Investor Targeting

Sammanfattning: Introduction: New technology has allowed for alternative nancing methods to arise. In equity crowdfunding anyone is allowed to invest in unlisted growth companies through an online platform, which gives companies access to previously unavailable capital and allows individuals to take part of the company's journey earlier on. Having a crowd of hundreds or thousands as an owner can bring many benets apart from the capital. Dierent investors contribute with dierent value which makes it important for the fundingseeking companies to dene what investor types they want to target. The purpose of this study is to dene the equity crowdfunding pre-funding process, investigate who the equity crowdfunding investors are, identify target groups that are used in equity crowdfunding campaigns and to explore the dierent investors' contribution to the funded company. Methodology: The study is a case study of a Swedish equity crowdfunding platform called Platform X and eight of its funding campaigns. The primary data consists of both qualitative interviews and quantitative data. The interviews were held with both representatives from the funded companies and from the studied platform platform Platform X. The data came from Platform X's database. The secondary data was gathered in a literature study and was the foundation of the theoretical framework. An analysis of the empirical ndings with a base in the theoretical framework result in the conclusions. Theoretical Framework: The theory chapter rst positions equity crowdfunding in a theoretical context and relates it to other nancial alternatives as well as distinguishing it from other crowdfunding types. Theory about equity crowdfunding and its actors is then presented together with how the process looks like. The theory is concluded by presenting relevant targeting theory, both general and specic to equity crowdfunding. Empirical Study: The empirical study rst presents Platform X and its unique setup of equity crowdfunding, including for example holding companies and post-funding stock trading. The eight funded companies are then brie y introduced. Characteristics of the crowd investors registered on Platform X's are presented in various charts. The cases studied are then introi duced and the funding campaign described in more detail. Most notably, the target groups that were used for each campaign are listed and the pre-funding processes are described. Conclusions: The thesis gives insights on how the equity crowdfunding process looks like. A process map with the most important phases and milestones is presented, describing the dierent actors' involvement and also the average time-frame. Further, the study has investigated who the investors in equity crowdfunding are. The study shows that the crowd is relatively young - the largest generation represented is Millennials (born in 1981-1995). Still, smaller and bigger nancially driven investors are dominating but since many investors only have invested in one company it indicates a presence of company specic fans and customers. The ndings also show that investors in close proximity of the funded company, local investors, can be a big investor group. By studying eight funding campaigns the thesis has identied seven target groups in equity crowdfunding, namely; Fans and customers, Big investors, Small active investors, Business partners, Employees, Friends and family and Locavestors. The identied target groups can be used as a foundation for targeting activities in equity crowdfunding. The investor contribution has not been possible to explore in a satisfying way. Many of the studied cases were funded recently which made it hard to see the contributions thus far. The thesis gives some indications on the potential contribution of both ambassadorship and business partner collaboration.