Seedinvest is a crowdfunding platform that allows individuals to invest in early-stage companies that have been pre-screened for potential viability. According to SeedInvest, less than 1% of companies that seek funding through the platform are accepted.
The company claims it has more than 250,000 investors, with more than 150 companies successfully funded.4
When you sign up for an account on SeedInvest, you are presented with a list of companies seeking money. Many companies are open to receiving investments from anyone, but some require large investments and are open only to accredited investors who had an income exceeding $200,000 in each of the past two years.5
You are provided with a “pre-money valuation” as well as the total value of funds being sought and the amount already raised. Each company has its own minimum investment requirement and a time by which the money needs to be raised.
For example, an ice cream company in New York City can have a pre-money valuation of $9 million and have raised $71,250 out of a goal of $2 million, with 29 days remaining.
If you aren’t interested in investing in just one startup, you can build a portfolio of investments through the company’s auto-invest feature. With auto-invest, there is a minimum investment of $200 and there is a 2% processing fee for each investment.6
SeedInvest touts the importance of diversification, recommending that you invest not in a single startup, but a portfolio of up to 25 companies.