Australia's VentureCrowd partners with Sydney Angels

The tie-up means that Sydney Angels - which has made 35 deals since it was formed in 2008 - will refer its start-ups to the platform, according to The Australian.

VentureCrowd launched last year and is backed by Artesian Venture Partners. The platform already partners with around 25 incubators, accelerators, early-stage venture capital firms, digital agencies, and univerisities. Its investors are allowed to committ as little as A$1,000 ($760) per start-up, making it easier to build a diversified portfolio of companies with a relatively smaller pool of capital.

The platform has already worked with Sydney Angels. In January it invested A$363,000 in Sydney Angels portfolio company, social Q&A network Crowd Mobile.

Sydney Angels comprises 70 high-net worth individuals (HNWIs) and typically invests A$200,000-500,000 per start-up. It claims to be the only angel group in Australia with a dedicated sidecar fund worth $10 million.

The idea of equity crowdfunding platforms - as opposed to platforms like Kickstarter or Indigogo, where investors make no financial return - is gradually gaining traction globally. However, regulations are still fairly restrictive.

Currently, Australian start-ups can currently raise up to A$20 million through platforms like VentureCrowd but only from a pool of up to 20 wholesale investors - defined as those with net assets of more than A$2.5 million. However, some in the industry would like to see the regulations relaxed further to allow for smaller investments from a broader public.

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• Topics
• Venture
• Australasia
• Fundraising
• Early-stage
• seed
• Venture
• Australia
• Fundraising
• Crowdfunding