Last week, Unilever acquired a start-up for $1 billion.
The start-up’s early investors made an estimated 166 times their money.
Some of these investors were ordinary folks just like you.
Actually… were you one of them?
Get a Shave!
The start-up I’m talking about is Dollar Shave Club.
Dollar Shave Club (“DSC”) is based in Venice, California. It’s a service for men that delivers razors and grooming products by mail.
Basically, for a few bucks a month, it offers a fun, convenient, less expensive alternative to pricey blades from brands like Gillette.
Since launching in 2012, DSC has raised $164 million to fund its growth.
Most of that capital came from name-brand venture capitalists like Andreessen Horowitz and Technology Crossover Ventures…
But some of that money came from individual investors like you.
In fact, if you’ve been a longtime reader of Crowdability, you might be one of them.
We Hope You’ve Been Reading
As a Crowdability subscriber, you receive our “Deals Digest” every Monday morning.
The Digest contains a round-up of the latest high-quality investment opportunities in equity crowdfunding.
We aggregate these deals from a dozen leading funding platforms. (Funding platforms are special websites that connect start-ups seeking capital with folks like you who are looking for investments with big upside potential.)
When Dollar Shave Club decided to raise money from individuals, it leveraged one of these platforms—a site called AngelList.
That name might sound familiar. We’ve written about it many times over the years, including last week.
You see, not only does AngelList have promising deals we like to inform you about, but it also offers a powerful feature we’ve encouraged you to take advantage of…
A “Profit Syndicate”
The feature I’m talking about is called “Syndicates.”
Syndicates allow wealthy individuals (so-called “accredited” investors) to invest in start-up deals alongside professional angel and venture investors.
Basically, after experienced investors vet a deal and put their own money into it, they allow investors like you to join them for as little as $1,000.
We’ve written about AngelList syndicates many times before, including here and here »
One such syndicate is led by a prominent investor named Michael Jones.
Jones has an impressive track record as an angel investor. His investments include MakerBot (acquired by Disney), DocStoc (acquired by Intuit), and Tinder (IPO).
By joining his syndicate, you can see all the new deals he’s investing in—and when one catches your eye, you can invest alongside him.
Did You Join Michael’s Syndicate?
If you followed our advice to explore syndicates, and Michael’s was one of the syndicates you joined, you’re jumping for joy right now.
You see, his syndicate invested in Dollar Shave Club…
And using some back-of-the-envelope math, we calculate that DSC’s earliest investors made an estimated 166 times their money.
Here’s how the numbers works:
When DSC first raised capital, it was valued at about $6 million.
Last week, when it was acquired by Unilever, it was valued at $1 billion.
That’s more than a 16,500% increase in value… enough to turn every $10,000 invested into more than $1.6 million.
Your Turn—Happening Right Now
DSC wasn’t the first $1 billion acquisition of a crowdfunded start-up (the first was Cruise Automation, which also raised money from an AngelList syndicate)…
And it surely won’t be the last.
So if you missed the chance to invest in it—either because you’re a new reader of Crowdability, or because you’re not an accredited investor—don’t worry...
You have your chance right now:
As Wayne wrote about last week, a group of former AngelList executives just launched a new funding platform…
And they launched it specifically for everyday investors like you—so anyone can invest, regardless of their net worth or income.
To capture some start-up profits for yourself, read our weekly emails. That’s where we keep you posted about various deals, syndicates, and new platforms.
And don’t forget: you can always see all the latest deals right here »
Please note: Crowdability has no relationship with AngelList, Michael Jones, or with any of the platforms or companies we write about. Crowdability is an independent provider of education, information and research on start-ups and alternative investments.
Best Regards,
Founder
Crowdability.com
