Securing 100 new investors in 30 days may sound as absurd to you as traveling Around the World in 80 Days did in the times of Jules Verne, but like Verne’s intrepid hero found on his adventure, it’s easier to reach than you might think.

Let’s step back a moment – why am I talking about 100 new investors in the first place? Call it our version of numerology, but at StartEngine we firmly believe that entrepreneurs who reach out and secure 100 first-time investors to the platform in the first 30 days of their raise should be rewarded. How? Through a dedicated email to our investor community. That means yours is the only company featured, and it can have a big impact on your raise.

So how to reach 100 new investors?

Let’s zoom out. In the US, roughly 30 million active investors are using online brokers like Robinhood, eTrade, and Schwab. That’s a big number, and if you compare it to the adult population from 30-70 years old, you’ll see that it actually represents around one in four people in the age range. In other words, if you know 400 people you should be able to get 100 investors. Say you’re a team of five – that means each of you probably only needs to talk to about 80 people. Easier than expected, right?

E-commerce conversion rates can also work in your favor here. Mailing 1,000 customers can secure up to 50 or more investors depending on their level of engagement with your company. Placing ads on Facebook and other social media can have a similar effect. And retargeting users who visit your offering page can help convert them at a lower cost than prospecting. Put together, all these activities can help yield 100 new investors.
The crowd is powerful. Take the meme stock frenzy of 2021 for instance. Small-time investors, largely on Reddit, drove many companies’ stock prices to levels no one thought possible. Well, if you can push to secure 100 new investors within 30 days after launch, you can do a lot to put the crowd to work for your raise.