This might sound bold, but here’s my prediction …
In 10 years, people will look back and agree that February 24th was the day that equity crowdfunding came into its own.
You see, February 24th was a monumental day for this space – and the sad part is, you probably didn’t even hear about in the mainstream financial press.
February 24th was the day that a crowdfunded company – one backed by regular investors, just like you – was acquired only seven months after accepting online investments.
This was a company you literally could have invested in had you known about it. If you had, you’d be receiving a check today.
Today I’ll tell you why this is such a big deal – then I’ll show you how to make sure you get the check next time…
The Back-story
In July of 2013, just seven months ago, a small start-up was raising $2 million on FundersClub.com.
(FundersClub is one of the many platforms that Crowdability covers. We ensure their deals show up in your inbox every Monday at 8:00 AM – but more on that in a moment.)
The name of the start-up is TalentBin. You can learn more on its FundersClub page here »
Think of it as a “Google for headhunters.”
Since launching, TalentBin has signed up hundreds of customers, from small organizations to Fortune 500 companies. They all use TalentBin’s software to help their HR departments find better candidates more efficiently.
A Payday in Only 7 Months
Fast-forward to February 24th, 2014…
That’s when Monster Worldwide (NYSE: MWW) – the company that owns job search engine Monster.com – announced that it had acquired TalentBin.
Just like in the public markets, when a private company is taken over, investors get paid their share of the profit.
And this company’s investors didn’t only come from FundersClub…
Their other investors included some of the top venture funds in the country – firms like NEA and SV Angel. Two extremely successful early-stage funds that boast investments such as Google and SalesForce.com.
These folks likely made a bundle on the deal – venture investors aim to make at least 10x on their successful investments – and so did the forward-thinking individual investors that backed TalentBin when the company had its deal listed on FundersClub last summer.
Big Deal
Why is this acquisition so monumental?
Because it’s only the first inning for equity crowdfunding – and this is proof that it can make investors money.
This is the first deal – likely the first of many – where an equity crowdfunded company has succeeded financially for its investors.
Now that there’s proof, more and more investors will be opening their wallets for early-stage investment opportunities. And more and more entrepreneurs will post their companies on equity crowdfunding platforms – and so the virtuous cycle will go.
As we’ve been writing about since we began this journey, there are many promising companies raising money online right now. And in the coming years, you can expect to see more happy stories that end like TalentBin.
The real trick will be to make sure you’re part of the next one…
What You Can Do Now...
Don’t worry if you missed the TalentBin deal. There will always be others.
We feature several of them each week.
In fact, a new deal just came online that we’re particularly excited about… it just so happens that it, too, is on the FundersClub platform…
What’s even more exciting is it’s one of our favorite types of deals.
Remember, while you’ll oftentimes find winners like TalentBin, there will be plenty of losers out there too.
So you need to follow one of our primary 10 Crowd Commandments: Thou Shalt Diversify.
And this new deal on FundersClub allows you to do just that.
You see, it’s not just a single company… it’s an opportunity to invest in a basket of start-up companies.
Think of it as a “mutual fund” for start-ups.
Maybe the next TalentBin is in there…
Look into this deal quick before it’s too late…
Happy investing!
