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Joining the Republic Venture Program (VP8)
I am thrilled to announce that I will be joining Republic as a Venture Partner as part of their eighth Cohort (VP8). For those who don’t know — Republic is the leading investment platform for allowing anyone — from retail to institutional investors — to invest in companies that they believe in. But first let’s talk about how we got here.
As someone who has lived and traveled around the globe — especially in emerging markets — I witnessed first hand the social and economic consequences of not being able to enjoy the same access (capital, investments, financial services) as people do in developed nations. With this in mind I set out to change the way that the world access financial services, and to get more people involved in investing into various asset classes, like venture.
Back in Switzerland I built out a similar platform that focused on making alternative investments more accessible, called Moonshot. Upon moving to the U.S. I wanted to keep contributing to this space, and Republic’s Venture Partners program provided the perfect way to do so.
Why I am Bullish on Community-Driven Investing
Firstly, investing aligns the economic interests of a company and its fans. It forms a bond that encourages continuing loyalty and support in ways that a one-time purchase or donation cannot. As a founder I learned that when a group of investors are in it from the beginning and watching your business grow, that the experience is better for all involved.
Doing an online raise helps to form a community of fans who are invested in the company’s success. The equity is the ‘skin in the game’ that aligns interests and enables the creation of network effects, similar to that of viral campaigns.
But it isn’t all about the capital — companies raising on Republic can benefit from exposure that they can gain by simply being on the platform. The resulting visibility from millions of users creates a pipeline that is unmatched from a customer acquisition, branding and marketing perspective.
In summation: equity crowdfunding can be an effective tool to finance your business, and at the same time build a community of brand ambassadors and loyal customers.
Why Republic?
When moving to the States to build Armyn Capital, I wanted to get involved with a new community doing something that still felt familiar and where I could offer my expertise within fintech, venture investing, and community-driven investing. There are several great programs out there that I looked into, but here’s what really got me interested in working with Republic:
- Republic is very well known for being the leading Reg CF platform for startups, but the company has many more verticals, including Real Estate, Video Games, Crypto and even a Private Capital division for accredited investors. They cover the whole spectrum.
- There are other companies in the space, but Republic in my view is the one best positioned to generate value for all stakeholders. An all star team, backed by the leading companies and investors in the space, surrounded by a diverse and far reaching community, attract only the best companies to fundraise on Republic, which in turn results in the best deal flow for investors.
- Ultimately Republic is enabling new forms of capital and new asset classes which will positively affect both entrepreneurs and investors.
- The Partners fall within three categories: VCs, operators, and ecosystem builders. It’s always inspiring to understand each facet of venture investing from a diverse set of experts in those areas.
- The community is very tight knit, there are events, and everyone is behind the same mission of democratizing who gets funded and who can do the funding.
Whether you are an investor looking to access deal flow, or a curious individual who wants to know more about startups, consider checking out Republic’s offerings:
- If you are an entrepreneur, an artist, a real estate developer or a tech startup founder and you’d like to know more about raising alternative forms of capital reach out here
- If you think that community investing feels like the next step for you register on the Republic platform here
- If you think you could add value as a Venture Partner apply here
