I've had a few things from KS and a few things that fell through, including one where the guy clearly just took $millions and ran. The things I HAVE got haven't been very good.
I got bored of these platforms when they started just being a marketplace. "80% cheaper than RRP" for products that are only ever sold through KS. Companies who have had multiple, hugely successful KS campaigns and are now established businesses who return to KS because they like the "let's shift all the risk to the customer by making them pay before we even make the product" angle.
-
Indiegogo is more risky than Kickstarter.Originally posted by northernladuk View Post
Every project I gave money to on Kickstarter got off the ground and delivered. In some cases it has been late.
I stayed away from computer games and invested in other things I'm interested in e.g. plant irrigation, stuff for bikes, historical maps, bags, books.
I avoid giving money on Indiegogo though I do check it as I noticed:
1. if stuff didn't get their funding on Kickstarter the inventors went there next, or,
2. the inventors try to put their stuff on both platforms to get money at nearly the same time.
If an item is on both platforms then I'm out.
Leave a comment:
-
Yeah, I was assuming that it's this form of funding irrespective of platfrom to be honest. That could be a very unsafe assumption though.Originally posted by hobnob View PostLeave a comment:
-
I've had a pretty good success rate on Kickstarter: 31 campaigns completed successfully, 4 that are overdue, and 1 that's not due until next year. Out of the 4 which are overdue, 1 is (apparently) en route, and should arrive in the next couple of weeks; another is a filming project that had to be postponed due to to COVID-19. So, that's only 2 out of 36 where the creator has gone AWOL.Originally posted by northernladuk View Post
I think it does depend on how much of the work has already been done. E.g. there are some people who make webcomics, then publish a book every year or so. At that point, all the strips have already been drawn, so they just need to put the pictures into a pdf and send it to a printer; the purpose of the Kickstarter is to avoid the creator paying upfront and then getting stuck with a load of books that nobody wants to buy. If the same person has already done this for the past 5-10 years, you can be pretty confident about the next one. The more risky projects are the ones which need a lot of work, particularly for software.
(On a side note, I believe that the Spectrum Vega was Indiegogo; the "recreated ZX Spectrum" was Kickstarter.)Leave a comment:
-
I put a bit into Seedrs when I thought it would be fun to diversify my "ISA money" into some higher risk things - couple of k here and there just in case something goes huge... Seedrs, crypto, etc.
I own a small piece of WeSwap but lost interest in the platform after.Leave a comment:
-
I have used Crowdcube (and also Seedrs) since 2018 as small part of my investment strategy and tax planning. I invest in only EIS/SEIS qualifying companies which I put in a limited amount of research into and invest if I think their business is feasible. My portfolio is intentionally diversified in this portfolio. Expected returns come at 3-5+ years and expect it to be very illiquid until then. As mentioned there is a higher chance of failure in startups hence why this is a small part of my portfolio. You buy unlisted shares which are held by Crowdcube Nominee in the same way my HL shares are held by HL Nominee. You do receive a share certificate stating this as well as EIS/SEIS certificates where appropriate.
From 26 companies
1 gone bust
1 listed on AIM
24 still trading
The 1 gone bust I received 30% tax relief on the initial investment and this year have applied for capital loss relief of 40% (due to higher rate tax) of the remaining giving an actual loss of 42% of the actual investment.
The 1 which has now listed on AIM is up 600% from my purchase price. Just waiting to find out what options I have with this and fees depending on how they transaition the shares to the shareholders.Leave a comment:
-
Bearing in mind the failure rate of small start ups in general I'd stayed well away from this. Do they have any stats of how many of these last past a year or anything like this?Originally posted by ladymuck View Post
I just imagined it to go the way the kickstarter stuff did. Initial offerings were pretty good but every daft idea on the planet seems to be on there and the success rate must be next to zero. I might have had a bad experience as I only invested in a few and two, the Spectrum Vega and some hobby re-breather both went bump. I feel the chance of any money being given to these ideas to work is nothing more than a gamble with the odds stacked against you. Is Crowdcube any different?Leave a comment:
-
I've invested in a company via Crowdcube and didn't have to physically send off my passport. The ID verification was all online and quite painless.
Some investments qualify for EIS relief, and you'll get official notification of that. You can also sell your holding via their Cubex platform but only if there's buyers wanting to take them on.
Like all shares, whether via a listed or closed company, the value may go down as well as up!
P.S. I've only had my holding for about 6 months so it's too soon to see any returns.Leave a comment:
-
My inbox is crammed with Crowdcube announcements
Some of the smaller companies I use, as well as websites, have suddenly started announcing that their pitch for crowdfunding has been launched on Crowdcube.
Now I don't like this idea for a number of reasons - as far as I can see you actually have to send your passport to Crowdcube to prove you are who you say you are. Then you don't actually have shares, you have the opportunity for shares once the company is 'properly' launched on the Stock Exchange (and even this can go wrong as you can end up with watered-down shares that are worth virtually nothing).
Am I wrong with this assessment and has anyone seen a reasonable ROI with Crowdcube?
Leave a comment: