OurCrowd Offers $10K Entry to Invest in Startups Like SpaceX

Key Takeaway

• OurCrowd lowers the entry barrier for retail investors into venture capital, offering access to startups with a minimum investment of $10,000.
• The platform democratizes investing in high-growth startups like Stripe and SpaceX, previously accessible mainly to large institutions.
• Offers exposure to groundbreaking technologies across various sectors, including space exploration and AI, with over $2.3 billion committed.

Expanding Access to Venture Capital

OurCrowd, a global investment platform, is revolutionizing access to venture capital investments, allowing accredited investors to participate in promising startups with a minimum investment as low as $10,000. This initiative opens doors to investments in over 460 portfolio companies, with more than $2.3 billion committed to date. The platform's approach is particularly significant in a market where high-growth startups like Stripe, SpaceX, and OpenAI achieve substantial valuations privately, often leaving retail investors out of the picture until these companies go public at much higher valuations and slower growth rates. OurCrowd's model democratizes access to these investments, previously dominated by venture capitalists and institutions capable of committing large sums.

Bridging the Gap for Retail Investors

The challenge for many retail investors has been the high entry barrier to investing in startups, with minimum investments often reaching six figures. OurCrowd lowers this barrier, offering a solution for investors for whom a $100,000 investment is prohibitive but find $10,000 feasible. Jon Medved, CEO of OurCrowd, emphasizes the importance of investing in startups before they go public to realize significant returns, a strategy increasingly difficult as companies stay private longer. OurCrowd not only provides access but also adds a layer of security by vetting opportunities, investing its own money alongside investors, and securing terms usually reserved for major shareholders.

Strategic Investments in Future Technologies

While not all high-profile companies like SpaceX or OpenAI are available through OurCrowd, the platform offers investments in a range of groundbreaking technologies and companies. These include Axiom Space, Stoke Space, ICON, and Ursa Major, covering sectors from space exploration to 3D-printed housing for lunar use. OurCrowd also extends its reach into artificial intelligence, with a dedicated AI Fund, and beyond traditional venture capital investments to venture debt, private credit, and private equity funds, making top-tier funds accessible at significantly lower minimums.

Street Views

• James Seyffart, Bloomberg Intelligence (Neutral on the accessibility of private deals for retail investors):

  "Even if you can access such deals, the minimum investment is 'often very high.'"

Management Quotes

• Jon Medved, OurCrowd's founder and CEO:

  "OurCrowd is enabling hundreds of thousands of investors around the world to access the exciting venture capital asset class... It turns out that if you want to make real money today, you have to invest in startup companies before they go public. In the good old days, you could have invested in something like Amazon or Microsoft, held it from an IPO and made thousands of times your money. But today that’s not possible because the private companies are going public much later." "The smart money, the smart investor, wants to find a way to get into these exciting dynamic growth stories while they’re still private."

• Lisa Graston, OurCrowd's associate director for Investor Relations:

  "It's traditionally very hard for accredited investors and even family offices to invest in individual startup investment opportunities... Historically, the VC asset class has outperformed the public markets and it's an asset class that's really difficult to access. We are really democratizing the space." "It can be difficult to get a clear picture of the current valuation of a private company when you are investing through secondary marketplaces. When you invest with OurCrowd you are joining a funding round alongside other very experienced dealmakers, reducing the risk of investing at an outsized price compared to the current company value."