Hi everyone đ
It looks like Freetrade is going to be the highest profile raise in May, so I thought I'd see how the appetite is among the first users here at Crowdfeed?
Freetrade has made good progress since the last raise, with user numbers now exceeding 150,000, US fractionals in Beta testing and the rollout earlier this year of their Invest platform. Also, they have done very well in recent months during the pandemic with new users seeming to accelerate during it.
I invested in Rounds 4 and 5, and will likely put some money in again in this round. One concern I have with this raise though is how much they stretch the valuation - Freetrade has already stated that they intend on a VC round later this year and if the outlook turns a little negative for them before then and the VC appetite reduces, a down round (or a flat round while having a greater user numbers) wouldn't look good or be good for momentum. I think a valuation of ÂŁ100m would be sensible now, given the economic uncertainty with the pandemic.
Would be great to know what others are thinking?
I am SO excited for them; I hope they break records. If they send a messageout to the world that crowdfunding is this effective, it will influence so many startups to consider crowdfunding.
Whether I invest depends heavily on what the valuation will be, as i'm pretty happy with my round 4&5 input. I'd also want to see some data (e.g. AUM), and I'm a little bit worried about Trading212. Nonetheless, I think the upside is huge, I could see FT being an investment I hold for life (i.e. long after an IPO), they have such a massive opportunity in front of them.
Also, what do you think of Bux? Did you invest? I hope you've had a chance to look at them, their campaign closes today apparently!
I don't know if you know @Lee, but Freetrade released a few details recently. I won't release confidential information (anyone - feel free to DM me), but the key takeaway is that the pre-money valuation is going to be >ÂŁ100m; do you have any thoughts on this?
Personally, that's far too steep for me, but I hadn't planned on investing anyway- was more than happy with my round 4 & 5input.
edit: hope you don't mind my tagging you too @JBL, as you mentioned an interest.
Yeah agree - really excited for them and think that it could encourage many other companies if they do well with crowdfunding with so much uncertainty around.
I'm happy with the amount that I put in during the previous round, however I do think I will top-up. I place Freetrade in the Revolut/Monzo category of unicorn potential and its rare to get the chance to have these on crowdfunding platforms, so I feel I should run the winners when get the opportunity.