In 3 years 4 times as many failures as exits - what chance the amateur?

Seedcamp has been investing in start ups since 2012. It has pumped money into 206 so far.

It is early days to draw conclusions and we don't have the exit figures, but the investments have seen 45 close and 12 exit, with the remainder still in action.

Seedcamp spend their entire time perfecting this and even they have managed a 4 to 1 failure rate. Of course they probably only need one of the 200 to make it big but the figures are interesting. A typical amateur would not expect to invest in more than say 20 companies.

Equity Crowdfunding platforms typically quote the need to spread the risk amongst 10 investments. In comparison to the professional approach this would seem far too small a net to caste.