103 What Seedrs data tells us about crowdfunding and venture investing with Jeff Lynn of Republic Europe

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.