Birchal raises over $1.2 Million in Funding in the First 24 Hours of Its Capital Raise
Birchal has raised an initial $1.2 million from over 500 investors in the first 24 hours of its own equity crowdfunding campaign. Australia’s leading crowd-sourced funding platform is hoping to secure up to $2.5 million from its latest capital raise, with the CSF offer opening to the public today.
The funding round has attracted support from new and existing investors, including Peter Cameron, long time entrepreneur and Venture Partner at Giant Leap.
This is alongside further investment from Dom Pym, Co-Founder of Up (Australia’s most loved digital bank), Pin Payments and his family office Euphemia. Dom is an early-stage investor in Birchal and a vocal supporter of the equity CSF industry globally.
“Birchal is an imperative part of the Australian startup ecosystem’s financial infrastructure. It’s an important vehicle for companies who value engaging with the investor community, but are not quite suited for Venture Capital or Public Listing on the ASX. Birchal’s contribution to the ecosystem is material, on par with some of the big venture capital firms”, says Pym who is an avid supporter of Birchal’s mission to democratise capital for Australian startups.
The funds raised to date come from a mix of retail and wholesale investors.
This is the second time Birchal has hosted its own CSF offer with the previous capital raise in April 2022 achieving its maximum target of $3 million.
“We intuitively know that there is something unique about the Birchal community and the investors we attract on the platform, but to see this type of support for the second time for ourselves really fortifies Birchal’s presence in the Australian startup ecosystem,” says Matt Vitale, Co-Founder and CEO, Birchal.
This offer is set at a share price of $0.50, which is lower than the share price for its last CSF offer in April 2022. A strategic decision reflecting current market realities and our commitment to sustainable, long-term growth.
Matt Vitale, Co-Founder and CEO Birchal says, “In the lead up to this raise, we consulted widely with existing investors, and new potential investors particularly in relation to the price for this raise. While we believe the opportunity in Australia remains consistent and compelling, our share price for this CSF offer reflects direct investor feedback and recent market conditions.”
“The current economic conditions are markedly different to what they were when we last raised in 2022, and our valuation reflects this. It was not a decision taken lightly, but we feel it was essential to ensure the business is adequately capitalised to pursue the opportunities that are ahead of us.”
“There has been some concern that valuations in private markets, including the CSF industry, do not always reflect market conditions, so with the support of our shareholders and feedback from the market, we felt this was also an opportunity for Birchal to lead from the front.”
“Birchal is committed to a long-term growth plan, and this capital raise was a way for us to fortify strategic investors, engage our incredibly supportive community of retail investors and commit to future initiatives that will bolster the business.”
“We are in a tough funding market, there is no denying this is impacting all facets of the financial system. Only last week, it was announced that there has been a 58% drop in venture capital funding so far this year*. The good news for Australian businesses is that despite these conditions crowd-sourced funding is still open for business. We outperformed in the last quarter, and it reinforces the even greater need for alternative funding sources in the Australian startup ecosystem.”
“Looking ahead to the first quarter of the new year, our pipeline has never been stronger. In the first quarter of 2023 we opened 10 EOIs, in comparison we already have signed agreements with 14 companies who intend to launch in the first quarter of 2024 and a further 66 potential issuers in our engagement process.
“It shouldn’t be understated, right now, equity crowd-sourced funding is offering a lifeline to many startups and scaleups. Our platform and our investor community are proving to be a resilient source of capital for our issuer clients, affirming our place, purpose and mission,” says Vitale.
Despite challenging equity market conditions throughout 2023, Birchal has continued to demonstrate remarkable resilience and performance. In FY23, Birchal has:
- Assisted 26 businesses successfully raise capital in last quarter (a record breaking quarter)
- Hosted 57 successful CSF offers in FY23, notably the same number of ASX IPOs in FY23
- Facilitated over $194 million of investment into the Australian startup ecosystem for Startups and SMEs, across 248 successful CSF offer from over 110 thousand investments
- Recipient of a Pause Hammer Award for the fourth time in the category of excellence
The capital raised will go towards building a market leading platform, launching products and services that complement Birchal’s current core business and diversify and grow revenue streams. Birchal has inspired a movement of forward thinking investors to support Australian entrepreneurialism. Our mission is to empower a diverse range of businesses and investors, democratise access to capital, and foster a culture of inclusive and sustainable investment.
