+ What is Crowdberry and how does it work?
Crowdberry is an equity-based, investment platform connecting the professional investment club Tatra Banka Private Banking with dynamic entrepreneurial ideas. Investors can diversify their investment portfolio based on their own appraisal into several innovative companies and thus split the risk with other co-investors. With the aid of new capital injection, the entrepreneur can move towards more radical growth or proceed to further stages of prototyping, etc. As opposed to traditional forms of investment, Crowdberry works under standardised, effective procedures and reaches out simultaneously to many potential investors.
+ Is it possible to register several projects under my Ltd.?
No. A legal entity (Ltd.) may only apply to one project, and therefore investment into the entrepreneurial activity itself operates on the investment. Let us not forget that investors prefer quality, not quantity.
+ What is the minimum and the maximum amount of investment I can apply for?
The minimum investment is 100 000 €.
The maximum limit of investment is 5 000 000 €.
+ What fees apply to Crowdberry members?
None. Crowdberry services of are billed to the company in the case of a successful campaign, a fixed fee of 8% of the amount of investment reached (without VAT).
+ Is it possible to cancel my participation with Crowdberry during the campaign?
As a company – entrepreneur – you cannot cancel your participation with Crowdberry during the run of the Campaign you have committed to. After the campaign is launched, you are bound to effect the investment if at least 80% of the overall value of investment is collected.
As an investor you can lower, raise, or cancel your commitment to invest in a start-up or company anytime during the run of the campaign up to 48 hours before the end of the campaign, after which it is no longer possible to lower or cancel your commitment to invest, though you can still raise the amount committed.
+ How long can my Crowdberry campaign be?
Those interested in raising capital can set the required length of the campaign to be anywhere between 30 to 60 days. In special cases, it is possible to extend the length of the campaign after personal consultation.
+ How can I use the investment?
Freeing up the capital depends on your business goal, plan, and the specific conditions of its use as defined in the Term Sheet agreement.
+ What happens after capital is accumulated?
The minimum amount of accumulated investment must reach at least 80% of the goal sum, which is set by the entrepreneur in their campaign. Only after reaching this sum does the process of investment itself begin. Confirmation emails are sent to the involved parties and the process should not stop from this point on. The legal procedure follows, which is safeguarded by Crowdberry, to make sure all the legal requirements necessary to execute investment into the company and acquire shareholding ownership are fulfilled. Please read carefully the Crowdberry Terms of Service for further details, as they are binding.
+ What are the administrative requirements for a start-up applying to invest with Crowdberry?
The administrative requirements are essential to identify the applicant for investment, but are also the basis for setting up the investment procedure and entry dialogue about the suitability and adequacy of the (expected) investment.
Crowdberry requires the following documentation:
1. Name of the company,
2. The title of the venture *,
3. IČO - Business ID (if an Ltd.),
4. The website, 5. Social media networks,
6. The amount of required capital (slider) *,
7. The amount of shares offered (slider) *,
8. Duration of the campaign (slider) *,
9. One Liner (explain your entrepreneurial goal in one sentence. Max. 50 characters) *,
10. Description of the entrepreneurial goal (free text, max. 500 characters) *,
11. Business plan (PPT presentation) *,
12. Additional documentation supporting the explanation of the entrepreneurial goal and the business model, at Crowdberry’s request (PDF, Word, etc.),
13. Video (YouTube, Vimeo, or similar),
14. Images (logo, team, product, etc.)
Entries marked * are mandatory.
+ I am not a resident of the Slovak Republic. Can I apply for financing through Crowdberry services?
Only companies established in the Slovak Republic under Slovak law can apply for financing through Crowdberry services, irrespective of the nationality and residence of its associates or executive officers.
+ INVESTOR – If I invest in a start-up, do I also gain voting rights?
Yes. According to the conditions set out for each campaign, the investor gains voting and other rights proportional to their number of shares, in accordance with the Commercial Code (“Obchodny zákonník”). The exact extent of voting and other rights will be derived from the ratio to the base capital, Term Sheet (Shareholders’Agreement), and Articles of Association.
+ INVESTOR – What are the risks associated with Crowdberry?
It needs to be considered that the value of investments into start-ups fluctuates and it is not possible to guarantee appreciation. The value of investments and the profits they generate can fall, and no guarantee exists that the investment will return partially or in full. Each investment into start-ups should be regarded as an illiquid investment in the long-term. The investor’s demands vis-à-vis start-ups are unsecured and subordinate to the claims of all creditors and, in the case of preference shares, subordinate to the preference share owners as well. The value of the investment, its appreciation, return, and the success or failure of the start-up are dependent on many variables, many of which are specific to the given investment and undertaking (some are of external character). Being able to sell your share/stock is dependent on the motivation of the potential buyer to buy the share/stock at an acceptable price. It might be difficult to find such a buyer. Also, consider our warnings about the risks, which are published in different sections on this website. (Disclaimer)
+ Can I change my percentage share after having gone through the Due Diligence process and my project is “live” on the platform?
Yes, although after activating your offer you can only increase the percentage share offered to investors.
+ Is a follow-up investment from the VC, or from other investment funds part of Crowdberry?
Yes, it can be, since Crowdberry works with several professional VCs and investment funds, this we can secure further rounds of investments in case of a successful campaign.
+ What are the costs associated with using the platform?
Registration and listing on the platform are free of charge. When reaching the set investment goal and, in the case of successful entry of an investor into a company, Crowdberry will bill 8% of the amount of the investments (without VAT) to the company, not the investors. Fees include any services performed or facilitated, such as consulting, legal services, and processing.
+ Can I recommend a company for participation on the Crowdberry platform?
Yes. Please contact us at info(at)crowdberry.eu.
+ What happens if the goal sum of the campaign is not reached?
If, after passing the end date of the campaign, less than 80% of the goal sum is collected, the campaign is deemed unsuccessful and no obligation to the investors to invest is created. For the start-up, this means that the business plan was not interesting enough, and it is necessary to re-evaluate the business proposal and seek other means of raising capital.
+ What is a Term Sheet?
A document defining the conditions for executing the investment into the company. Term Sheets are the foundation for the subsequent legal documents, such as the Articles of Association, etc.
+ How does the legal structure look after successfully raising capital through Crowdberry?
After a successful campaign, the Term Sheets are signed between the investors and the legal representatives of the company. After confirmation of mutual conditions, further legal actions can be taken through this contract, as in the Commercial Code, in cooperation with our partner legal firm.
+ What criteria need to be fulfilled by a company applying to raise capital through Crowdberry?
The company needs to be an existing Ltd./ PLC listed in the Commercial Register of the Slovak Republic. It is preferable that it already have paying customers and is planning to expand. It should have a positive approach and should know what is needed for its growth.
The quality of service offered by Crowdberry is in rigorous selection of investment projects that may apply to become a member of our investment club. Crowdberry reserves the right to make declarations about the feasibility of business plans from several aspects: existence of the market, definition of the potential competition, comparison to the competition, ability of the Company to engage the market and implement its business plan, complexity of solutions, and maturity of the team. The final decision about the investment, however, rests wholly under the responsibility of the investors.
+ INVESTOR: What are the risks associated with Crowdberry?
It needs to be considered that the value of investments into start-ups fluctuate and it is impossible to guarantee their appreciation. The value of investments and the profits they generate can fall and no guarantee exists that the investment will return partially or in full. Each investment into start-ups should be regarded as an illiquid investment in the long-term. The investor’s demand vis-à-vis the start-ups are unsecured and are subordinate to the claims of all creditors and in case of preference share, subordinate to the preference share owners as well. The value of the investment, its appreciation, return, success or failure of the start-up are dependent on many variables, of which many are specific for the given investment and undertaking (some are of external character) The ability of selling your share/stock will be dependent on the motivation of the potential buyer to buy the share/stock at an acceptable price. It might be difficult to finds such a buyer. Consider also our warnings about the risks, which are published in different locations on this website. (Disclaimer)
+ Can I apply for an investment if I have an idea, but have not set up a legal entity (ltd.)?
Yes, if you are willing to set up the company before the start of the campaign. The Crowdberry team can help you with this.
+ INVESTOR – I want to meet with the start-up before I decide to invest in it. Is this possible?
Crowdberry places great importance on investors getting as much information as possible about the start-ups. Therefore, it organises several events and presentations where people can be met in person and the current start-up projects seen. If needed, we would also gladly organise individual personal meetings.
+ INVESTOR – What are the fees for Crowdberry members?
Crowdberry does not charge any fees to join the investment club. With a successful investment, Crowdberry bills a fee of 8% (without VAT) of the value of the investment. This fee is charged to the company – the start-up – that the investor has joined, not to the investor.