Forbes by Ryan Caldbeck | August 7, 2013

Source: Forbes

Ever since the JOBS Act was signed into law last year, there has been much ado about why angels, venture capitalists and private equity firms will love/hate/be indifferent to the new financing vehicle, crowdfunding. In April 2012, we launched our equity crowdfunding platform focused exclusively on the consumer products and retail industries. While we are still in the early innings of what we hope will be a very long game, I have interacted with countless angels and VCs over the last 18 months, and I spent seven years as a private equity investor before that. As a result, I have gained an appreciation for how each type of investor really views crowdfunding, and it is different from how pundits outside of the industry think they view crowdfunding.

Angels.  Crowdfunding impacts no group more than it does angels. Companies that crowdfund typically raise $1 million or less. This is the sweet spot for angels. Ironically, however, we have found that angels love well curated equity-crowdfunding sites. Why? The answer is deal flow. Sure, there are a handful of angels in Silicon Valley (think Ron Conway) who see great tech deals before others and who have established such a prominent brand that companies come calling on them. For the vast majority of angels, however, and especially those outside the friendly confines of the Valley, it is both difficult and time consuming to generate quality deal flow.  This is where great equity crowdfunding sites come in: a well curated site saves time, and extends the reach, for angel investors. This allows the angels to focus all their efforts on due diligence, which will ultimately yield a higher return on their time. Furthermore, these diligence materials available on an online platform are detailed and organized, as crowdfunding platforms have to aggregate a company’s materials before it raises on the site. The availability of these diligence materials alone—of businesses that have already survived a strong crowdfunding site’s stringent curation process—can save angels countless hours, allowing them to focus on their own due diligence.

Angel groups generally love crowdfunding and many count themselves as investors on a great equity crowdfunding site for the same reasons individual angels like it—deal flow, deal flow, deal flow. While some older angel groups are encouraged to shun crowdfunding by their business development director, I believe this is the result of incentives. Simply stated, these biz dev folks are compensated more for keeping their platforms closed. These, however, are now a minority. And there is a reason for this:  the relationship between angels and responsible crowdfunding platforms is a mutually beneficial one, with angels providing capital and expertise and platforms providing free deal flow.  Crowdfunding will not replace the best Angel groups, with provide community, education and expertise to angels and their portfolio companies.

Venture Capital Firms. Unlike angels, VC firms are likely less interested in the deal flow that crowdfunding can provide for two reasons. First, VC firms are staffed by teams of investment professionals whose sole job it is to generate deal flow. If these firms rely on crowdfunding sites for their deal flow, it is very difficult to justify charging a 2% management fee and 20% carried interest to their limited partners. Second, there has been a lot of chatter about how crowdfunded companies will not be able to attract VC money when they raise subsequent rounds of capital because VCs don’t want to deal with the complications of a fragmented investor base. This concern misses the broader point of why VCs will not invest in crowdfunded companies and it is a classic lemon problem: over 70% of VC dollars flow to tech (and biotech). As I’ve written about in this space before, great tech start-ups should not have a problem raising capital from VCs, as seed money is abundant for tech. A techstart-up’s failure to raise funds conventionally, through the VC route, suggests a weakness—because it is a tech company, and tech companies are generally favored by VC firms—at least in relation to consumer products and retail businesses. What follows from this is the impression that any tech business that needs to resort to crowdfunding must be weak. It is far more common for a VC firm to pass on a strong high-growth consumer products or retail business than an equivalent tech company.

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