Crowdfunding de investimento para viabilização de novos negócios no Brasil

Abstract

In the development of new businesses, fundraising is one of the most important factors, as only shareholder equity, normally, is not sufficient to fund its expansion. However, traditional sources of financing - such as banks - require collateral in return for the loans, which often cannot be provided by startups. Venture capitalists and private equities become real options for some companies that have a return on investment. Crowdfunding is a form of online fundraising, where the entrepreneur asks for an open call on the internet, and the crowd can contribute or invest in the project or companies - usually of low value - that, when together, make the business viable. There are four types of crowdfunding currently classified according to the return offered to the investor: donation, rewards, loan and investment. Equity crowdfunding, regulated by the Brazilian Securities Commission (CVM) in 2017, is a form in which the entrepreneur offers companies shares in return for the investments received, thus making it possible for the development of new businesses. Thus, the current research analyzed the profile of companies that are using equity crowdfunding to raise funds in order to answer the following question: How has investment crowdfunding been impacting the development of new companies? This is a qualitative and quantitative investigation in which the content analysis method was applied. Results indicate that investment crowdfunding has, in fact, become a new source of capital for startups, since the average age of the analyzed companies is three years, and the most common segment is service, especially those companies that rely on the internet (websites and applications). The total amount of money raised from 2017 to 2018 was BRL 22,602,340 in 30 different campaigns (29 companies) with the participation of 2,345 investors. By comparing these results are compared with the volumes contributed by venture capital investors and angel investors, we can see that investment crowdfunding is still in its infancy. Nonetheless, the prospects for developing this market are promising.