Equity crowdfunding is a new industry that has democratized startup investing for everyone. At first, it was often considered a last resort for many startups, meaning only the worst and uninvestable startups were raising through equity crowdfunding. A lot has changed since those days. Now startups regularly receive funding from VCs — both before and after their raises.
Why it matters: While it’s always important to do your own research, VCs can provide significant value to a startup, including the ability to raise follow-on funding easier from VCs in later rounds.
VCs often have more resources and a team to vet startups, meaning they might be considered higher-quality startups overall. Many VCs won’t invest in a startup unless another VC or fund has already invested in those startups. This can create a chicken-and-the egg problem for anyone looking to break into the industry and get a VC investment. If these startups already received a VC investment, it might be easier for them to raise in the future.
StartEngine is one of the leading equity crowdfunding platforms in the space, meaning it often attracts some of the best startups in equity crowdfunding on its platform to raise money. Here are three startups raising on StartEngine with significant VC backing.
Gameflip: Gameflip, a leading digital marketplace for gamers, has raised $10 million from Silicon Valley VCs. These VCs include Lightbank, PlayNext, GoAhead Ventures and Bullpen Capital. Gameflip is sitting at over $600,000 raised on StartEngine to date as well. Notably, Gameflip has over 6 million users on the platform and $3.2 million in revenue.
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Rentberry: Rentberry has been a popular investment on StartEngine and even more popular with VCs. Rentberry just closed a $12.2 million equity crowdfunding round and has since launched another raise clearing $500,000 in a couple of short weeks. Previously, Rentberry raised over $25 million from VCs and angel investors, including 808 Ventures, JadeValue, Beechwood Ventures, Zing Capital and several more.
Mileberry: Mileberry Inc. is a self-service network for last-mile delivery. Mileberry essentially makes a large communal mailbox for things like Uber Eats, dry cleaning or mail that might not fit in a traditional mailbox but shouldn’t be left out for people to steal. The idea has seemingly attracted some attention as it has raised over $400,000 through its current equity crowdfunding raise and $500,000 previously from Silicon Valley VCs.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that AIM Group was an investor in Rentberry.
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