This Napster-Backed Company Provides Actionable Startup Investment Research
Bostinno covers the KingsCrowd story, how it came to be and why it is such a unique startup.
We believe KingsCrowd is set to disrupt the $4.2B venture capital due diligence market with a Morningstar-style solution that is 100% unbiased and empowers every person to invest confidently in startups, regardless of wealth or financial sophistication.
We know that investing in startups is exciting, but it can also be overwhelming, complicated and very often challenging to navigate. That is why we created KingsCrowd, the first rating service for the equity crowdfunding market that provides education, analytics, research and ratings to help investors make informed startup investment decisions.
Through education, research, analytics and recommendations, we will empower everyone to invest in startups like a professional. At KingsCrowd, we believe that investors should have access to unbiased institutional-grade research and analytics tools that enable informed startup investment decisions, regardless of investment experience.
Here’s the bottom line: We don’t tell you what to do, and we don’t create favorites. We provide our users with the education, analytics, research and ratings they need to make the right investment decisions.
Startup Founders agree, we play an important role in enabling investors to make smart startup investment decisions.
Investment
$1.80/ Common Unit│When you invest you are betting the company’s future value will exceed $4.4M.
For details on the bonus, please see the Offering Summary below.
Chris Lustrino
Co-Founder, KingsCrowd
As a startup, we are a unique blend of experienced and youthful innovators. More importantly, our core team possesses an incredible understanding of the startup market, which makes KingsCrowd uniquely qualified to build this first-of-its-kind platform.
John Fanning, internet pioneer and founding chairman and CEO of Napster back in the early 2000's, and the Fanning family were the first investors in Uber, approached Chris Lustrino in February 2018. Chris had a background in strategy consulting working heavily in the PE markets, as well as running a blog called SIC, which focused on the alternative lending and investing markets. The newest team member is Sean O’Reilly. He is an experienced equity analyst and Editor from the Motley Fool, and has been studying the investment markets since he was 12 years old.
Currently, KingsCrowd has over 800 subscribers and thousands in annual recurring revenue with early adopters of our service as we continue to run iterative tests to find product-market fit. We are live with version 2 as we regularly experiment and continue to improve to meet the needs of our customers.
As we begin to build our brand presence and relationships with the various platforms, we are building out our fully functioning ratings platform. This will enable us to rate and provide coverage of every deal across the equity crowdfunding market.
All images are created and owned by the company and not re-purposed from another existing company's product or services. The only product that is a computer generated rendering of a future product for KingsCrowd is directly above.
We are shooting for a winter 2019 release. Our aim is to utilize our early adopters as beta testers for our finished ratings product. Beforehand, we are beginning to build a brand presence in the market as the leading equity crowdfunding third-party research and rating service.
For years, investing in startups was limited to big institutional venture capital firms and millionaires. However, over the past several years, several online startup investing portals (e.g., StartEngine, FundersClub, Republic, Netcapital, AngelList) have come to market, creating unprecedented access to startup investments online. These businesses were empowered by the JOBs act, which for the first time opened up investment in startup businesses to ordinary, unaccredited investors.
Since that time, the Crowdfunding market has seen 100%+ YoY growth. In fact, online investing in startups is well on its way to surpassing $1B per year. Source: Historical growth from Crowdfund Capital Advisors
According to the latest market research report released by @Technavio, the global #crowdfunding market is expected to register a CAGR of almost 17% through 2021.
We believe current competitors are primarily focused on deal aggregation, providing little education or recommendations.
Crowditz: Crowdfunding deal aggregator
Newchip: Crowdfunding deal aggregator
Early Investing: Occasional deal recommendations
Crowdability: Deal aggregation / research
KingsCrowd is different. We’re taking a long-term vision to the market by building the startup investing “decision engine”. It will be one that’s focused on providing the comprehensive suite of tools needed to make informed startup investment decisions via online portals.
We plan to invest the funds raised in our full-fledged rating service and in customer acquisition. This will take the form of hiring a lead developer to focus on product development in-house and an investment analyst to take ownership of scaling our research and rating capabilities. We will also invest more heavily in our messaging and marketing efforts to drive customer adoption and feedback of our early beta versions of the platform.
With the crowdfunding market seemingly growing at a quick pace, we believe we are well positioned to be a big part of a rapidly emerging market. KingsCrowd’s aim is to create a sustainable and profitable business that is representative of the more inclusive and open equity market through independent due diligence and ratings of the startups raising via portals like StartEngine.
It is time for investors to have access to the same logistics, stats and other critical info needed to help them make decisions. We are determined to be a true catalyst that will spur change in the private investing markets.
Join us in crafting a Morningstar for equity crowdfunding. Help us to help expand economic opportunity by empowering ordinary investors with the tools they need to invest confidently in early-stage startup businesses.
Invest in KingsCrowd!
Bostinno covers the KingsCrowd story, how it came to be and why it is such a unique startup.
Chris Lustrino gets interviewed by Greenhorn Connect on how KingsCrowd came to be and where the business is headed.
Crowdfund Insider provides insights into the KingsCrowd business and equity crowdfunding offering on Netcapital.
Chris Lustrino discusses the KingsCrowd story and how the DCU Fintech Innovation Center has helped the company to grow in its early days.
Chris Lustrino is recognized as one of the most influential entrepreneurs of 2018 in this Entrepreneur publication.
Chris Lustrino sits down with ValueSetters to discuss how he pulled off a successful equity crowdfunding raise.
Boston Business Journal covers the KingsCrowd story, how it came to be and why it is such a unique startup.
Chris Lustrino sits down with the BankOnIt Podcast to discuss the KingsCrowd founding story and how equity crowdfunding is reshaping financial services.
Maximum 138,888* Common Units ($249,998.40)
*Maximum subject to adjustment for bonus units. See 10% Bonus below
Minimum 5,555 Common Units ($9,999)
Company | Kings Crowd LLC |
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Corporate Address | 695 Atlantic Ave., Floor 9 Boston MA, 02446 United States |
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Description of Business | KingsCrowd provides the infrastructure for startup investment decision making |
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Type of Security Offered | Common Units |
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Purchase Price of Security Offered | $1.80 |
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Minimum Investment Amount (per investor) | $108.00 |
The 10% Bonus for StartEngine Shareholders
KingsCrowd will offer 10% additional bonus units for all investments that are committed by StartEngine Crowdfunding Inc. shareholders (with ≥ $1,000 invested in the StartEngine Reg A+ campaign) within 24 hours of this offering going live.
StartEngine shareholders who have invested $1,000+ in the StartEngine Reg A+ campaign will receive a 10% bonus on this offering within a 24-hour window of their campaign launch date. This means you will receive a bonus for any units you purchase. For example, if you buy 100 Common Units at $1.80 / unit, you will receive 10 bonus units, meaning you'll own 110 Common units for $180. Fractional units will not be distributed and unit bonuses will be determined by rounding down to the nearest whole unit.
This 10% Bonus is only valid for one year from the time StartEngine Crowdfunding Inc. investors receive their countersigned StartEngine Crowdfunding Inc. subscription agreement.
A crowdfunding investment involves risk. You should not invest any funds in this offering unless you can afford to lose your entire investment. In making an investment decision, investors must rely on their own examination of the issuer and the terms of the offering, including the merits and risks involved. These securities have not been recommended or approved by any federal or state securities commission or regulatory authority. Furthermore, these authorities have not passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this document. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not pass upon the merits of any securities offered or the terms of the offering, nor does it pass upon the accuracy or completeness of any offering document or literature. These securities are offered under an exemption from registration; however, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not made an independent determination that these securities are exempt from registration.
Hi everyone,
I know it's been awhile but we just wanted to share a nice shoutout we received in The Boston Globe on how KingsCrowd is helping to share the online private markets with ratings and analytics.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2019/08/11/with-new-investing-rules-you-can-part-crowd-that-funding-startups/5ho0wgfyC3O0wo610yAfXL/story.html
Moreover, we wanted to remind you that our current pre-seed round of funding is underway over on Netcapital and you can partake. We hope you join us in continuing our development as an organization. We will have more exciting developments for you early this Fall.
https://netcapital.com/companies/kingscrowd
Stay tuned and be sure to invest.
All the best,
Chris Lustrino
Last call, we've added 6 new investors over the past few hours. But there are only 3 hours left to invest! And then we will officially close our raise.
Get your dollars in now! And join the KingsCrowd family of investors!!
Thanks for an amazing journey everyone. Bright days are ahead!
All the best,
Chris & The KingsCrowd Team
The past 24 hours has been amazing! We added 25 new investors, $11K in investment and 10 new paying customers!
We love seeing the StartEngine community so engaged and excited about what we are building!
But there are just 10 hours left to join the KingsCrowd team on our journey to reinvent the private capital markets!
Let's see if we can add 25 more investors in the next 10 hours.
It's a tall order but I know we can do it!
Thanks KingsCrowder's!
PS Our 6 month offer is over, but you can still get 3 months for $1 with coupon code KINGSCROWD3FOR1 at checkout!
Chris & The KC Team!
LAST CALL!!! If you want to invest in KingsCrowd, be sure to INVEST BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. We are down to the last few hours to invest and our coupon code for a 6 month trial for $1 will expire at midnight!
CODE: KINGSTART
Join the KingsCrowd movement and help reshape the private capital markets to be more efficient. Here is to the future. Thank you everyone who has made this raise such a success. We raised nearly $10K just today. Let's keep it going.
Signing off,
Chris Lustrino & The KingsCrowd Team
We've Brought on 11 NEW INVESTORS this afternoon! With just hours left we wanted to send out another reminder to invest while you still can and join the movement to make the private markets transparent and easy to access!
If you want to hear from me the Founder, you can actually check out my 5 minute pitch from StartEngine's Demo Day below. I come on at 1:26:50. VIDEO HERE.
Hopefully that can answer any questions you may still have! TIME TO INVEST!
And reminder to sign up with coupon code KINGSTART before midnight tonight. It will get you 6 months of access to KC for just $1 risk free!
If you become a paying customer before midnight, you will get an investor badge on your social profiles when we roll out social profiles later this year.
Hope You Join Us On This Exciting Ride!!!
Over the last several hours of our campaign, we want to provide you with additional reminders that time is indeed expiring to invest in KingsCrowd. Need reason to get excited about investing in KingsCrowd? Check out this graphic.
Don't let KingsCrowd be the one that got away! ACT NOW AND INVEST.
We look forward to having you on the team!
Onward and upward,
Chris Lustrino
If you've been thinking about investing in KINGSCROWD, your almost out of luck.
We have 36 HOURS until we close to the public!
If you want to be a part of the 'Morningstar' of the private markets, BE SURE TO INVEST WHILE YOU CAN. We are building a world class team and product to meet a real market need. With your investment we can accelerate our ability to execute on our vision.
Really exciting days are ahead for KingsCrowd and each and everyone of our investors!
LETS BRIDGE THE GAP OF 165 FOLLOWERS ON STARTENGINE WITH THE NUMBER OF INVESTORS WE CURRENTLY HAVE OF 50.
If you have any doubts ask us questions, make your voice heard but most importantly INVEST!
We hope you join us. And for one last time we are bringing back our coupon...
COUPON CODE: KINGSTART (6 months for $1 risk free)
All the best,
Chris Lustrino & The KingsCrowd Team
Hey everyone,
Just a quick reminder that there is only 5 days left to invest in KingsCrowd before we close to the public.
Be sure to invest while you can!
Let us know if you have any questions at all. Here's to an exciting future for KingsCrowd! Hope you join us.
All the best,
Chris Lustrino
Founder & CEO
Hi everyone,
We are excited to announce that we have partnered with Wealth Noir to provide in-depth content on the equity crowdfunding market.
Wealth Noir exists to preach and teach about the importance of financial freedom and generational wealth to Black millennial professionals and they align well both with our vision and mission to empower everyone to invest in startups confidently.
The value of the partnership includes:
Greater exposure to the types of investors we want to sell to
Aligning our branding with other leaders in the financial publication space
Potential customer acquisition channel
A rising tide raises all boats and these types of initiatives do exactly that. With each step Wealth Noir takes and with each step we take, we can help to bring innovative financial products to more people faster.
This is an exciting day for KingsCrowd and look forward to many more. To check out our first piece exclusively written for Wealth Noir see HERE! Be sure to invest in KingsCrowd before time runs out!
Onward and upward,
The KingsCrowd Team
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to let you know there are less than 2 weeks left to invest in KingsCrowd before we close the round. We are kicking off the New Year in grand fashion and have some big news soon to come.
But we just wanted to remind you to invest while you can!
Why You Might Want To Invest:
First movers in the equity crowdfunding ratings and analytics space
Building out first comprehensive ratings platform for the market
Backed and advised by John Fanning, Founding Chairman & CEO of Napster (he and his family, first investors in Uber)
123K+ visitors, 2.1K+ subscribers, $12K+ in ARR and just getting started
Beginning to sign B2B2C partnership agreements to vastly accelerate growth
Acquired leading analytics provider in the space, Crowditz
Partnered with Rocket Dollar to provide in-depth ratings to self-directed IRA users
Not only can you invest in us, but you can use us to find other awesome investments. By backing us, you are investing in your own future startup investing success!
Speaking of that we are bringing back coupon code KINGSTART for 3 more days so you can get 6 months of KC for just $1!
COUPON CODE: KINGSTART
All the best,
Chris & The KingsCrowd Team
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