Fundable is a business crowdfunding platform that allows entrepreneurs to raise money for reward or equity-based crowdfunding campaigns. Since they launched in May 2012, Fundable has helped entrepreneurs raise $208 million in funding.
The platform has seen several highly successful campaigns recently, including Rhone Apparel, a premium men’s activewear brand that raised $5 million and UNYQ, an affordable, personalized 3D prosthetics company that raised $1.6 million.
Over the last few years, Fundable has acquired several startups and made some bold moves in order to set themselves apart from the competition. Here is a list of Fundable’s expanded services that now fit under one umbrella company:
Startups.co
Startups.co is the new umbrella brand that covers Fundable and the five other companies they have acquired over the last few years. Fundable announced the launch of Startups.co in February 2015, at the same time that they told the public about the Clarity.fm acquisition (but more about that later).
Marketed as “the world’s largest startup launch platform,” Startups.co was designed as a place where entrepreneurs can go to get help when they’re stuck, whether it’s regarding customers, press, funding or mentors.
Acquisitions
1) LaunchRock (March, 2014)
LaunchRock, founded in 2011, gives startups in the idea phase a chance to create viral “Launching Soon” pages to help build a following.
Since the acquisition, LaunchRock has remained separate from Fundable, but the services are complimentary. A startup can use LaunchRock to prove demand and continue on to Fundable to crowdfund their growth once they have built an audience.
To give you an idea of Fundable’s growth since this move – at the time of this deal businesses had raised a total of $87 million on the platform, a number that has more than doubled in the 19 months since!
2) Clarity.fm (February, 2015)
Clarity.fm is a startup founded by Dan Martell that connects entrepreneurs with mentors like Mark Cuban, Brad Feld and Eric Ries over the phone.
“A $100 Clarity call stopped me from buying $30,000 in software that I didn’t need,” shared Michael Cohen, CEO of Wrightwood Furniture.
Like LaunchRock, Clarity.fm will remain mostly separate for the time being, but Fundable’s CEO has hinted that there will be more integration amongst Fundable’s various services over time.
3) Ζirtual (October, 2015)
Ζirtual is one of the largest virtual assistant platforms out there today, and the most recent company that has been acquired by Fundable.
Launched in 2011, Ζirtual charges users $399 to provide startups and entrepreneurs with U.S.-based virtual assistants that can help with a range of tasks, like scheduling management, research, design and more.
4) Bizplan
Bizplan helps startups write business plans that will help get them funded. Users can take advantage of Bizplan’s online business software to help put together their own business plan or work with their business planning experts.
Putting together effective business plans is an area where a lot of creators and entrepreneurs get stuck, which is why Fundable has acquired Bizplan in their quest to become a full-service provider for startups.
KillerStartups is a company that reviews up-and-coming internet startups early on, helping them draw the attention of investors who are looking for “The Next Big Thing”.
This service was also acquired by Fundable, but it is unclear exactly when this acquisition was made. One thing about Fundable’s recent deals is that very little is disclosed about them, including dollar amounts.
Conclusion
Like other crowdfunding platforms, Fundable is expanding their services over time to adapt to the growing needs of the crowdfunding market.
Similar to how Indiegogo launched Generosity to provide free personal fundraising services to their users, Fundable has been acquiring startups that can add value for customers on a much larger scale.
One thing I admire about their strategy is that the companies Fundable has acquired seem to remain largely the same and still operate separately. All of the companies under the Startups.co umbrella have similar goals and values as Fundable when it comes helping startups grow and flourish, which is why they seem to work so well together.
It will be interesting to see how Fundable eventually starts to integrate these services so that they provide users with even more benefits and functionality in the future.
