Fuel.Ventures, a newly formed fund led by one of Europe’s leading technology entrepreneurs and investors, Mark Pearson (pictured), partnered with Europe’s leading equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs to give everyday investors access to a pipeline of high growth European e-commerce start-ups.
To date, 274 investors have helped the fund push past its half a million pounds target.
When the crowdfunding started, Pearson became the first successfully exited entrepreneur and angel investor to set up an investment fund and open it up to everyone.
After aiming to raise GBP500,000 from investments of as little as GBP100, Fuel.Ventures’ world-first crowdfunded investment fund has reached its target. The crowdfunding page can be seen here: www.seedrs.com/startups/fuel-ventures.
At the time of writing, 274 individual investors have contributed to the GBP539,300 raised in the six weeks since the page went live, which will be used as Fuel.Ventures invests in its pipeline of businesses. It is, as far as is known, the first time a venture capital investor has successfully raised investment through equity crowdfunding.
Although the target was GBP500,000, it is important to highlight that the fund is open-ended, so interested investors are still able to invest.
Investing in early stage e-commerce businesses is very difficult for individual private investors to do. By raising funds on Seedrs, Fuel Ventures has opened up the sector, which historically was reserved to technology venture capital funds, to everyday investors.
Pearson has a proven record of finding, vetting and nurturing high growth very early stage e-commerce business that possess the ability to scale quickly; opportunities that will now be available to the crowd.
Investing in a select number of start-ups, Fuel Ventures will take a very hands on approach to developing the next generation of leading entrepreneurs and business in the e-commerce space.
