Crowdcube

What does music and coffee have in common? ☕🎶 For Craig Bunting ☕️✌️, co-founder of BEAR, it’s all about community and connection. After being featured in The Times, Craig described BEAR as blending creativity and business: "I feel like I have my band with my team. I have a venue with our spaces, a stage with our coffee equipment… and our audiences are our guests who participate in our success." Earlier this year, BEAR raised over £2 million from 400+ investors. Since then, they’ve expanded to 8 cafés, generated £5.5M in revenue, and now employ 130 staff—all while navigating a challenging hospitality market. 👏 With aspirations to open 22 more cafés in the next five years, BEAR is a testament to resilience, innovation, and the power of community investment. We look forward to seeing BEAR grow. Read the full Times article here: https://lnkd.in/e7pp_rd8

Fresh faces, big ideas.💡Six new opportunities have joined Crowdcube this week! Let’s check them out 👇 Methane emissions are a hidden global problem causing one third of climate change. Mirico’s technology finds these using laser sensors and proprietary analytics. CirculaCar is a company specialising in the electrification of professional and industrial vehicles. They develop innovative solutions to accelerate the decarbonisation of the sector by offering an ecological and economical approach. Prosper is where high-net-worth investors can find some of the highest interest earning bank accounts and the lowest cost investment accounts in the UK. STRICTLY MONEY LIMITED aims to provide access via an algorithm to quality capital for the self-certified ‘sophisticated’ mass-affluent segment of the retail savings and investment market, previously reserved only for the ultra wealthy Crafty Distillery is from an unspoilt home in Galloway, Scotland, their natural curiosity crafted an innovative range of spirits that deliver multi-award winning quality and flavour. Coachbuilt Whisky founded by spirits expert George Koutsakis and Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button launched in 2022 with one clear mission: to celebrate and elevate the art of blended Scotch whisky with an emphasis on precision, craftsmanship, and balance. - - Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 minutes to learn more: bit.ly/3u8ZTH0

💥 2025 is coming fast… we’ve made some fundraising predictions👀 🏢 Will 2025 be the year for acquisitions? 🌱 Impact Investing—investors will continue to prioritise ESG factors    🤖 AI will continue to dominate but Clean Energy is on the rise  ♻️ Sustainability is on the rise, are we seeing greener solutions?  💸 Secondary sales have become popular in 2024 and there's no saying goodbye to them in 2025  🤝 Founders turning to alternative financing—will community rounds become more popular? 2025 is certainly going to be an interesting year. Comment your predictions below 👇

When asked why invest in early-stage companies? For Yagyansh Bagri, it’s simple: “Owning a small piece of a business you believe in resonates with my values and principles.” When Yagyansh invests, he focuses on three essentials: 🧡 Founder-problem fit: Why are you the best person to solve this problem? 🧡 Authenticity: Do your online and offline actions align? 🧡 Do I personally believe in the idea and solution? Founders take note: Investors like Yagyansh are looking for more than a great idea. They’re looking for your vision, story, and ability to execute. Our favourite takeaway? “Founders should be like sponges who are willing to listen to all viewpoints.” How are you showing investors that you’re the perfect fit for the problem you’re solving?

The Invest in Women Taskforce has secured over £250m in funding—a major milestone in positioning the UK as a top destination for female founders. But while this is a step forward, there’s still a long way to go. In the first half of this year, only 1.8% of VC investment went to female-founded teams. This is despite evidence that female-led businesses deliver 35% higher returns than their male-led counterparts. Clearly, the investment landscape needs to change. This fund is a powerful opportunity to drive that transformation. But what else can we do? In the US, Professor Dana Kanze’s research uncovered a stark gender bias in how investors question founders. At TechCrunch events, male founders were asked “promotion” questions 67% of the time, while female founders were asked “prevention” questions 66% of the time. The result? Startups asked promotion questions raised seven times more capital than those asked prevention questions. As a community of investors and entrepreneurs, we must do better.

2024 over and out 🖐️🎤 As the year comes to a close, let’s take a moment to reflect on the incredible milestones we’ve hit together: We raised £43m+ for UK startups and over €25m across the EU, from 61,508 retail investors. It’s been a record breaking year… 🥇 Plum raised £2.6m—the biggest UK retail raise of the year—welcoming 5,357 new co-owners. 🥇 SunGod hit £1m in record time. 🥇 Vestiaire Collective led the way for female investors with 2,023 women backing their campaign. Big Moments of 2024… 🧡 JustPark merged with ParkHub, delivering returns to nearly 10,000 investors. 🧡 Moneybox hosted the largest secondary liquidity event in UK & EU history for a private company by number of sellers. 🧡 Hit £1 billion raised on our platform and landed on CNBC’s World Top 250 Fintech Companies list. 🧡 Celebrated EIS’s 30th birthday (and its 10-year extension!) To every founder and investor who joined us on this journey: THANK YOU for fuelling growth, innovation, and big ideas across Europe. 2025 is just around the corner – what do you think the next big trends will be?

Who’s new this week?💪 Four opportunities have just landed on Crowdcube. Let’s dive in 👇 yhangry’s vision is to transform how people dine at home and in holiday rentals by making private chefs accessible and affordable. $6.7M annualised turnover and 5,300+ bookings YTD. Sportiw's mission is to create a community where all stakeholders in the sports world can meet. An innovative digital platform integrating a SaaS solution for AI-based sports recruitment. Feesier is a fintech solution for payment of legal fees in cost-free instalments. Their mission is to improve access to legal services for individuals and SMEs with a manageable way to pay their legal fees. The Hub connects job seekers and employers through an AI-powered, human-centred platform that is designed to make job matching faster, more personalised, and exciting. - - Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 minutes to learn more: bit.ly/3u8ZTH0

A new Angel Investment Network (AIN) survey of 223 UK startups reveals the knowledge gap founders face: only 44% feel confident navigating the fundraising process. With tougher market conditions, bridging this gap is more crucial than ever.💪 We've highlighted some standout startup stats below for all founders 👇

New week, new opportunities!💪 Ready to see what’s on offer this week? 👇 Kaldi Financial Technology has built a ‘Save while you Shop’ app that seeks to redefine what it means to be a saver. By leveraging the benefits of ‘little and often’ savings from everyday shopping and auto-invested at the checkout. AYAQ redefines explorer and outdoor apparel. Supported by elite champions like Vincent Defrasne and renowned explorer Mike Horn, Ayaq aims to build the ultimate brand for outdoor and explorers. Inyanga Marine Energy Group is on a mission to unlock the full potential of tidal energy worldwide through our innovative, patented HydroWing technology. Jiva Materials Ltd is the creator of Soluboard®, a biodegradable PCB substrate made from natural fibres. With an estimated 67% lower carbon footprint than glass-fibre, their non-toxic polymer dissolves in hot water to improve precious metal recovery, offering an alternative to standard PCBs. Win Win Water aims to bring a more sustainable approach to bottled water with a focus on eco-friendly hydration. Their goal is to reduce the environmental impact of plastic by offering a biodegradable, plant-based alternative. Pedalsure is one of the top rated bike insurance companies in the UK, successfully selling over 69,500 policies, insuring £160 million worth of bikes to date and rated excellent on Trustpilot by thousands. - - Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 minutes to learn more: bit.ly/3u8ZTH0

Crowdcube LIVE meets Paris for the second time! We had to be bigger and better so we have a NEW venue… We’re bringing founders and investors together for an evening of networking, pitching, and drinks! Hosted at Delta Business School the first school 100% dedicated to entrepreneurship and digital. This is an event you do not want to miss.  Key details: 📅 Date & Time: Wednesday, 04 December, 18:30 - 22:00 📍Event location: Delta Business School Paris 70 Rue de Meaux 75019 Paris 3 impactful brands coming to pitch: 👟 Odaje - Ex M. Moustache: Changing the world starts with a step 🌊 TWOTHIRDS SLU: The Blue Company 🥾 AYAQ: Explorers by nature