Will McGuire has deep roots in the Raleigh, N.C. entrepreneurial community. Last year, while attending the city’s annual Innovate Raleigh summit, McGuire was struck by the fact that the dominant topic being discussed among hundreds of entrepreneurs, innovators, and business leaders was the woeful lack of access to investment capital for startups and other businesses across North Carolina. After the event, he was connected to Mark Easley, “Mr. Crowdfund,” who had been working to make investment crowdfunding in NC a reality. The rest is history!
CrowdfundNC is creating a change in the state’s investment landscape by providing an investment crowdfunding ecosystem that aims to make companies investable. Then it pairs startups and other businesses seeking capital with a Broker-Dealer platform to seek capital from both accredited and retail investors. CrowdfundNC works with companies beyond just the state of North Carolina; however, companies have to have a tie in which benefits North Carolinians.
“We’ve democratized the raise process for both Main Street businesses and high-growth startups to help them get funded in North Carolina,” says McGuire, CrowdfundNC’s Chief Crowdfunding Officer. “Investors can leverage investment crowdfunding to look for potential investment opportunities in their community. CrowdfundNC provides a world of possibilities for entrepreneurs fundraising and investors they previously have not had access to.”
Invest With Confidence
CrowdfundNC partnered with Localstake, a broker-dealer platform, to provide a trusted investment platform. Localstake is a FINRA-registered broker-dealer that manages investment regulatory compliance so investors can invest with confidence.
Typical types of Investment securities offered to include:
Typical fundraising opportunities range from $100,000 to $500,000. Investment minimums, meanwhile, are typically between $100 and $500 for retail investors. Investments minimums for accredited-only offerings can start as low as $1,000. The lower investment thresholds allow both retail and accredited investors to gain portfolio diversification across a wider range of alternative investments.
How to Invest
The first step is to create an account with Localstake. Rocket Dollar account holders receive $75 off the account setup fee.
“Investors using their self-directed IRAs have the opportunity to diversify by investing in startups and Mainstreet businesses in the community,” McGuire says. “We provide an online platform that gives these investors access to the private business investment world.”
As part of the Investment Crowdfunding Ecosystem, CrowdfundNC provides educational resources and a partner network to entrepreneurs. These partner resources, service providers, business mentors and advisors throughout the state of North Carolina helps make businesses investable.
“Our focus is on connecting resources for the different components of becoming investable so the business can tell a compelling story to their potential investors,” McGuire says.
“Rocket Dollar helps further democratize individuals’ opportunity to invest in these securities,” McGuire adds. “We’re democratizing the investment opportunity and its impact. Investors leveraging Rocket Dollar get to unlock their IRA for new potential investments in their community. We’re creating a world where the community can literally invest in its future on a broad and equitable scale unseen before.”