May 3, 2023

Knowledge session sharefunding: May 9 at corporate campus Dotslash

UTRECHT | According to the European Commission, the Utrecht region is the most competitive in Europe. The experience of the Utrecht company Eyevestor endorses this ranking in the Regional Competitiveness Index (RCI). The investment platform proved to be the recipe for success for several companies from the region. For example, Blue Current, sustainable entrepreneur in charging stations, raised €5 million in sharefunding. Utrecht-based sleeper train operator European Sleeper deployed the platform to raise €2.5 million. SharePeople, the disability insurance alternative, passed the €1 million mark after closing their latest sharefunding round early this year. Eyevestor itself is also a Utrecht success story, with now some 25,000 active users who have collectively contributed more than €40 million to some seventy startups, scale-ups and SMEs.

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Photo: Gijs Dalen Meurs - CEO of Eyevestor

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Participate

As the inventor of the sharefunding® phenomenon, Eyevestor is a pioneer in the Utrecht business community. Through the platform, any startup or scale-up can complete online, digital and fully automated share transactions. With sharefunding, the growth and development of companies is financed from a community of investors, employees, customers and other stakeholders who become shareholders together. Eyevestor has a national focus, but there are also success stories in its own Utrecht region. Blue Current, which is based in the same building as Eyevestor, is able to continue building smart software, charging stations and services that accelerate the transition to sustainable transportation thanks to sharefunding. Sharepeople only allows investment if you also already purchase their core crowdsurance service. European Sleeper is bringing back the night train with connections from Belgium and the Netherlands and managed to secure funding directly from its own community - fans and employees are enthusiastically participating.

Driven entrepreneurs

Eyevestor CEO and initiator Gijs Dalen Meurs on sharefunding: "Raising growth capital through sharefunding requires a lot of preparation, a community and healthy credits from the past, but at the same time it is by far the most sustainable and modern way of participating and financing. That is what makes these Utrecht success stories so beautiful: they are all driven entrepreneurs who know what they are doing and what they want." Mark de Raaij, co-founder of Blue Current: "The biggest advantage of sharefunding is that, as an entrepreneur, you can continue to set the course yourself. We tell our own story and people connect with that. Great that customers and suppliers can step in and benefit from our success." Chris Engelsman, co-founder of European Sleeper: "Our first €500,000 was sharedfunded in sixteen minutes with 355 fans, with whom we communicated a lot in preparation so that we could realize our concept unprecedentedly fast. Great, right?"

Customer and owner

SharePeople was one of the first 10 companies to use the Eyevestor platform in 2019. From a sustainable perspective, SharePeople wanted to offer customers the opportunity to become co-owners. A record number of sharefunding rounds were held so that everyone could share in the growth and success of this collective disability solution for the self-employed. In total, SharePeople has now achieved more than €1 million in sharefunding through its members, clients and investors. At the same time, the membership base has grown from 2,000 to 12,500 self-employed entrepreneurs. Cosmas Blaauw, SharePeople initiator: "We want to change insurance into a fair, solidary and above all affordable system. For us it's not about profit, but about people. That's why we wanted to offer everyone the chance to become not only customers, but also owners. So not just for everyone and by everyone but precisely from everyone. Soon we will start another round"

Knowledge session at Dotslash

To increase awareness of sharefunding®, Eyevestor is organizing a knowledge session for Utrecht entrepreneurs in cooperation with the community-driven business campus Dotslash. Mark de Raaij of Blue Current shares his experiences around sharefunding his first €5 million.

When. Tuesday, May 9, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Where. Dotslash Utrecht 100 Europalaan 3526 KS Utrecht, followed by lunch.

Subscribe? You can register here