Regardless of how you invest, at Worldbusinessyear (WBY) we believe that the smallest investors should have the same rights as even the largest investors and that is why only A shares, with full voting rights, are offered to all investors.
WBY allows you to invest in the shares of early-stage and growth-focused businesses and to benefit as they increase in value. We provide three types of campaigns that allow you to become a shareholder in these businesses.
1. Equity Campaigns
Investing in a regular equity campaign is the simplest and most common way to invest in a startup. You decide which business you want to invest in, and if the campaign hits its funding target then you will become one of their shareholders. As the company becomes more valuable, so do your shares; allowing you the opportunity to share in the future success of the business.
For example, if you invest £1,000 into an equity crowdfunding campaign, you will become the owner of a certain number shares in the company depending on the share price.
These campaigns are often eligible for SEIS/EIS tax breaks and the minimum investment is just £10. Check out our equity campaign term sheet to learn more.
2. Fund Campaigns
Investing in a fund campaign allows you to invest in multiple businesses with one click of a button. When you invest in a fund on Seedrs, you will become a shareholder in each of the underlying businesses that the relevant fund organiser or manager chooses.
The fund organiser (who may run an accelerator or venture capital fund, for example) identifies the businesses and often provides them with advice, support and mentorship.
The key to successful equity investing is diversification, and a fund campaign allows you to easily diversify with the added benefit of the businesses receiving additional support and help. For example, if you invest £1,000 into a fund campaign, each business will receive a portion of the cash invested and you will receive shares in those companies.
3. Convertible Campaigns
Convertible campaigns are often used by businesses when there is a large fundraising round on the horizon, but they want to raise a smaller funding round in the meantime. By offering a convertible, the business doesn’t need to put a valuation on their company now and therefore avoids potentially affecting their negotiations with the future investors.
When an investor purchases equity in a business, the purchase price of the equity implies a company valuation. For example, if an investor purchases a 10% stake in a company and pays £10,000 for that stake, this implies that the company is worth £100,000.
Investing in a convertible campaign allows you to invest today, with your investment converting into equity in the future, at a discount compared to other investors. This is a very common structure used by angels and VCs all over the world.
Convertible campaigns avoid the need to agree a specific valuation on the company and instead offer investors a discount (referred to as the “Discount”). When the convertible converts to equity in the future (usually when there is a new round of funding), it will be converted based on the discount to the valuation at the time of the new round of funding, sometimes subject to a maximum valuation (referred to as the “Valuation Cap”).
While this is the standard approach to convertibles, each one is unique which is why we attach a document to each convertible campaign on Seedrs outlining exactly what the specific terms are for that particular campaign. We strongly suggest that a potential investor familiarise themselves with this document before deciding to invest.
For example, if you invest £1,000 in a convertible campaign on Seedrs, and a new investor invests £1,000 at the time of the new funding, you would receive more shares than the new investor.
