Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong.
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Risk Summary

Estimated reading time: 2 min

Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk.

What are the key risks?

  • You could lose all the money you invest
  • Most investments are shares in start-up businesses or bonds issued by them. Investors in these shares or bonds often lose 100% of the money they invested, as most start-up businesses fail.
  • Checks on the businesses you are investing in, such as how well they are expected to perform, may not have been carried out by the platform you are investing through. You should do your own research before investing.

You won't get your money back quickly

  • Even if the business you invest in is successful, it will likely take several years to get your money back.
  • The most likely way to get your money back is if the business is bought by another business or lists its shares on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange. These events are not common.
  • Start-up businesses very rarely pay you back through dividends. You should not expect to get your money back this way.
  • Some platforms may give you the opportunity to sell your investment early through a 'secondary market' or 'bulletin board', but there is no guarantee you will find a buyer at the price you are willing to sell.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket

  • Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well. A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments. Learn more here.

The value of your investment can be reduced

  • If your investment is shares, the percentage of the business that you own will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares.
  • These new shares could have additional rights that your shares don't have, such as the right to receive a fixed dividend, which could further reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment.

You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong

  • Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker.
  • Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated platform, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.

If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA's website here.

For further information about investment-based crowdfunding, visit the crowdfunding section of the FCA's website here.
GCV
Insights
Jenna Taylor
· 1 min read
· Updated on

Hive's potential for growth and impact through employee engagement

Please note: this investment opportunity is now closed. To be informed of future funding rounds, please make sure you are a GrowthFunders member. You can do that here.

Employee engagement startup, Hive have the potential to offer more than financial return alone. Whilst their impact potential might not be immediately obvious, the business is also focused on delivering positive changes in such areas as "underserved areas", “health and well-being”, and “skills and employment”.

We are delighted to be working with a tech startup who understands the importance of both growth and impact potential within an investment opportunity.

Let's look at how Hive could deliver positive impact to the employee engagement market:

Underserved areas

Hive are also keen to emulate the success of Visualsoft, their incubator company, in terms of job creation in an underserved area of the UK. Visualsoft has successfully grown from a startup to one of the largest private employers in Stockton-on-Tees, creating 200+ jobs along the way.

The company is now expanding into other areas with offices in Stockton, Newcastle, Manchester, and London and plans to move into Edinburgh, Leeds, and Birmingham.

Visualsoft understands the importance of creating a pleasant, fun, and smooth workplace environment in order to attract and retain top talent. In fact, they recently introduced a staff benefit package which includes unlimited paid holidays and flexible hours. You can find out more here.

Health and well-being

Through weekly micro-surveys, Hive enables employers to measure the engagement, motivation, productivity, and overall happiness of their workforce. By analysing the results collected in these micro-surveys, HR managers and business owners can address any problems, suggestions, and queries highlighted quickly in order to maintain a pleasant working environment. Employee engagement analysis is a rapidly growing market and one Hive is well-equipped to take over.

Skills and employment

Hive is also focussed on professional development and furthering the skills of workers. Through the weekly feedback, employees can highlight areas in which they believe they, the team, or the entire company would benefit from training.

Hive's equity crowdfunding campaign is now closed. You can still use their pitch page to stay up-to-date with progress.

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Creating Value.
Delivering Impact.

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Growth Capital Ventures (GCV) is backed by funds managed by Maven Capital Partners, one of the UK’s leading private equity and alternative asset managers.