Since we launched our equity crowdfunding campaign in March, one of the questions we’ve received a lot is why we aren’t on a platform like WeFunder, StartEngine, or Republic. As you’re probably aware, we’re currently hosting an online raise on our own web domain at invest.helloryse.com.
When we first looked into raising capital via crowdfunding, we strongly considered signing with a platform. Each offered administrative, legal, and marketing support that would have certainly helped in our efforts in launching and running the campaign.
Throughout this early vetting process, I learned a lot about the requirements and process for launching a Reg A+ equity crowdfunding campaign. I soon realized that we already had access to a lot of the legal and administrative resources we would need. The onboarding fees we would have to pay the platforms were pretty significant. Once I realized that we could launch and host our own raise pretty easily, I then turned our attention to how we could make the campaign a successful one.
Platforms like WeFunder, StartEngine, and Republic play host to large communities that are already familiar with equity crowdfunding. These audiences have already demonstrated a willingness to invest in the companies launching on the platforms. Many of the companies raising on these platforms are doing so in order to gain access to these communities.
Being first and foremost an eCommerce brand, our team at RYSE is very well versed in digital marketing and advertising. In order to conduct a successful online raise, we needed to reach potential investors through these same digital channels and platforms. And so decided to take on the investor-facing marketing and advertising efforts ourselves. We were confident that we could reach the same audiences that the major platforms had amassed.
We’re happy to say that we absolutely made the right decision in hosting and marketing our own raise. We’re saving significant amounts on platform fees and our marketing efforts have been quite fruitful so far. We’re certainly still in the early days of the campaign and we’re optimistic that our successful fundraising efforts will continue.
Do let us know if you have any questions or concerns about the raise. Or if you’re ready to become a RYSE stakeholder, start the process by clicking the ‘Invest Now’ button below!
