As it was with the Seedrs platform, at the end of 2018, I made my first investment in a start-up company through the Crowdcube platform. Why do I call it an expensive adventure? Because I have concluded that it is an expensive one. And ‘adventure’ could be changed with ‘mistake’.
What have I done there?
Over 3 or so years, I have spent £613.29 and 12.24 euros on crowdfunding start-ups.
The last investment was made on 22/03/2021, a pre-emption opportunity I used in a repeated crowdfund round, in Wildanet, an internet provider in the Cornwall region.
The Portfolio
It looks like a well-diversified portfolio. But so far it isn’t a successful investment I would be happy about.
41 companies in total. 4 of whom are in liquidation or dissolved. One has gone public: Digital Brands Group (DBGI) – giving me a staggering loss of -97.1%. As Borat would say: ‘GREAT SUCCESS! High five!’ That’s a normal phenomenon. I expect that all of them would go bust, to be honest. But for what’s been done, I’ll keep tracking it.
I will update each row and report an update once an update is received on any of these businesses, starting from May 2022.
The best thing that happened was that Car & Classic / Cazana sold a part of their business and I received some monies back, even with a small profit, but it was so insignificant if compared to the loss I am carrying.
The Performance
At the beginning of this month, it was announced that Chewymoon are liquidating its business. Sad, but if you’re prepared for it, then, scrap it – just another day in the office.
Actual performance must be even worse. I am still using the prices that were used in the funding rounds, so most likely the actual numbers are closer to -90%.
Summary
For beginner investors, low-income earners or gamblers, I do not recommend investing in startups. It is only okay if you’re ready to lose absolutely everything. Only if you have the guts to see the red colour everywhere and sleep easy knowing that you lose your money. Or if you’re a fool, like me. 😀
