Equity crowdfunding
: a possible replacement for traditional

  • Carolin Adriane Scharnagl (Student)

Student thesis: Master's Thesis

Abstract

This thesis aims at analyzing the future potential of the emerging financing source of equity crowdfunding. In order to fully understand the context that equity crowdfunding is taking place in, the currently available traditional as well as alternative –i.e. recently emerging– financing sources used by start-ups and SMEs are presented and compared. Based on this information, the concept of equity crowdfunding is introduced and discussed in-depth, covering reasons for its usage and challenges connected to it. The presentation of the funding sources is supplemented with an analysis of the need for alternative financing sources in general and equity crowdfunding in particular, leading the way to why equity crowdfunding can be seen as an interesting funding solution in the future. Multiple case studies with respectively one embedded subcase enable a comparison of the equity crowdfunding situation in two countries and shine light on the future potential of the new funding source. The cases analyze the equity crowdfunding situation in Germany with Seedmatch as a representative equity crowdfunding platform and in the United Kingdom with Crowdcube as a representative platform. Analyzing both the situation in the two countries as well as the companies which conducted equity crowdfunding campaigns on the two platforms leads to the conclusion that equity crowdfunding can currently be seen as a form of bridge funding for young companies, which is used when other, traditional financing sources cannot (yet) be obtained. Additionally, a potential to become an alternative way of funding for more developed SMEs can be assumed.
Date of Award19 Jul 2016
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • Universidade Católica Portuguesa
SupervisorRaffaele Conti (Supervisor)

Designation

  • Mestrado em Gestão: Programa Internacional

Cite this

'