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.
Insights
Investment Campaigns
Lauren Miller
· 2 min read
· Updated on

Intelligence Fusion: 52% funded and talking about their growth strategy

As a Portfolio Company of GCV, Intelligence Fusion ("IF") is a business we work closely with, supporting them with not only their current capital raise, but with their wider business function.

Having worked with Michael McCabe and the team at IF for several years and assisting them with their proof of concept round previously, we're pleased to have been able to support their significant growth between their first round and their current round - and we're really looking forward to following them in their next stages of growth and expansion!

What's next?

We'll continue to support IF after this Seed Round is completed, and will become an even more integral part of their strategic partnership network.

This round, which is taking place on Crowdcube and aiming to raise £400,000, will allow Intelligence Fusion to build the second iteration of the platform - IF2 - as well as expand the team and fully commercialise the business.

IF Desktop.png

Campaign update

As you'll know from our previous communications, we're collaborating with Crowdcube to provide a true co-investment model.

The current IF round, which was anchored by GCV investors and the Finance Durham Fund via the GrowthFunders platform, has now reached the quantum of 52% funded, having gained 146 investors from the Crowdcube network since the campaign went live earlier this month.

There's still time to invest

Moreover, IF are in further discussions with several investor groups, networks and angel investors, whilst continuing to see daily traction on the platform.

And although this campaign is ongoing and conversations are in progress, there's still chance to invest through the GCV network.

If this is of interest and you would like to invest into Intelligence Fusion through GCV, please do contact us.

On-demand webinar: an introduction to Intelligence Fusion

Intelligence Fusion's first webinar provided a brilliant insight into the company and their investment opportunity, which being EIS-eligible, offers some particularly attractive EIS tax reliefs to investors.

In the 30 minute webinar, Michael McCabe (Founder and CEO, IF), Norm Peterson (CEO, GCV) and Dan Smith (Head of Digital, GCV) covered:

  • Michael McCabe's experience and his motivation for establishing Intelligence Fusion
  • The large-scale market problem that is directly addressed by Intelligence Fusion
  • An overview of the financial model for the platform
  • The considerable traction and progress to date
  • The ambitious plans for the next stage of growth

The full webinar and Q&A session was recorded, and you can catch up with it in full by watching the on-demand version at any time.

Watch on-demand: an introduction to Intelligence Fusion webinar

Upcoming webinar: Intelligence Fusion's growth strategy and 5 year plan

On Tuesday 7th November 2017 at 2pm (BST), Michael is joining us for his second interview as part of our investor series of webinars.

This webinar will delve further into Intelligence Fusion, focusing on their growth strategy, plans for recruitment and the plan post-investment.

In this 30 minute webinar, Michael McCabe (Founder and CEO, Intelligence Fusion), Norm Peterson (CEO, GCV) and Dan Smith (Head of Digital, GCV) will cover:

  • Michael’s vision and plans to grow and develop Intelligence Fusion
  • How the large-scale market problem will be directly addressed by Intelligence Fusion 2, and the deeper technology stack
  • An in-depth overview of how Michael plans to scale the financials and grow both internal and outsourced teams
  • Norm's vision and commitment to work with Intelligence Fusion to exceed high growth plans

To register your attendance, simply complete the short form here.

This really is an exciting time for Intelligence Fusion and whilst we're keeping our network up-to-date every step of the way, if you have any questions on anything related to Intelligence Fusion, the Enterprise Investment Scheme or wider tax efficient investing benefits, please contact us.

A guide to the Enterprise Investment Scheme - download your copy
Driving Growth.
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.