Italy.

Exits and returns are ultimately what investors care about, and while rare, CrowdFundMe has delivered some: beyond GasGas and CleanBnB, startups like Winelivery (on-demand wine delivery) and Diretta (Directa) had notable growth after raising on the platform.
The Politecnico di Milano found that CrowdFundMe’s portfolio companies, on average, outperformed the market in NAV (which implies overall value creation).

Press coverage of successes is frequent:
national newspapers (Il Sole 24 Ore, La Repubblica, etc.) often cover big campaigns or exits on CrowdFundMe.
For instance, La Stampa covered the €200 M milestone in Mar 2025, and CrowdfundingBuzz detailed GasGas’s exit in Dec 2024, highlighting how crowdfunding can lead to real profits.

Another success dimension is investor protection initiatives:
the Fidit guarantee deal (covering up to 80% of capital on certain loans) was celebrated as a win-win for alternative finance, improving investor confidence.

In summary, CrowdFundMe’s key successes include: enabling multiple startup exits (with investors achieving returns of +30%, +400%, even +760%), crossing significant funding thresholds, forming strategic partnerships, and maintaining a leading position in Italy’s equity crowdfunding rankings.
These successes balance the risks by showing that, for a patient and diversified investor, some investments can yield outsized rewards.
CrowdFundMe often reminds users of these success stories to underline the potential of the crowdinvesting model when it works well.

Is CrowdFundMe safe and regulated?

Yes. CrowdFundMe is authorized and regulated by CONSOB (Italy’s financial regulator) and complies with the EU ECSP crowdfunding regulation. It was originally authorized in 2014 and received the new EU-wide license in Nov 2023. The platform must adhere to strict investor protection rules (e.g. conducting due diligence, providing Key Investment Information Sheets). Additionally, client funds are handled through a secure escrow (Lemon Way), not held by CrowdFundMe directly. While the platform itself is safe from a regulatory standpoint, investments on it are risky by nature – there is no guarantee of returns or capital protection. CrowdFundMe provides extensive risk disclosures and requires every investor to complete a suitability questionnaire and acknowledge the possibility of total loss before investing. In short, CrowdFundMe is a legitimate, regulated operator, but it doesn’t make the investments safe – that risk is borne by you as an investor.

What returns can I expect on CrowdFundMe?

Returns vary widely depending on the project type and outcome. For equity crowdfunding, there is no fixed “interest” – your return comes if the startup grows and you later sell your shares at a profit (or if dividends are paid). Some investors have earned high returns (e.g. +461% in ~3 years on a successful startup exit, or even higher on others), but many startups fail, yielding -100% loss. It’s wise to expect that most equity investments may not return anything, and a few might give very high returns – essentially a venture capital style model. For **real estate lending, returns are more predictable: typically 9–10% annual interest on loans of 9–18 month duration, if the borrower repays on time. These interests are usually paid at loan maturity (bullet repayment). The default rate on these loans has been low historically (Trusters had ~1–2% default rate to date), but delays are common and can push returns out or reduce them. Mini-bonds on the platform pay fixed coupon rates, often in the 5–8% annual range depending on the issuer’s risk, with principal repaid after a few years. Keep in mind that all returns are not guaranteed – even a bond or loan can default. According to the Politecnico di Milano 2023 report, as a whole Italian equity crowdfunding had an average internal rate of return around +5–6% (including failures and successes) – but CrowdFundMe’s portfolio was higher, suggesting better-than-average performance overall. Nevertheless, as an investor you should prepare for the worst (zero return) and only invest amounts you can afford to lock away. Tax can also affect net returns (see tax question below). In summary: expected returns are highly project-specific – property loans ~10%/year if all goes well, bonds mid-single-digit % per year, equity either multi-year capital gains or nothing. It’s prudent to diversify and not bank on high returns from every deal.

What are the main risks of investing through CrowdFundMe?

The main risks include:

1) Loss of Capital – You can lose the entire amount invested in a project. Startups might go bankrupt (equity shares become worthless) and borrowers might default (loans not repaid).
There’s no compensation scheme covering these investments.

2) Illiquidity – Investments are highly illiquid. You usually cannot sell or cash out early (see above).
You must be prepared to have money locked in for years or potentially forever (in case of unlisted shares).

3) Delays – Even successful projects can take longer than expected to materialize returns.
Real estate developments often delay, extending loan durations without additional interest (beyond maybe default interest which is not always enforced).

4) Dilution – If the startup raises more capital later, your equity might be diluted, and if you can’t follow-on invest, your percentage ownership and rights (like voting power) could diminish.
CrowdFundMe tries to secure tag-along rights, but future funding rounds can still affect your stake’s value.

5) No dividends – Most startups won’t pay dividends in the near term (they reinvest earnings), so equity investors usually only profit at exit, if one occurs.

6) Platform risk – While CrowdFundMe is financially stable, any extreme event (like the platform shutting down) could create administrative headaches in managing your investments (though you’d still own your shares or notes, a new provider might need to take over).

7) Macro-economic risk – High interest rates or economic downturns can reduce crowdfunding activity and business success rates (as noted, 2022–2023 were challenging for equity crowdfunding due to macro conditions).

8) Fraud risk – Though regulated, there’s always a minor risk a project could misrepresent information or commit fraud.
CrowdFundMe’s due diligence seeks to catch this, but it’s not infallible.

9) Legal risk – Changes in law could affect your ability to sell shares or could change tax treatment.
Also, if a company you invested in fails to comply with reporting obligations, you might be left in the dark (some investors complain of scant communication).

In essence, these are high-risk alternative investments – the upside can be high, but you should only invest an amount you’re prepared to potentially lose entirely, and you should diversify across many projects to spread risk.

CrowdFundMe itself emphasizes this in its warnings:
“esiste un concreto rischio di perdita totale o parziale… si tratta di un finanziamento illiquido”
(“there exists a concrete risk of total or partial loss of the funds… this is an illiquid investment”).

Investors should also note that past performance is not indicative of future results – even though some have gotten great returns, many have not.

Bottom line:
By being aware of these risks and investing carefully (e.g., reading the KIID/KIIS for each campaign, which CrowdFundMe provides, and maybe starting with smaller amounts), you can participate more safely in crowdinvesting.

Use money you can afford to lock away, do your homework on each project, and build a portfolio such that one failure won’t derail your overall investment plan.
CrowdFundMe can be a rewarding platform, but it requires a high risk tolerance and patience from investors.