The partnership between Funderbeam and SWG means that all present and future portfolio companies are enabled to raise funds and trade on the Funderbeam marketplace, connecting investors from 129 countries. Funderbeam has also recently managed to close a €3.3 million financing round led by Tim Draper, the early investor in Baidu, Hotmail, Skype, and Tesla. The aim of the funding round was to fuel Funderbeam’s partnership-based growth strategy.
Funderbeam’s founder Kaidi Ruusalepp (on cover photo) said she is delighted to add institutional partners to the growth model. “It takes years to build a truly modern secondary marketplace connecting global investors and traders with investment opportunities to private companies. One has to construct the product with digital infrastructure, secure legal framework and licenses, and business departments supporting the global reach. The hard work is done, and we are proud to secure the first global partnership with Startup Wise Guys, the Tallinn-based pioneering B2B accelerator in the region,” said Ruusalepp.
Funderbeam expanding its secondary marketplace
Funderbeam Marketplace offers live and direct auto-match trading, allowing buyers and sellers to interact 24/7, 365 days a year. Trade settlement is revolutionised with a T+10 minutes cycle offered uninterruptedly. The Funderbeam Venture Index that reflects assets listed on the marketplace has grown from 1,300 points to 2,600 points or 100% in the last six months. Marketplace trading volumes have been growing 10 times since October 2020. The market cap of Funderbeam marketplace is approximately €700M. The company has investment firm licenses from the UK, Estonia and Singapore; Singapore is additionally the home for its trading licences.
Funderbeam now expands its secondary marketplace by introducing links and partnerships with institutional investors, including brokers, and institutions serving private companies with a need for a well-functioning secondary market. Startup Wise Guys is a perfect partner to kick off the partnerships approach.
Collaboration with Europe’s most active investors
With more than 220 investments in early stage startups, Startup Wise Guys is one of the most active investors in Europe. To help techy startup founders become true entrepreneurs, they have been running a world class startup accelerator since 2012. They focus on acceleration programs for B2B SaaS, fintech, cybersecurity and sustainability early stage startups, as well as follow-on investments in accelerated startups. The Startup Wise Guys portfolio has already seen two major exits and overall startup survival and success rate is above 77%.
Herty Tammo, Co-founder of Startup Wise Guys, is also enthusiastic about the collaboration. “A vibrant, liquid secondary market was one of the missing ingredients in New Europe’s startup ecosystem. Our partnership with Funderbeam is an excellent opportunity for our current and future portfolio founders to access liquidity on their entrepreneurial journey. This also opens new possibilities for Startup Wise Guys itself, enabling us to list shares and supporting us in the management of syndicates,” said Tammo. He sees Funderbeam leading in Europe and Asia in an area which $6.9bn valued CartaX is pioneering in the US.
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