Snowball Effect Co-Founder & CEO, Simeon Burnett chats to M2 magazine about the business' growth and our place in the NZ investment marketplace.

Snowball Effect CEO Simeon Burnett sheds some light on his experiences in the finance industry at both Fonterra and Snowball Effect.

Owning shares in a company is becoming the ultimate customer loyalty program. Both small and large companies are finding that selling shares to their customers can make a real difference to long-term customer loyalty.

While retail investors across Australia were only invited to the equity crowdfunding party earlier this year, New Zealand saw its first equity crowdfunding campaigns launch to so-called ‘mum and dad’ investors in 2014.

Democratization of investing – this trend isn’t going away, and there’s a few business in NZ at the pointy head of this movement – Snowball Effect is one of them. Join Darcy Ungaro and Simeon Burnett as they talk about private equity, venture capital, angel funding and equity crowdfunding. There’s innovation happening in this space which will be great for investors and new ventures with our #8 way of thinking.

Piers Finch has been appointed as director of growth capital at capital raising platform Snowball Effect

Apple and Amazon have recently become the first publicly listed US companies worth over a trillion dollars. Accordingly, it’s appropriate to reflect on some of the lessons that New Zealand companies can learn from the largest and fastest growing companies in the world.

Business brokerage Link is raising funds to fuel its expansion, and says it’s already planning an exit event for investors. Auckland-based Link aims to raise $3.25 million through a wholesale offer on Snowball Effect. The company plans to use the money for operational costs and to fund the acquisition of a major Australian brokerage, a deal due to be completed in September.

The private raise, via online investment marketplace Snowball Effect, saw ArchiPro welcoming 16 new investors - including Sir Stephen Tindall’s investment company, K1W1 and successful businessman Roger Lampen and son Fraser.

As these sums become bigger and venture capital investment continues to grow to record highs, it poses the question: what do companies do with these huge sums of money?

Making direct investing decisions on your own can be tough, but it does give you the chance to potentially get satisfying rewards. Simeon Burnett shares the ins and outs of direct investing.

Equity crowdfunder Snowball Effect is looking at launching a secondary market, potentially filling a hole left by the demise of the NZX’s two small-cap exchanges.

With the ongoing expansion of leading equity investment marketplace Snowball Effect, including the placement of private capital and advisory support, the business welcomes two new hires, Toby Kelly and Andrew Morris.

Simeon Burnett is the CEO and co-founder of crowdfunding platform Snowball Effect. Here’s how he manages his time.

Simeon Burnett says people like to put their money with companies they understand and are familiar with.

Investor protections are an important part of private equity investing. Experienced investors like to see adequate investor protections so they can fully benefit from the companies in their portfolio that do succeed.

The Auckland-based company LINK has stopped focusing on growth for growth's sake.

Eight equity crowdfunding companies have been licensed in New Zealand, with five of them active. The two busiest are PledgeMe and Snowball Effect, with the latter usually showcasing larger and older companies.

Snowball Effect recorded a full-year profit driven by a modest tax benefit, while revenue rose faster than expenses, narrowing the equity crowdfunding platform's pre-tax loss. Some $25.3 million has been raised on the Snowball Effect platform through 33 offers.

Dozens of companies have raised tens of millions of dollars from retail investors in the past three years.

Snowball Effect is proud to introduce Bill O'Boyle as Head of Growth Capital. Bill is responsible for working with companies throughout the capital raising process. He comes to Snowball Effect from a background in corporate finance including experience in banking, finance and capital raising.

An Auckland-based web business which lets people buy, sell and rent designer clothes is looking to take its successful formula across the Tasman.

The largest independent, dedicated cider producer in New Zealand, Zeffer cider, has achieved its $1.2 million public capital offer less than a week after launching via the Snowball Effect platform.

Snowball Effect has appointed former Russell McVeagh lawyer and technology marketer Peter Thomson as Head of Digital responsible for investor education and marketing of public offers.

New Zealand was one of the first countries in the world to create a legal framework for equity crowdfunding. Two years on, things have evolved significantly. Snowball Effect co-founder Josh Daniell explains how the market has played out, and what’s in store for the next 12 months.

Ubco, the Bay of Plenty-based electric bike maker, is transitioning to managing its manufacturing with Yadea, China's leading electric scooter manufacturer, as it increases its focus on finalising a road-legal version of its off-road farm bike.

In addition, having raised $1.8 million in its latest funding round, it will launch an offer on Snowball Effect later this month targeting up to a further $700,000. Ubco will be the second Bay company to go to Snowball Effect for additional funding, with Balex Marine also currently seeking capital on the crowdfunding platform.

Snowball Effect has recently appointed former Bell Gully lawyer and entrepreneur Cowan Finch as Head of Private Capital to work alongside companies seeking capital from wholesale investors.

The developers of a device that allows boaties to launch their boats from a trailer via remote control – and put them back again - are seeking investment from the public.

Balex Marine manufactures the Automatic Boat Loader, a hydraulic system that moves boats on and off trailers, powered by what looks like a car alarm remote.

It is opening a capital raise to the public on Monday on the equity crowdfunding platform Snowball Effect, to complete its current $900,000 funding round.

More small and medium sized companies are using crowdfunding services like Snowball Effect to raise money.

One of the latest is mail service provider and documents manager G3 which wants money to expand and acquire complementary companies.

Its has raised more than $200,000 after one week with nearly a month to go.

G3 Group was the first company to list on the NXT market 15 months ago, is now raising up to $3m, primarily to fund further acquisitions.

The offer at $0.75 per share went live yesterday at at 6.25% discount to the last traded market price, and is being made available to the public through AANZ member Snowball Effect. This is the first time that a listed company has used an “equity crowdfunding” marketplace to raise funds in New Zealand.

The online crowdfunding platform, Snowball Effect, says it's carving out another niche as G3 Group becomes the first ever public listed company to use it to raise funds.

Business mail operator G3 Group has launched New Zealand's first equity crowdfunding campaign by a listed company.

G3, which became the first company to list on the small-cap NXT market last year, is looking to raise up to $3 million from the public through the Snowball Effect platform.

The equity crowdfunding sector is evolving, with two novel capital raises launched this week.

NXT-listed G3 Group [NXT: GGL] is attempting to raise $3 million for 6.8% of the company through Snowball Effect, the first listed company to use equity crowdfunding as a way to raise money.

Seven firms have been licensed – Snowball Effect, Equitise, PledgeMe, Crowdcube, Liftoff, Alphacrowd and Propellar – though it’s been dominated by the first three, which have closed 42 successful offers from 55 deals. Snowball accounts for 70% of the market, facilitating the raising of $20 million of new capital from 10,000 investors in public retail offers and wholesale deals limited to eligible investors.

Equity crowdfunded Invivo Wines is on track with forecasts to make a before-tax profit this year, as it expands its winery capacity and looks to enter the potentially lucrative US market.

Snowball Effect narrowed its loss in the 2016 financial year as it reaped bigger fees from its equity crowdfunding platform, but said it may have to crowdfund itself if expected growth doesn't materialise.

New Zealand capital markets look quite different from just five years ago, with the evolution of new channels such as equity crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending providing more options for young companies.

Kiwi fashion designer Andrea Moore, is hoping to raise up to $750,000 to develop her label.

​Moore who renowned for her bright, patterned designs has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Snowball Effect with her partner Brian Molloy.

To mark the developments across the entire Andrea Moore world, the designer is launching for the first time an online investment offer through leading private equity investment website Snowball Effect.

Listed company G3 Group [NXT: GGL] is gearing up to launch an equity crowdfunding campaign, to increase liquidity and fund acquisitions.

Regulators have been asked to review the limit on how much can be raised through equity crowdfunding raises, as the young sector starts to mature.

Equity crowdfunding laws let each company raise up to $2 million from retail investors in any 12-month period. Companies have started to get around this by making further shares available to wholesale investors, such as angel groups.

A Kiwi start up firm has launched a Snowball Effect campaign for its laser technology which aims to dramatically reduce intravenous medication errors in hospitals.

Auckland medical device company Veriphi is looking to raise up to $2 million through crowdfunding platform Snowball Effect to commercialise a product aimed at preventing medication errors in hospitals - a cause of patient harm that costs health systems billions.

Mortgage broker Squirrel Group has raised the largest amount ever in New Zealand through equity crowdfunding.

The group – made up of Squirrel Mortgages, peer-to-peer lender Squirrel Money and cloud-based rental management tool TenanSee – has raised $3.44 million from 162 investors through Snowball Effect.

Mortgage brokerage and peer-to-peer lender Squirrel Group is eyeing a listing on the stock exchange.

The company, which just launched a $5 million crowd funding campaign on Snowball Effect this week, says it is gearing up to make the move in mid-2017.

Equity crowdfunding platform Snowball Effect is working to tackle the problem of a lack of communication for investors.

New Zealand’s equity crowdfunding landscape is changing, with an emphasis on more private and international deals.

This year, the only platform to close a deal is Snowball Effect, which has run two public offers and two private wholesale offers.

Snowball Effect may become New Zealand's first equity crowdfunder to turn a profit, saying it has grabbed about 70% of the market and smaller rivals are likely to be squeezed out.

New Zealand is a pioneer in equity crowdfunding – one of the first countries to create a legal framework for retail investors to participate in offers of shares in private companies.

So when the first equity crowdfunding offer launched in August 2014, many watched with interest as this new way to raise capital took its first steps.

Mortgage and peer-to-peer lender Squirrel Group is gearing up for a $2 million capital raise, using equity crowdfunding site Snowball Effect.

The eight-year-old Auckland-based company wants to raise between $1 million to $2 million for a maximum equity stake of 8%. The group values itself at $22.9 million pre-funding.

SOS Hydration, a drink which compares itself to an intravenous drip for combating dehydration, is looking to raise up to $2.3 million (US$1.5m) through crowdfunding.

The company, which is based in the United States but majority owned by New Zealanders, is seeking to raise the money through crowdfunder Snowball Effect.

Year-old crowdfunding platform, Snowball Effect, has appointed one of its founders, Simeon Burnett, to be its first chief executive.

Burnett will leave a role in corporate finance and international strategy with Fonterra next week, to take up the role.

There's been lots of coverage around the benefits for startups of the flourishing equity crowdfunding market. But what about investors? Idealog wonders is there anything in it for them?

Auckland economist Will Taylor likes beer. It seemed a no-brainer, therefore, for him to invest in equity crowdfunding offers from breweries when the chance arose. Renaissance Brewing, the first Kiwi company to raise money via equity crowdfunding, gave him his opening.

Snowball Effect platform head Josh Daniell says while good offers will continue to get traction with investors, platforms will fail pretty quickly if they are not able to consistently provide good-quality deal flow.

“To run a successful equity crowdfunding offer, you need a good investment proposition, you need good-quality offer information and you need a distribution channel to investors. I'd caution any company proposing to make a public offer without confidence in all three of these key elements.”

The regional winners and rising stars of this year's Deloitte Fast 50 have been announced, and Snowball Effect is proud to be one of them!

Gourmet dinner delivery service Woop (World On Our Plate) has closed off the most successful equity crowdfunding by a New Zealand start-up this week, raising its target $800,000 days earlier than planned.

The offer, launched after the Auckland-based start-up was just four weeks old, attracted 100 investors who gained 42% of the company. It launched the offer with a number of private investors putting in $300,000 and raised a further $500,000 from the general public on the same terms and conditions.

Nine of 11 companies that have used Snowball Effect's crowdfunding platform in its first year reached their funding targets, the company says.

Co-founder Josh Daniell said the company had fielded more than 800 applications over the past year from companies wanting to raise funds, and 11 had launched a campaign on its platform.
Mr Daniell said Snowball worked with successful applicants to help them prepare for a campaign, which is an important element for success.
"The best thing that a company can do is prepare very well and test the market before leaping out there," he said, adding that Snowball recommended start-up companies used an independent panel of experts to suggest a valuation.
"It's what we call a minimarket, which is a bunch of people, whose views we respect in terms of valuing early stage companies, so [the companies] can get anonymous feedback and take that onboard before pushing their offer wider."

Snowball Effect says nine of the eleven companies that have used its crowdfunding platform in its first year have successfully reached their funding targets.

Meanwhile, a fast-growing fresh food company has turned a miss into a win after it failed to meet its target in a crowdfunding campaign on Snowball Effect

Kiwi investment platform company Snowball Effect claims to have become one of the first equity crowdfunding platforms in the world to devise its own mini-stock market for investors.

Josh Daniell says he doesn't have any trouble being taken seriously as a millennial running a finance business.

But the 28-year-old, who co-founded crowdfunding platform Snowball Effect, still puts on a nice suit.

New Zealand jewellery company 1791 Diamonds has already exported $7.5 million of design engagement rings to places like Asia, Europe and USA.

However, the Wanaka-born online company has bigger ambitions and wants to delve deeper into the Northern Hemisphere.

It’s using New Zealand based crowdfunding company Snowball Effect to raise $750,000 – in exchange for 14 to 30 percent equity in the company.

Investments over $2500 will receive a piece of jewellery.

The bosses of New Zealand's two largest crowdfounded equity companies, Snowball and PledgeMe, say they are open to co-operating on a secondary market. At the moment, there is no immediate vehicle for people who invested in a crowdfunded equity round to buy and sell shares after the initial issue.

Last week, Snowball co-founder Josh Daniell said his company might launch a secondary market in about two months. It will operate for short bursts during the year.

Josh Daniell, co-founder of Snowball Effect, says the $2 million limit placed on those raising money through equity crowdfunding is a "good place to start" but will probably be revised over time.

The $2 million cap in one year was raised today during a discussion on new platforms for raising capital at the Conferenz financial markets law conference in Auckland. The panel included Mr Daniell, Neil Roberts from peer-to-peer lender Harmoney, and NZX head of funds management Aaron Jenkins, who has been heavily involved in setting up the new NXT market, which launches tomorrow with the compliance listing of G3 Group.

Fifteen young firms have raised a total of $8.7 million through three equity crowdfunding platforms since the low-strings fund-raising mechanism got the green light from regulators last year.

The sum may be small compared to the $55m that well-heeled "angel investors" pumped into high-growth businesses last year and to the $4.7b bigger businesses raised through the NZX stock exchange in 2014.

It looks even tinier when compared with the current value of bank loans to businesses, which stood at $80b in April, according to the Reserve Bank.

But Chapman Tripp corporate lawyer Bradley Kidd says the start is encouraging.

More platforms have been set up than he expected to support equity crowdfunding and there have been some "really good offers", he says. "I'd say it has gone a bit better than I'd of expected."

An equity crowdfunding campaign for Lance Wiggs' Punakaiki Fund has made a strong debut after opening to the public this morning.

The offer, being run on the Snowball Effect platform, had surpassed its $200,000 minimum target and raised $604,215 from 126 investors by 10am.

Punakaiki wants to raise up to $2 million through the offer, which closes on June 30.
The fund invests in growth-stage technology firms and will use the funds to make new investments and top-up existing ones.

Bt the end of this year, Malaysia would have had its first taste of equity crowdfunding as an alternative route for businesses to raise capital. This will supplement the host of available sources of funding, such as private investors, angel investors, venture capital funds and bank borrowings.

#edGY reached out to Josh Daniell — co-founder and head of platform at Snowball Effect — for some insight into how the New Zealand-based equity crowdfunding platform that has been showcasing deals since last year is faring.

The first company to run a successful equity crowdfunding campaign in New Zealand has beaten its prospectus forecasts.

Last August, Blenheim-based Renaissance Brewing raised $700,000 – the maximum it sought and 12.28% of the company – from investors in just a week and a half, using the Snowball Effect platform.

Renaissance Brewing, the first company to carry out an equity crowdfunding campaign in New Zealand, has beaten the full-year financial forecasts it provided to investors ahead of last year's capital raising.

The Blenheim-based craft brewery, which raised $700,000 selling 12.3 per cent of the company through the Snowball Effect platform, has reported an operating profit of $225,000 at a gross margin of 42.3 per cent.

A secondary market for equity crowdfunded companies' investors to sell and buy shares could soon be up and running.

Snowball Effect has just spent six weeks validating its proposed design with the market, running it past companies, investors, brokers, the NZX and investment bankers.

Although Snowball has not yet made a final determination as to whether it will go ahead, the launch date will be driven by demand from companies.

A New Zealand guitar pedal company conceived in a Paekakariki garage is seeking to raise up to $700,000 through a crowdfunding campaign.

Red Witch Analog Ltd was started by Ben Fulton in 2003 producing boutique analogue guitar and bass effects pedals.

The company was now seeking capital to drive global sales through an offer on Snowball Effect, director Geoff Matthews said.

The pedals were used by some of the world's leading musicians, including Sting and Andy Summers of The Police, The Arctic Monkeys, Faith No More and Tool, Matthews said.

As Harmoney and its doubtless future competitors are taking on the banks and finance companies in the lending and retail investment businesses, crowd equity platform Snowball Effect is giving private investors direct access to unlisted equity investments in New Zealand companies.

So far, it’s working. Of the six companies that have completed their offers so far, all have exceeded their funding targets with one (TGF client Invivo Wines) hitting the $2 million regulatory limit.

Lance Wiggs’ investment fund Punakaiki will use Snowball Effect to crowdfund up to $2 million.

Mr Wiggs says the decision to pick Snowball Effect over PledgeMe was a difficult choice, as they are the best crowd funding platforms in the market.

Kiwi food company Mad Group has its sights fixed on taking fresh salads and wraps to the home of hot dogs, hamburgers and french fries.

The owner of healthy fast food franchises Habitual Fix and Mad Mex has signed an agreement with a partner to launch Habitual Fix in the US$26 billion US fast food market.

Mad Group is raising $1.5 million through crowdfunder Snowball Effect to fund its growth.

Mad Group placed eighth on the Deloitte Fast 50 list of New Zealand's fastest growing companies in 2014.

New Zealand's Breathe Easy Therapeutics has made a high-profile addition to its board as it advances plans for medical trials of its cystic fibrosis therapy.

The company, which is in the middle of a Snowball Effect equity crowdfunding campaign, has appointed Gary Pace - a more than 40-year veteran of the technology world - as independent chairman.

The rapid rise of equity crowdfunding will complement NZX's business rather than pose a competitive threat, says chief executive Tim Bennett.

And he says the sharemarket operator could even get in on the action by establishing an exchange for the trading of shares in crowd-funded firms.

The honeymoon for New Zealand's brave new world of equity crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending has begun in rollicking fashion.

Less than a year after the new Financial Markets Conduct (FMC) Act created the framework for licensed operators to host small capital raisings from the public and loans directly from investors to borrowers, the market has outperformed all expectations.

The most noise and activity on the equity side is coming from Snowball Effect, which has hosted five successful capital raisings on its equity crowdfunding platform since it launched in August last year and has two more currently running. Combined, the offers have raised NZ$5.6 million.

The New Zealand government is backing innovation and we in Australia seem to be watching on as our smaller neighbour becomes more agile and starts to get noticed overseas. The recent introduction of crowdfunding is just one example of how the entrepreneurial landscape in New Zealand is changing. With platforms such as Snowball Effect signing licensing agreements with the new regulator, the Financial Markets Authority, Kiwi entrepreneurs and investors are off to a flying financial start.

The company that owns the Habitual Fix and Mad Mex brands is equity crowdfunding to raise $1.5 million worth of expansion funds.

The Mad Group offer opened to the public this afternoon on crowdfunding platform Snowball Effect. The company hopes to raise a minimum of $750,000 with a cap of $1.5 million – a 13% stake – with 38 days left to go.

Vaughn Davis talks with Josh Daniell, Head of Platform and Investor Growth at equity crowdfunding platform Snowball Effect.

Equity crowdfunding is becoming an increasingly busy space, with three platforms already operating in New Zealand and a few more gearing up to launch.

But can such a small market support so many providers?

Josh Daniell, of Snowball Effect - which became the first equity crowdfunding platform to launch in this country in August - doesn't think so.

Equity crowdfunding is taking off, but prominent market figures warn about the potential dangers facing investors.

The capital-raising method, which became possible in this country last year through a once-in-a-generation overhaul of securities legislation, allows companies to issue shares to the public through online platforms.

Invivo Wines has become the first company in New Zealand to raise the maximum amount allowed through an equity crowdfunding campaign.

The Auckland-based wine company hit the $2 million limit yesterday morning, with two weeks of the offer left to run.

Co-founder Tim Lightbourne said 439 new shareholders had invested in the company through the campaign, run on the Snowball Effect crowdfunding platform.

Invivo Wines has become the first company in New Zealand to raise the maximum amount allowed through an equity crowdfunding campaign.

The Auckland-based wine company hit the $2 million limit at 10am this morning, with two weeks of the offer left to run.

Co-founder Tim Lightbourne said 439 new shareholders had invested in the company through the campaign, run on the Snowball Effect crowdfunding platform.

Invivo Wines has hit the $2 million mark for its equity crowdfunding campaign, the first company to reach this maximum amount allowed.

The offer opened to the public 12 days ago on Snowball Effect, although pre-registered investors raised $772,829 in the two days before that.

Drone company Aeronavics, which crowdfunded on Snowball Effect in February, held the previous highest amount at $1.5 million.

Invivo Wines has raised a record-toppling $1.7 million in its first six days on an equity crowdfunding platform.

The Auckland-based company, which contracts grape growers based in Marlborough, has set the New Zealand record for funds raised through equity crowdfunding.

Mad Group, operator of the Habitual Fix and Mad Mex fast-food chains, is gearing up for an equity crowdfunding campaign aimed at raising as much as $1.5 million in growth capital.

Group managing director James Tucker said the offer, being made through the Snowball Effect platform, was expected to open within the next fortnight.

Invivo Wines has set a new record for equity crowdfunding in New Zealand.

The Auckland-based wine firm's campaign on the Snowball Effect platform had raised $1,523,587 by 2.30pm.

Until today, New Zealand's biggest equity crowdfunding campaign was the $1,500,000 Kiwi drone company Aeronavics raised last month.

Invivo is looking to raise up to $2 million, the maximum allowed through a crowdfunding campaign, and has said it will use the capital to ramp up its expansion in international markets.

Fast-growing wine company Invivo Wines raised more than $1 million in the space of a few hours after its equity crowdfunding campaign opened yesterday.

Auckland-based Invivo's capital raising began on the Snowball Effect platform at midday and had secured more than double the $500,000 minimum funding target by 5.30pm.

A New Zealand wine company with British comedian Graham Norton’s seal of approval is looking for more support.

Invivo Wine’s equity crowdfunding offer opened at midday and its minimum funding target has already been reached.

Investors have plugged in more than $945,000 or about 190% of its $500,000 minimum. Funding will be capped at $2 million – 20% of the company – with 26 days remaining.

The equity crowdfunding run in New Zealand is gathering steam, with yet another company launching a campaign today. This time it is a local drug developer, which may have a treatment for cystic fibrosis sufferers.

Breathe Easy Therapeutics, an Auckland-based medicine company, is launching its campaign at midday with Snowball Effect, to raise the final $500,000 (minimum investment $1000) needed to start a two-phase clinical trial for Citramel, which could help the 75,000 people worldwide with cystic fibrosis.

A New Zealand drug company is seeking $500,000 to trial an experimental cystic fibrosis treatment it plans to have produced locally.

Auckland-based Breathe Easy aims to produce Citramel, a spray designed to dissolve biofilms on the mucus which accumulates in cystic fibrosis sufferers' lungs.

It is launching a $500,000 share offer on online investment company Snowball Effect.

Kiwi winemaker Invivo has teamed up with crowdfunding platform Snowball Effect in the hope of raising up to $2 million – the maximum via equity crowdfunding in New Zealand.

Invivo Wines will launch on Snowball on March 18 and has a month to reach its target.

If it does, this will be the largest amount raised so far through equity crowd funding.

New Zealand's latest equity crowdfunding campaign is being pitched to sharebrokers, suggesting the big end of town might have a role to play in the new capital-raising route for small, fast-growing businesses.

Equity crowdfunding - which involves firms selling shares to the public via an online platform - became possible last year after a law change.

Auckland-based Invivo Wines this week announced plans to raise up to $2 million in growth capital through Snowball Effect, one of the first platforms to receive a licence from the Financial Markets Authority.

New Zealand wine company Invivo is aiming to raise up to $2 million through the equity crowdfunding platform Snowball Effect.

Invivo will use the money for international growth and is gearing up for a possible IPO next year.

Invivo co-founder Tim Lightbourne said the company was discussing the listing with brokers.

"We've been watching Snowball for a while and been really impressed with their approach," Lightbourne said.

Invivo Wines will launch an offer equity on crowdfunding site Snowball Effect in two weeks’ time, to try to raise up to $2 million.

Invivo, which has had 207% sales growth since 2011, has been planning for some time to raise capital before a possible launch on the NZX's new growth market NXT.

Kiwi drone company Aeronavics has closed its crowdfunding offer at $1.5 million in capital using crowdfunding platform Snowball Effect, setting a new benchmark for such campaigns in New Zealand.

Drone building company Aeronavics has hit its maximum equity raising target in a quarter of the allocated time.

The raglan-based company launched a campaign with equity crowdfunding website Snowball Effect last week, hoping to raise between $750,000 and $1.5m.

It hit the $1.5m ceiling at 6:54 last night, closing the campaign three weeks before the March 14 deadline.

The equity crowdfunding campaign for drone designer and manufacturer Aeronavics has already hit $1 million, making it the largest equity crowdfunding campaign undertaken in New Zealand.

Co-founder of drone maker Aeronavics Ltd, Linda Bulk says raising money from the crowd has been 'enriching' on many levels. The experience that gives comfort is suppliers, customers, investors ringing in with the kudos.

Ambitious small companies will have a much wider funding pool to access this year with the advent of equity crowdfunding and the launch of a new capital market.

It took a while for clean tech company CarbonScape to gain the attention of NZ investors - that was until it had the opportunity to ride on crowdfunding platform Snowball Effect to raise funds. After the fund raising closed, investors are still looking to buy shares in CarbonScape.

Marlborough clean-tech company CarbonScape has raised more than $700,000 through equity crowdfunding, which it says is the biggest such effort in New Zealand.

The company says it successfully raised $764,302, thanks to 207 investors, after listing on The Snowball Effect.

Two new 4000-litre brewing tanks have touched down at Renaissance Brewing in Blenheim, thanks to the success of their equity crowdfunding venture.

In August, Renaissance Brewing successfully raised $700,000 through equity crowdfunding platform, Snowball Effect.

At one end of the scale are the big disrupters — the Ubers, the Alibabas and Tinders of a connected world.

And then there are the modest operators getting traction in New Zealand, giving established players a run for their money and appealing to a young

Investors who stumped up cash for a small Blenheim beer maker have been rewarded with their own special brews.
Renaissance Brewery is one of just a handful of Kiwi companies who raised money through crowd-funding last year, but it's a form of investing th

Ms Fitzsimons and her husband Harry have invested a sum "that’s not large but not insignificant to us" in New Zealand clean-tech company CarbonScape.
CarbonScape has developed patented technology to produce low-emissions carbon products such as

Funds keep rolling in for Marlborough clean-tech company CarbonScape after it passed its $400,000 target through equity crowdfunding earlier this week.

In October, the company offered 2 million shares through equity crowdfunding platform The Snowball Ef

CarbonScape, the developers of a green alternative to coking coal used in steel making, has raised its minimum $400,000 target through online equity crowd funding.

The Christchurch-based company is looking to raise up to $1.5 million through equity crow

Fancy a slice of a New Zealand company with its sights set on growth? Backing businesses in their first growth phases were once for mega-wealthy angel investors but since the Financial Markets Conduct Act made crowdfunding investment possible it has opened

The equity raise for feature film The Patriarch has closed just $46,200 short of the offer’s funding cap of $500,000

For Roger Kerrison of Renaissance Brewing Company, equity crowdfunding is not only a method of sourcing capital but also a way to raise an army of beer lovers.

The Marlborough craft brewer has been the first to test the waters, becoming the inaugural Ne

New Zealand’s first ever equity crowdfunding offer was successfully completed in August when Renaissance Brewing raised $700,000 through Snowball Effect.

Ask Me Anything with Snowball Effect's Josh Daniell

A multimillion-dollar business growth fund is set to begin investing in ambitious companies through a crowdfunding initiative.

Using the newly launched crowdfunding platform Snowball Effect, the University of Auckland Business School Entrepreneurs' Challenge has evolved this year to offer handouts to boost governance available to young entrepreneurs.

The man who directed Once Were Warriors is seeking $500,000 from the public for his next film through a crowdfunding scheme.
Lee Tamahori's producer Robin Scholes says anyone who helps contribute to the director's new film The Patriarch will get a stake i

A new film to be directed by Lee Tamahori is hoping to raise the final 5.3 per cent of its $9.4 million budget via equity crowd funding on the Snowball Effect platform, offering investors preferred shares with a 20 per cent per annum return.

The film 'T

A week after new Zealand’s first foray into equity crowd funding, proponents say the signs are good this could provide a much-needed additional funding source for SMEs.

Blenheim boutique beer brewer, Renaissance, has wooed small investors to fill its order for $700,000 of new capital in just a week and a half, a quarter of the time the novel offer was open for punters to commit funds.

Renaissance plans to invest the capital in boosting its production capability and developing new markets in Australasian and overseas territories, including the US, Canada, Britain, mainland Europe, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Japan.

A new film to be directed by Lee Tamahori closed its equity crowd-funding offer overnight, coming in just shy of its maximum $500,000 target.

Investors will soon be able to take stakes in small Kiwi businesses through an online crowdfunding system which hopes to "liberate the New Zealand economy".

Equity crowdfunding platform Snowball Effect has just updated their investor agreement in light of significant demand from overseas investors.

Can you tell me a bit about Snowball Effect?

Snowball Effect was founded by Simeon Burnett, Francis Reid and Richard Allen in 2012. All three founders hold various positions with Fonterra and also remain involved day-to-day with Snowball Effect in a par

Snowball Effect today announced it has signed a partnership agreement with the founders of Backable, which will see Backable referring all its members to New Zealand’s leading equity crowdfunding platform.

Cabinet has approved the regulations for equity crowdfunding and a firm which has been heavily involved in the processes says this is great news for companies and investors alike.

Small businesses should find it easier to raise money from April after the Government gave the green light to new regulations for crowd funding and peer to peer lending.

Burnett says the crowdfunding platform will help businesses gain easier access to capital, including from New Zealanders living overseas.

Josh Daniell will lead Snowball Effect as it begins trading in April following a law change allowing peer-to-peer investment called equity crowdfunding.

The business matches local investors with small- to medium-sized New Zealand businesses in need of a