Draper Esprit are major investors in the Crowdcube platform. Now they are also investors in a Seedrs alumni Perkbox.
Last year Perkbox ran a successful Seedrs campaign, raising a healthy £4.3m in equity finance through the platform. Nine months later they have secured backing for over $8m from Draper - an outfit that backed Crowdcube rather than Seedrs.
As we all know Crowdcube and Seedrs are the two leading retail ECF platforms in the UK and are locked in to a winner takes all, rush to a massive ROI success. So this move by Esprit could just be because they see a great deal in Perkbox or it might have something to do with covering off their Crowdcube investment.
One thing is for sure. If Perkbox go on to become the next 'facebook' in investment terms, Esprit's help in getting them there is going to damage Crowdcube.
Draper are big boys and suspect Perkbox is a stand alone decision, it's certainly more than they put into CC
ReplyDeleteAgreed but its not about amounts its about their belief that CC will not be the winners ie they backed the wrong horse and will now switch to Seedrs. Problems for CC?
DeleteI don't see how this is related. Perkbox and CC are not competitors. Just because they raised through Seedrs once does not make them part of Seedrs. Any VC that refused investments in a company based on where they have raised in the past would be very strange, unless there was some conflict.
ReplyDeleteThe point I was trying to make, obviously not very well, is that Draper is one of CC's major backers. Seedrs are one of CC's major competitors. So under normal conditions you wouldnt expect Draper to be helping Seedrs. The first one between Seedrs and CC that makes a really big return for investors is likely to take over the space - IMO. So if Perkbox were to be that company, Draper would have helped in the demise of Crowdcube - the company they backed. Draper must be looking at 100s of investment opportunities and it struck me as odd they would select one that will, if it is successful, harm another one of their fledglings. That appears to me to indicate that Draper have another line of thought here - ie start to get behind Seedrs as well. It's just a thought.
DeletePretty tenuous I think. I expect they are hoping CC and PerkBox make the money (for separate reasons), and Seedrs falters. The only real link is that Seedrs would charge a carry!
DeletePS - You must tame your robot checker. Commenting on here is becoming too much hassle to bother with.
"PS - You must tame your robot checker. Commenting on here is becoming too much hassle to bother with."
DeleteHear, Hear!
Not the same anonymous (though I just commented on another article). I don't choose to be anonymous, but attempting to identify here is an exercise in futility, and just now I had trouble even posting as anonymous!
Same story: Balderton, another CC investor, is backing Revolut in it's current 66m round, that will see 5m raised on Seedrs rather than CC.
ReplyDeleteHowever, i think it would be very silly to exclude any investment opportunity purely on the basis that they have raised money on the 'wrong' platform previously.
Good point although not quite the same as Revolut were first on CC before the new round on Seedrs.
DeleteActually I find the Balderton Case far more compelling, they should have an interest that Revolut goes to Crowdcube again for the second round, as CC is cheaper AND Balderton is a shareholder in CC
ReplyDeleteDraper are also an early Seedrs backer. Nothing to see here.
ReplyDeleteQuite right - missed that!. Esprit chose to ride both from the start altho holding in Seedrs is modest.
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