FundedByMe
Founded: 2012
Country: Sweden
Non-Accredited Investors: Yes
Business Selective: No
Investor Selective: No
Notable Alumni: Nerdy By Nerds, SellanApp
URL: https://www.fundedbyme.com/
The crowdfunding portal that CrunchBase calls “the Scandinavian Kickstarter” was launched in 2012 by Daniel Daboczy and Arno Smit. FundedByMe is Sweden’s first crowdfunding platform, and in its first year has garnered some notable success stories, including a film on Swedish tax waste that was produced thanks to a 257, 914 SEK ($37,905) FundedByMe campaign. The success of the crowdfunded film helped the filmmaker to stay independent.
The site is a straightforward equity crowdfunding portal, where investors choose to buy share in startups. If the startup’s fundraising goal is met, the investors become bonafide shareholders. If it isn’t, the investors get their money back. In its first six months of life, FundedByMe arranged over $1 million of funding for over 250 projects. This prosperity has started to fuel expansion; earlier this year the company opened operations in Finland. It’s a good bet that we’ll soon see American expansion efforts from the young portal, whose native language is English.