Simon Dixon from BnkToTheFuture is an ex- investment banker, trader & stock broker who left that industry in 2006 to help make the financial system stable, sustainable and inclusive to all. Simon has spent the last four years creating BnkToTheFuture which is a global online investment platform for investors who are looking to invest in the future of Finance. The very best FinTech and Financial innovation companies come to BnkToTheFuture. Since launch BnkToTheFuture.com has raised over $7 Million for companies.
Also Read: Bitcoin Capital Raises $1,297,460 in Crowdfunding Campaign
BnkToTheFuture offers investors something that other crowdfunding cannot offer. Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and other sites allow crowdfunding that does not allow users to be rewarded for investing in companies. Stories such as how 10,000 users backed the development of Oculus Rift which was later sold to Facebook for $10 Million and the users received t-shirts. BnkToTheFuture is changing how crowdfunding will be done as individuals can now become shareholders. BnkToTheFuture is going beyond crowdfunding. They are opening opportunities for individuals to invest in the very best FinTech and innovative companies that previously only Angel investors and Venture Capitalists had access to.
I had a chance to ask Simon Dixon some questions.
How do you feel the opening of your equity based crowdfunding platform has been so far?
We are very happy to have raised over $7m for companies pitching on our site so far and we are just getting started now, but we are more focused on our investors. We believe that if we keep finding great financial innovation for them to invest on and opportunities that have great potential, then they will use us to build their entire FinTech and Financial Innovation portfolio. This is why Bitcoin Capital is so important as we can list companies that we actually put our own money into meaning we don’t just list any opportunity that comes along and investors can see the companies we are investing in and get involved. This changes the fundraising model and we are very happy to be the first to do this.
How much of the funding projects have received has been with Bitcoin?
21% Bitcoin. We have been focusing on helping professional investors new to the Crypto and Blockchain space make their first investment in the sector and we pay dividends in Bitcoin to allow them to get started using Bitcoin, many for the first time. We also offered existing Bitcoin investors the opportunity to invest using their Bitcoins.
You have been working with mostly bitcoin related projects such as Shapeshift, Bitcoin Capital, Satoshi Point, Mimex and others. Is funding Bitcoin related projects your primary goal at the moment?
We are very focused on financial innovation and technology. Bitcoin, Crypto and Blockchain businesses are our focus, Bitcoin is not the only focus though. For example Kim Dotcom announced on Twitter he would like to raise finance through us for his Blockchain based internet concept. This was a nice surprise to see major VC propositions choosing us.
Equity based crowdfunding is something that has never been accomplished before. How were you able to comply with regulations and become the first of its kind?
We came up with the concept in 2011, and we have a great team that spent a lot of money and time on regulations. It took us 4 years and a lot of investment to make it happen. The process was very hard, but we are delighted to launch now and allow investors to invest in the future of finance online. We still have far to go, but the regulations was the hardest part of launching this business and we have been educating a lot of regulators on how to do this responsibly.
Thank you for your time Simon and I look forward to watching BnkToTheFuture develop.
To learn more visit BnkToTheFuture