Crowdcube Investment Event: Meet the Entrepreneurs

Last night I attended Crowdcube’s first investment event in London where the world’s first equity based crowdfunding platform provided an opportunity for people to meet the current batch of entrepreneurs looking for financial backing on the site.  I’ve written about Crowdcube before, but to recap I see it as a great way to open up equity investment so that anyone can get involved and start-ups and small companies can raise finance in a straightforward, cheap and web enabled way.  I don’t know the ins and outs of the process, but I will soon register and back a couple of the companies, if nothing else just to satisfy my curiosity and get a closer understanding of the concept; after all you can support some great companies and be a part of their success for as little as £10!

The portal provides a great deal of information, including video content, on the companies looking to raise funds and also provides useful interactive forums to further quiz the founders.  However there’s nothing quite like meeting people in person and yesterday I had a good chat with Alex Kammerling and Anthony Davison, the guys behind, respectively, the innovative spirit Kammerlings and the UK’s number 1 local food website Big Barn.  I also met Sue Acton who recently became the first person to successfully raise money on Crowdcube.  From Alex I learnt about his background, motivations and where he sees his business going and also got to actually enjoy his distinctive product at the bar, while from Anthony I got a good demonstration on how his site works, as well as an understanding of how his concept can really improve local communities and benefit both farmers and consumers.

Hopefully last night will be the first of many such informal events as I can see interest in attending will only increase as they become more regular.