New Developments in Equity Crowdfunding: A Review Available to Purchase

This article reviews the role and nature of equity crowdfunding (ECF) as a novel source of entrepreneurial finance for unlisted startups and ventures. It is distinctive from extant reviews in several respects. First, it views ECF as part of the fintech revolution and, more specifically, as a multisided marketplace that offers indirect network externalities to its participating groups such as the crowd and, increasingly, traditional entrepreneurial finance providers like angels and VC investors. Second, it stresses the relevance of corporate finance concepts by drawing parallels between initial ECF campaigns and IPOs. Finally, it focuses on the world’s most evolved ECF ecosystem – that in the UK – to highlight several new developments in ECF like the rise of the lead investor or coinvestment funding models and the role of light touch regulation.