There's a new investment platform on the scene.
Boston-based Fundopolis launched Wednesday with the goal of making it simpler for everyday citizens to invest in local small businesses.
The platform gives a leg up to business owners, too: They choose the terms for the investments they offer and pay investors back with money, perks, stake in the company or all of the above. For its part, Fundopolis provides tools for business owners—which it affectionately calls "fundees"—to manage the securities and perks they offer.
“Small businesses are the heart and soul of communities,” Jan Steenbrugge, founder and president of Fundopolis, said in a press release. “Successful businesses help communities thrive, and our platform gives owners and entrepreneurs a chance to succeed by providing people direct investment opportunities in businesses they love."
Fundopolis' investment platform relies on blockchain to get investments from the hands of funders to small business owners. Blockchain isn't a loose synonym for "cryptocurrency" in this instance—blockchain is an anonymized, decentralized system for managing data and keeping accounts, and the Fundopolis team imagines it can be used to democratize access to equity.
But that doesn't mean that Fundopolis won't dip its toes into cryptocurrency or even eventually launch its own initial coin offering (ICO). Down the line, according to Fundopolis' website, the plan is "to leverage our blockchain technology and our SEC registration to participate in a compliant ICO market."
Right now, Fundopolis "raises" are almost like Kickstarter campaigns, with businesses setting clear fundraising targets and indicating how close they've come to meeting their respective goals.
There are currently four businesses on the platform in which users can invest, though none of them is based in Massachusetts. They are Los Angeles-based health tech startup Apotheka, Jacksonville, Fla.-based mortgage platform Bee Mortgage App, Seattle-based virtual reality learning platform Peeka and Mount Juliet, Tenn.-based CBD seller Tennessee Hemp.
Heading up the initiative as CEO is Michael Mook, who has some 30 years of experience in the fintech sector. He was most recently at Weeden & CO. LP, which was acquired by institutional equities trading firm Piper Jaffray.
Alongside Mook and Steenbrugge on the executive team are COO Daniel Ham, chief strategy officer Ben DiScipio and general counsel Diana Bushard.
“By shifting our focus to the community aspect of equity crowdfunding, we unlock the ability to tap into a treasure trove of opportunity for local businesses,” Mook said in the release.
