Buffalo startup surpasses $1M raised on its funding platform

Buffalo-based fintech startup, Common Owner, has raised over $1 million on its funding platform in less than two and a half years.

The business, founded in 2020, created a crowdsourcing platform that combines the user experience of donation portals like Kickstarter with being an actual owner in the project to which you’re contributing.

Common Owner surpassed the $1 million mark with its most recent — and largest — successful raise, which was $652,000 for a senior living project in Brooklyn. The startup’s other two raises were for real estate deals in Clearfield, Pa. and the Monroe Building in Buffalo, which raised $51,000 and $440,000, respectively.

“We want to help enable those folks to be able to … access capital from sources that traditionally wouldn’t have been available to them,” said Rich Rogers, president.

The platform also allows people from more modest means to get involved in projects they care about and that impact their communities, while getting ownership stake in the deals. The minimum investment amount depends on the deal but is typically around $500, Rogers said.

Common Owner’s goal for this year is to raise between $5 million and $10 million on its platform. The startup is working with issuers that, if all goes as planned, would lead to at least $5 million raised by the end of Q2 2023.

The business has three potential local issuers whose deals should go live on Common Owner’s website within the next couple months, Rogers said. The startup is also in talks with more local issuers.

Common Owner, which has a team of about seven not including advisers and contractors, also aims to add a few more employees this year.

The startup’s business strategy, as well as its greatest challenge, revolves around education.

“This crowdfunding industry is really new and growing rapidly, but a lot of people still don’t know about it or understand it,” Rogers said. “The education piece is so crucial.”

To accomplish this, the startup recently has been holding more networking events, from workshops to webinars. The business is also revamping content on its website and trying to form partnerships with a similar mission. It’s working with Reimagine Fund, a nonprofit that educates eligible taxpayers on tax benefits that are available to them.

In the current economic climate with rising interest rates, Common Owner’s model offers flexibility and options. Real estate development projects could have various funding sources with the startup’s platform used to fill gaps, like acting as a bridge loan for example.

And because people on the platform could have varying motivations – like altruism or community impact, rather than traditional investors – for making deals, it opens up a larger pool of prospective investors.

“I think something we’ve seen is that folks, once they’re able to get their minds around it, a lot are excited by the opportunities,” Rogers said.