The Seedrs Portfolio Report gives an insight into how equity crowdfunding in the UK has progressed over the past decade from an idea to a firm part of the venture capital market. Jeff Lynn was a co-founder of Seedrs and has been President since its purchase by Republic. He's ideally placed to give a myriad of insights into what lies behind the data and the report.

In a wide ranging discussion we talk about:

• what the aim of the report is
• how the report shows venture is an outlier asset class
• why food & beverage is the most popular sector
• how the variety of crowdfunding companies has improved over time
• why crowdfunding does better than the industry on diversity
• how long should investors expect to hold investments
• the development of Seedrs secondary market
• how people use the platform and how that affects their portfolio diversification
• the future for Republic Europe and areas it is looking to expand into

Its clear that crowdfunding will continue to be a meaningful element in the the startup and venture capital market in the UK. That makes this interview with Jeff a must listen for anyone involved in the market.

00:50 Jeff introduces himself

04:20 Seedrs is now Republic Europe

06:20 the motivation behind creating the Portfolio report

10:30 the role of outliers

13:00 funding food & beverage companies

16:15 do some companies work better for crowdfunding?

19:10 Why Seedrs has had more female founders than the market

25:50 How long is an investment for?

28:45 what has made the secondary market successful

31:30 investor diversification and the different use cases for platform

37:00 how angels and sophisticated investors use the platform

39:10 The future for crowdfunding: international opportunities, funds and blockchain

44:50 Favourite questions

Links

Republic Europe (formerly Seedrs) website - https://europe.republic.com/

Seedrs Portfolio Report Winter 2023 - https://europe.republic.com/insights/blog/seedrs-2023-portfolio-report

Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

Suggested books and media

The Young Wilhelm by John C.G. Röhl

Going Infinite by Michael Lewis

Bio

Jeff Lynn

Chairman, Republic Europe

Jeff Lynn is the Co-Founder of Republic Europe (formerly Seedrs), which he led as CEO from 2009 to 2017 and has served as Chairman since then.  Jeff is a qualified lawyer who began his career practicing corporate law with Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York and London. He also serves as the Chairman of The Startup Coalition and as a member of the Prime Minister's Advisory Committee for the King's Awards for Enterprise. Jeff holds an MBA and a BCL (advanced law degree) from the University of Oxford, a JD from the University of Virginia and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.