Investor Profile: SeedInvest - Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

If you are researching how to get funding from SeedInvest, read this honesty note first: SeedInvest as a standalone platform is no longer the route it once was. SeedInvest was a pioneering US equity crowdfunding platform, founded in 2012 and launched in 2013, that let vetted startups raise from a large pool of investors online. In 2023, StartEngine officially acquired SeedInvest's assets from an affiliate of Circle Internet Financial, and reporting since then describes the SeedInvest brand being folded into StartEngine. Founders should therefore treat this profile as history and a guide to what made SeedInvest distinctive, and verify any current raise route with StartEngine before relying on an old SeedInvest link.

Thesis and focus

SeedInvest's thesis was curation plus access. It screened and vetted deals before listing them, drawing on the fundraising exemptions created by the US JOBS Act, and it aimed to give ordinary and accredited investors access to startup deals that were once limited to venture capitalists and angels. Its founders, Ryan Feit and James Han, had been involved in consultation with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Congress around the JOBS Act. Sectors were broad, spanning technology, healthcare, consumer, hardware and related fields, rather than a single vertical.

The platform's selectivity was central to its pitch. SeedInvest said it accepted only around 1% of the startups that applied, according to contemporary reporting,

Funding terms

SeedInvest was a platform, not a venture fund, so a conventional fund size is not publicly disclosed and does not apply in the usual sense. For investors, contemporary reporting cites a minimum investment of $500, with a 2% investor fee capped at $300, refundable if a company failed to meet its fundraising goal, and an Auto Invest option at $200 per company. For companies, older founder facing material described a placement fee of 7.5% of funds raised plus an equity fee of 5%, charged only on a successful raise, with up to $3,000 of accounting fees reimbursed on launch.

SeedInvest offered three historic raise structures described in secondary reviews: an accredited only route, a side by side route open to accredited and non-accredited investors, and a mini-IPO route under Regulation A+. It also offered Regulation D, Regulation CF and Regulation A+ pathways, which mattered because each route has different investor eligibility and disclosure rules.

Notable portfolio and partners

SeedInvest's historic deal flow included more than 230 companies raising through the platform in some reviews, and more than $470 million raised over its ten year run as reported around the StartEngine acquisition. One widely cited example is NowRX, reported to have raised $20 million on SeedInvest in 2020 alone. Earlier, SeedInvest was acquired by Circle Internet Financial in 2018, before Circle sold its assets to StartEngine in 2023 for a reported $24 million in StartEngine shares.

Programmes and support

How to apply for funding

Historically, founders applied through seedinvest.com/raise. Today, do not assume that route still opens a live SeedInvest application. Check StartEngine's current founder application route first, and ask StartEngine directly whether any SeedInvest legacy process, investor list or campaign data still applies to your company. If you are drawn to SeedInvest's model, the live question is whether StartEngine, Republic or Wefunder offers the curation, investor base and fee structure that fits your raise now.