WiSEEd is an equity-based crowdfunding platform in France founded by Thierry Merquiol and Nicolas Sérè. Thierry and Nicolas previously co-ran an early startup accelerator in France.
Founded in 2008, WiSeed opened its marketplace in June of 2009, and its platform has since helped 35 startups raise ~$9.3M. It currently has more than 23,000 registered members.
Early Liquidity Event
WiSEEd is one of the first equity crowdfunding platforms in the world to generate a return—from cradle to grave—for crowd investors.
In September 2012 ANTABIO—a French biotech startup funded on WiSEEd—exited and generated an IRR of 45% for its 207 Crowd investors. One investor, Bruno Rakotozafy, who received €2,434 on his initial investment of €1400, documented his experience.
Crowdsourcing + Crowdfunding
Before companies are admitted onto the WiSeed platform, the Crowd must first approve them. The process works like this:
Infographic
The WiSEED team put together an excellent infographic. It’s a bit dated, but excellent overview nonetheless. Check it out.
Investors can invest as little as 100 Euros ($135).
WiSEED’s primary deal flow is high-growth-potential French startups. It targets companies post-traction (has validated proof of concept and has its first customer) with strong management teams. It’s industry-agnostic but does require the company to show sufficient growth prospects to support venture investment.
It also recently moved into Real Estate, enabling users to purchase shares in bonds issued by real estate developers. It target investments are small developments (<10 units); are more than 60% pre-sold; and the property is located on clearly identified geographic areas.
Investors pay no fees.
Issuers pay a 10% success fee on total funds raised.
Co-Founder, President
Co-Founder, Director of Operations
The Securities and Exchange Commission has said that entrepreneurs must take “reasonable care” to en
To support the development of startups, L’Atelier BNP Paribas, the technology watch BNP Paribas j
Crowdfunding continues to increase in scale in Europe and it is expected that 26% or $1.3 billion
Only yesterday we told you about Crowdcube’s self-run £1.5 million ($2.3 million) raise, and today another European platform revealed that it has crowdfunded itself. This time, it’s the French equity crowdfunding platform WiSeed that announced a €1 mil …
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