Equidity Inc, a new platform designed to help institutional investors hook up with pre-IPO and newly public companies, is planning to hold its inaugural investor forum in November.
Equidity, which was founded by CEO Mona DeFrawi (pictured), former CEO of Menlo Park, California-based InsideVenture, uses a proprietary technology platform to connect an exclusive network of qualified institutional investors with carefully selected, top pre-IPO companies.
In private stage investing, where there is a lack of information transparency, Equidity provides highly effective and time- and cost-efficient tools for late-stage investing and IPO success. Equidity empowers companies in meeting their best long-term growth financing goals while protecting the confidentiality of their private data. Through Equidity, the highest quality investors gain early exposure to the best private companies and their detailed information so they can determine valuations based on business fundamentals, not market speculation.
“The last decade has been characterized by a lack of liquidity for long-term growth investors and companies that has blocked economic growth in the U.S. and globally,” said DeFrawi. “Having served the capital market needs of many organisations over two decades, I’ve helped high-growth companies overcome challenges as they ramp up for an IPO or acquisition. Equidity’s goal is to remedy the liquidity and IPO crises by supporting the direct relationships and information exchange needs of the highest quality investors and companies.”
Traditional financial marketing can be expensive, time consuming and not scalable. The permanent, structural changes in the capital markets this past decade make it even more challenging. Equidity has designed tools and solutions to support companies and also serve as a utility to their investment banking and investor relations partnerships for a more effective way to achieve growth and optimize shareholder value.
“What companies don’t realize is that in today’s markets, they must build relationships with the right investors years in advance for a successful offering,” says DeFrawi. “Behind the top five to ten recognisable fast-growing companies, there are hundreds more creating millions of jobs and profits, but have not gained visibility for their accomplishments or inclusion in the public company economic indices that measure national economic growth.”
Equidity allows companies and investors to easily and securely develop relationships and permission for the sharing of data – through a format similar to easy-to-use social networking profiles. The matching technology, combined with relationship-building events and activities, provides companies a process focused on their growth objectives. The platform is also designed to save months of fundraising efforts and hundreds of thousands, or even millions, in expenses.
Both Box and Objectiva Software Solutions are Platinum Sponsors of Equidity and key partners, enabling Equidity to deliver its proprietary IRM platform, which will be used by members beginning this summer in preparation for the inaugural “Economic Growth Stars Investors Forum” in November. Box’s cloud content management platform will enable investors and companies to securely access, share and collaborate on content through Equidity’s Virtual Data Room from anywhere, on any device.
“At Box, we’re focused on helping businesses of all sizes collaborate on content easily and securely, both within their organisation and with external partners,” says enterprise general manager Whitney Tidmarsh Bouck. “We’re excited to bring Box’s cloud content management solution to Equidity’s IRM platform, making it easy for high-growth companies and their investors to share highly sensitive financial information online and from mobile devices.”
