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At the beginning, Dr. Zuzana Gyárfášová started to produce its organic cosmetics only for her own use. Her oil-based products soon became very popular. In 2018, she introduced her first 5 facial oils to the world under the brand Noili. Thanks to the initial investment from CB Investment Management, the company managed to expand into the Czech market and broaden its product portfolio. One of Noili's loyal customers is top model Daniela Peštová, who was attracted by the brand's minimalism and decided to work closely with the brand. The brand is planning to grow further, which should be boosted by the investment raised in an investment campaign on the Crowdberry platform.

We are delighted to see companies raise capital through our investment platform to fulfil their potential and continue to grow. This includes a premium cycling apparel brand, a company that provides comprehensive logistics solutions for e-commerce, and a company that captures reality almost perfectly and translates it into unique digital experiences. But there are also companies that have the same ambition to change the world and are just one step away from closing their investment. Find out which ones below.

Isadore Apparel, founded by former professional cyclists Peter and Martin Velits, is a step closer to its goal of becoming a major global player after a second investment round closed in record time on the Crowdberry investment platform. Investors responded not only to the potential of the market in which the cycling apparel brand operates, but especially to the results achieved so far. Isadore ended 2021 with revenues of almost €4 million (up 36% year-on-year), increased the number of new registrations by a third, and won a prestigious Euro Effie Award for its advertising during the Tour de France.

Following initial growth capital from a fund managed by CB Investment Management, two young Slovak companies, DNA ERA and Noili, now have the opportunity to raise additional investment from private investors on Crowdberry's platform. The total value of the new capital, which will enable these startups to continue expanding into new markets and broaden their product portfolios, will reach almost €1.3 million. 

2021 was a year full of opportunities. Czechs and Slovaks showed that despite all the challenges, they still want to keep developing their businesses and the world around them. To see how, look at the numbers from our platform. Last year, private investors stumped up the most investment in our history for successful Czech and Slovak companies and real estate – over €16 million (CZK 400 million). In total, Crowdberry had €60 million of capital under management and 42 companies in its portfolio by the end of 2021. In addition, Crowdberry partner Peter Bečár oversaw the creation of a qualified investor fund focused on real estate. There was even a record increase in registrations on the Crowdberry platform and in our team members.

On the back of the rising interest in investment opportunities in residential, logistics, industrial and retail real estate as well as senior housing, we have decided to expand the Crowdberry team with the addition of three experienced managers. In addition, we will continue to develop our portfolio of investment opportunities in 2022 and we have more transactions in the pipeline.

More than 50,000 companies in the EU will soon be required to report non-financial information on the sustainability of their business. So far, reporting requirements have affected only 11,600 organizations. But from 1 January 2023, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will affect all large companies, while small and medium-sized enterprises will be given three more years to implement it. The besmarthead.com platform is designed to help companies of all sizes comply with this directive. Besmarthead.com’s creators are now using the Crowdberry platform to seek out new investment for further development. What kind of potential does this new tool have?

Crowdfunding is about more than capital – it also has the advantage that investors are people with specific knowledge who can offer the companies in which they invest more than just financial help. Company founders and investors summed up their experiences at the Crowdberry Forum during the panel discussion “Capital is more than just money”, which included executives from waste management company Sensoneo, boat rental and yacht charter booking platform Boataround, and Creative Pro, one of the largest digital and event agencies in Europe. 

In December 2021, we strengthened our real estate investment team with the addition of another experienced manager, Jan Rovný. Jan has eight years of experience in the area of corporate finance with a focus on consulting on the sale and purchase of companies, properties and project investments. At Crowdberry, he will be involved in transactions, fundraising and project financing in the property segment, focusing primarily on the company’s real estate fund, CB Property Investors.

The prices of recreational properties have risen significantly since 2018. The coronavirus pandemic has certainly played a role in this, though in some locations the predominant reason is the interest of residents of neighbouring countries. For example, Lipno Reservoir is historically a very popular area among Austrian citizens.

SEC Technologies, having gained the trust of the Venture to Future Fund (VFF) and our platform investors in February 2021, launched a new research and development center in early November. It was opened in Liptovský Mikuláš by the Minister of Defense of the Slovak Republic, Jaroslav Naď. The Slovak technology company will manufacture state-of-the-art Falcon 4G laser equipment to protect against chemical and biological threats.

Crowdberry investors joined developer KLM Real Estate, tenant Slovak Parcel Service, general contractor HSF System SK and financing bank Tatra banka to help celebrate the opening of the Trnava Logistics Center – one of the first industrial developments to involve smaller individual investors.

Crowdberry is in the process of organizing its first Crowdberry Forum – a virtual conference under the theme, “Capital is more than just money”, to be held on 23 November. The influence of growth capital on the value of companies will be discussed by company founders, entrepreneurs and investors. The conference will be available for viewing online.

Crowdberry, which manages two growth capital funds in addition to its online investment platform, received an investment of nearly €1.5 million to develop and open the market further. The objective is to further expand the possibilities of financing for Czech and Slovak companies as well as real estate, while at the same time provide investors with a wide range of opportunities to increase their capital.

Refresher.sk was created as a graduation project of classmates Gábor Boros and Filip Vajda. Their project didn’t make much sense to people at the beginning, but today their media portal is read by more than 3 million people every month in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. It provides young people with information on social issues and topics not normally covered by the mainstream press, and excels at putting difficult subjects into context. It also guides the creation of online content for creators and advertisers. Simply put, Refresher is the place where Generations Y and Z go for information. Now the company is looking for partners and financing for expansion – and you can be part of that as a co-owner.

In September, 40 Crowdberry investors, alongside the CB Growth ONE investment fund, invested in Slovak biotechnological company Glycanostics, providing capital worth €1 million. Glycanostics will now receive an additional €2 million from the European Council, becoming only the third Slovak company, after MultiplexDX and Sensoneo, to have received such a European Innovation Council grant.

The main objective of investing has always been the appreciation of capital. Still, more and more people are focusing on philanthropy as well. What if you could combine these two ideas? What if you could invest in biotechnology companies, sustainable housing or a smart city product? This is exactly what Crowdberry enables its investors to do. Take a look at seven examples of companies that have used our investment platform to obtain financing and, as a result, are changing their field, their market and sometimes even the world.

The last two years have taught us many things, among them the popularity of retail parks. Why are they so popular with customers and, therefore, with retailers and investors? Let’s take a closer look.

An alternative real estate segment, already well known in the West, is only now just emerging in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Dúbravská Oáza, a facility for senior citizens and patients with Alzheimer’s disease, represents the flagship of this new type of real estate investment. Crowdberry investors now have the opportunity to be among the first in this market and to help this particular property in its expansion plans, while also showing the way forward for society as a whole.

Logistics developments like that for Slovak Parcel Service are opening up to individual investors. Trnava’s largest business zone is expanding to include a distribution hall for fast package processing. Slovak developer KLM real estate is building it for its client Slovak Parcel Service, the largest courier company in Slovakia. 

The Slovak brand Isadore is embarking on its next phase. The cycling apparel and accessories maker is opening the Isadore Community Hub on the renovated premises of the historical Pradiareň 1900 building in Bratislava.

Whereas a few decades ago the word “ecology” was a cause for laughter and people with disabilities were confined to special schools, today no one is surprised if you bring your own cup to a café and the coffee is made by a barista with Down’s syndrome. We have made great progress as a society, but we are not done yet. Social responsibility and sustainability have become increasingly important to more and more people, as well as a way for companies to maintain their competitiveness, recruit new talent and, primarily, to make the world a better place for us and future generations. The Slovak firm SmartHead is responding to the challenges and opportunities this creates for companies.

Non-fungible tokens (NFT) are the hottest new digital phenomenon. By the end of 2020, the market for NFTs, or unique digital objects, had risen 825% from 2018. The market is still young, though, and the world is just beginning to discover all the ways that NFTs – or nifties as they are known colloquially – can be used.

Slovakia’s Artzenal is recording reality with absolute precision and taking it into the digital world. It is making otherwise inaccessible experiences available to everyone, such as looking inside a locomotive, sitting in a racing car or seeing cultural monuments down to the finest detail. But this digitisation of physical objects is also increasingly being used in marketing, tourism and the entertainment industry.

Crowdberry has its own golf ambassador! Investment manager Branislav Hóz is ready to update everyone on the newest investment opportunities straight from the greens. Our investors can now seize the opportunity to combine business with pleasure, enjoy the game, and get to know an investment campaign from the inside out.

Whereas in the past, fashion trends were set by designers at their own shows, today the opposite is true – customers themselves determine what they expect from fashion. Fast fashion is increasingly becoming the target of criticism, as people expect sustainability, quality and a perfect shopping experience across channels. If they want to survive, and better yet prosper, both major and small fashion-industry players must respond accordingly. And those brands that have long played a role in shaping current trends or are quick to adopt them represent interesting investment potential.

On June 21, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Slovakia to give the EU’s stamp of approval for Slovakia’s recovery plan to Prime Minister Eduard Heger. As part of her trip, President von der Leyen also met with innovative Slovak startups focusing on green solutions and biomedicine.

Following the successful launch of the FlexDog service in the Czech Republic in March, the specialised sneaker platform is coming to Slovakia. This expansion is taking place also thanks to the €4 million investment, provided to Footshop by Crowdberry investors last year.

Slovak company Boataround, among the world's leading online boat-rental reservation portals, received growth investment worth €1.2 million from investors on the Crowdberry investment platform and a fund managed by CB Investment Management. The investment will help Boataround move into new markets and paves the way for international Series A financing, as the company looks to become the global leader in its segment.

Jakub Veselský and Jan Bouška are friends who have fashion in common. They pride themselves on selling authentic and, above all, sustainable clothing and accessories via their Freshlabels shop. Due to the covid-19 pandemic, they unfortunately had to make cuts and let some people go, but they say that in the end it resulted in the streamlining of their business. They are planning to expand to Western European countries – they started with Germany and want to conquer other markets thanks to funding they have received via the Crowdberry investment platform.