'That’s bullshit if I’m perfectly honest.

As a result, rivals say you're more likely to get sold a pup. That means the emphasis is on getting as many people to list on the platform rather than checking the out to see if they're actually a decent business. The most common criticism is that Crowdcube is simply a volume player - it makes money from a success fee charged to successful raises. Rival CEOs always love to have a pop at the company whenever I sit down with them. It’s really nice to be able to tick off and prove people wrong and make a business you can generally be proud of.'Īlong the way Crowdcube has certainly made enemies. 'It’s partly because we’re going around poking people in the eye and kicking sand in their faces. Month after month, year after year people have constantly said no you can’t do that. Reflecting on the company's journey, he says: 'I always think, looking back, that Darren and I have made a living proving people wrong. It’s all amazing stuff.' 'We’re poking people in the eye and kicking sand in their faces' Businesses are exporting overseas, they’re creating new products, opening restaurants and cafes, building brands. 'We’ve created or safeguarded over 10,000 jobs now. 'Crowdcube’s success reaches much further than the numbers and the deals that we’re funding,' Lang says. It is the UK's biggest crowdfunding platform. It has over 280,000 registered members, who can buy equity on companies raising money on the website from as little as £10. Since launch in 2011, Exeter-based Crowdcube has helped almost 400 companies raise over £160 million on its platform. Lang sat down with BI to discuss Crowdcube's fifth anniversary and where it's going. Mondo and Tom were very gracious and really good about it.' It was terrifying at the time but looking back it was a wonderful kind of period. It was thousands and thousands of people all clicking the same link and trying to register to invest at the same time. 'We’ve been working hard on all that sort of stuff, there’s a big plan of improvements that we’ve put to work. I know a lot of people think it might have been a PR stunt and we charged extra for it but we didn’t. Lang says: 'It wasn’t planned bringing the site down. But now it wants to target 'Series A' and 'Series B' rounds, multimillion pound funding deals usually reserved for institutional investors like venture capitalists.Īpp-only bank Mondo's crowdfunding campaign crashed Crowdcube's website.Ĭrowdcube has beefed up its platform to handle more demand in the wake of the Mondo crash. He says the platform has succeeded in opening up the so-called 'Angel' investment market - where rich businesses give early stage funding to businesses at the idea stage. There will be several this year that raises the bar.'Īs well as targeting more well-known or up-and-coming consumer businesses, Lang says Crowdcube will this year look to raise bigger sums. 'It’s what inspires investors and it’s why we’ve got the largest investor community. 'Ultimately, those great inspiring deals are what pushes our dials,' Land says. And parking space rental service JustPark raised £3.7 million on the platform last year, over 3x what it originally set out to raise. Ultimately it raised £1 million in just 96 seconds. So there’s a real focus to get more businesses like goHenry, like Mondo, JustPark, Sugru.'Īpp-only startup bank Mondo crashed the Crowdcube website with demand from investors earlier this year. It often indicates a user profile.Ĭofounder and chief marketing officer Luke Lang told Business Insider: 'We love great deals, we love working with brilliant entrepreneurs in exciting businesses. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.

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