20VC FF 035: Why Crowdfunding Is Not Right For Tech Startups with Ryan Caldbeck @ CircleUp
The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
The Twenty Minute VC
4.4 • 637 Ratings
🗓️ 12 February 2016
⏱️ 25 minutes
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Summary
Ryan Caldbeck is the Founder & CEO @ CircleUp, the online investing platform that allows you to invest in innovative consumer companies. They have raised funding from some of the best including USV, Maveron and Canaan Partners (all past guests). Before Ryan founded CircleUp, he worked in consumer product and retail-focused private equity at TSG Consumer Partners and Encore Consumer Capital exposing him to many great consumer and retail businesses that were too small to obtain funding through the customary private equity channels. As a result, he decided to make funding available to these promising companies through CircleUp.
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Ryan made the move from the world of VC to founding his own tech startup?
2.) Why is CircleUp marketplace investing, not crowdfunding? What does Ryan believe are the misnomers around the term crowdfunding?
3.) Where do you see this sector making sense and where does he think it is not so efficient? Why is it wrong for tech companies?
4.) One manjor aspect in the UK that this segment has struggled with is it’s ability to attract institutional investors to the sector. So with CircleUp, how are institutional investors getting into this market and is there anything more Ryan would like to see with this regard?
5.) To what extent does Ryan think this is disrupting private capital formation? Should VCs be concerned? What sector of the funding environment is most vulnerable to being disrupted by the rise of marketplace investing?
6.) How was the funding process for Ryan? CircleUp raised over $30m over several rounds with investors from our friends at USV and Maveron, how that came about and what Ryan would advise founders entering the process?
Items Mentioned In Todays Show:
Ryan's Fave Blog: AVC, Jeff Jordan, Bill Gurley
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I am Harry Stebbings, your host, and you are listening to the 20-minute VC, and as we've been |
| 0:05.0 | interviewing investors that have been disrupting the world of VC this week with AngelList, we thought |
| 0:10.6 | we would continue this theme of disruption of traditional finance, and who better to have on than |
| 0:16.0 | Ryan Koolbeck, founder at Circle Up, the online investing platform that allows you to invest in innovative |
| 0:22.9 | consumer companies. They've raised funding from some of the best, including Union Square Ventures, |
| 0:29.1 | Mavaron and Canaan Partners, all past guests, I hasten to add. And before he founded Circle |
| 0:34.9 | Up, Ryan worked in consumer product and retail-focused private equity at TSG Consumer Partners and Encore Consumer Capital, |
| 0:43.3 | exposing him to many great consumer and retail businesses that were simply too small to obtain funding through the customary private equity channels. |
| 0:52.3 | As a result, he decided to make funding available to these |
| 0:55.6 | promising companies through Circle Up. Before we jump into the show today, this episode is supported |
| 1:01.3 | by Wonder Capital, a very different type of online platform in terms of investment. Backed by |
| 1:07.3 | Techstars, Wonder Capital allows you to earn 11% annually through investing in their solar funds. |
| 1:13.6 | And best of all, they take no fees. |
| 1:16.5 | And rather wonderfully considering market conditions at the moment, |
| 1:19.5 | that investment with Wonder Capital is independent of market performance. |
| 1:22.8 | So join the thousands already using Wonder Capital and sign up with a free account at wondercapital.com |
| 1:30.1 | forward slash 20 minute VC all in letters and wonder with a you. |
| 1:34.8 | Do well by doing good with Wonder Capital. |
| 1:37.7 | And now it's time to delve into the show. |
| 1:40.1 | Therefore, I'm thrilled to welcome Ryan Koolbeck, founder and CEO at Circle Up. |
| 1:50.0 | You have now arrived at your destination. |
| 1:54.0 | Ryan, welcome to the 20 minute VC in this very special episode of Founders Friday. |
... |
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