Crowdfunding allows investors to support startups and early-growth companies that they are passionate about. This is different from helping a company raise money on Kickstarter. With Regulation CF Offerings, you aren’t buying products or merch. You are buying a piece of a company and helping it grow.

The majority of offerings are common stock, though some companies may raise capital through convertible note, debt, and revenue share.

Investors other than accredited investors are limited in the amounts they are allowed to invest in all Regulation Crowdfunding offerings (on this site and elsewhere) over the course of a 12-month period: If either of an investor’s annual income or net worth is less than $107,000, then the investor’s investment limit $2,200, or 5 percent of the greater of the investor’s annual income or net worth, whichever is greater. If both an investor’s annual income and net worth are $107,000 or higher, then the investor’s limit is 10 percent of the greater of their annual income or net worth, or $107,000 whichever is greater. Accredited investors are not limited in the amount they can invest.

Calculating net worth involves adding up all your assets and subtracting all your liabilities.  The resulting sum is your net worth.

We cannot give tax advice, and we encourage you to talk with your accountant or tax advisor before making an investment.

Individuals over 18 years of age can invest.  Currently however, Canadian citizens are not able to invest in Regulation CF offerings listed with DirectCF.

Companies on DirectCF are high risk opportunities and may not retain their value. Investing in startups and small businesses is inherently risky and standard company risk factors such as execution and strategy risk are often magnified at the early stages of a company. In the event that a company goes out of business, your ownership interest could lose all value. Furthermore, private investments in startup companies are illiquid instruments that typically take up to five and seven years (if ever) before an exit via acquisition, IPO, etc.

The companies listed on DirectCF are privately held companies, and their shares are not traded on a public stock exchange. As a result, the shares cannot be easily traded or sold. As an investor in a private company, you typically receive a return on your investment under the following two scenarios: The company gets acquired by another company. The company goes public (makes an initial public offering on the NASDAQ, NYSE, or another exchange). In those instances, you receive your pro-rata share of the distributions that occur, in the case of acquisition, or you can sell your shares on the exchange. It can take 5-7 years (or longer) to see a distribution or trading, as it takes years to build companies. In many cases, there will not be any return as a result of business failure. Dalmore Group, LLC does not make investment recommendations, and no communication, through this website or in any other medium should be construed as a recommendation for any security offered on or off this investment platform. Investments in private placements and start-up investments in particular are speculative and involve a high degree of risk, and those investors who cannot afford to lose their entire investment should not invest in start-ups. Companies seeking startup investments tend to be in earlier stages of development, and their business model, products and services may not yet be fully developed, operational or tested in the public marketplace. There is no guarantee that the stated valuation and other terms are accurate or in agreement with the market or industry valuations. Additionally, investors on Regulation CF offerings wil receive securities that are subject to holding period requirements. The most sensible investment strategy for start-up investing may include a balanced portfolio of different start-ups. Start-ups should only be part of your overall investment portfolio. Investments in startups are highly illiquid and those investors who cannot hold an investment for the long term (at least 5-7 years) should not invest.

Shares sold via Regulation Crowdfunding offerings have a one-year lock up period before those shares can be sold freely.

Exceptions to limitations on selling shares during the one-year lock up are transfers:

• to the company that issued the securities;
• to an accredited investor;
• to a family member (defined as a child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse or spousal equivalent, sibling, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law, including adoptive relationships.);
• in connection with your death or divorce or other similar circumstance;

The organization of the company Dalmore Group, LLC requires information that shows the issuer company has taken steps necessary to organize as a corporation or LLC in its state of organization, is in good standing, and that the securities being issued will be duly authorized and validly issued. The corporate structure and ownership Dalmore Group, LLC works with the issuer company to disclose its organizational structure, affiliated entities, and current capitalization. The people behind the company Dalmore Group, LLC helps the issuer company disclose who is behind the operations and strategy of the company, along with their previous related experience, and Bad Actor Reports to provide evidence that the company is not disqualified from proceeding with its offering.  Information provided to investors Dalmore Group, LLC checks that the issuer company is providing clear disclosure of its financial situation, business origins, and operations, and legal authority to engage in its business activities. Investor information and terms of the offering Dalmore Group, LLC reviews for consistency each instance where the issuer company describes the offering terms, and identifies to investors how the issuer company reached its current valuation and will track and keep in touch with its security holders. Review of transaction documents Dalmore Group, LLC performs an independent review of transaction documents to check for red flags & conformance with stated terms.  Business due diligence Dalmore Group, LLC conducts research and due diligence on each company before it is able to accept investments on the DirectCF platform.  Dalmore Group, LLC will typically conduct over 30-40 hours of due diligence per opportunity, which requires the satisfactory completion of a detailed set of individual questions and data requests.  Particular focus is paid to the following issues throughout the due diligence process:  Problem or inefficiency being addressed Product / service overview, stage of development and anticipated milestones Demonstrated traction (e.g. revenue, pre-sales, purchase orders, signed contracts, media coverage, awards, etc.) Data to support claims made in marketing materials (e.g. user / customer metrics, signed contracts and agreements, product demonstrations, etc.) Growth strategy Employees and advisors (including ownership structure) Addressable market (e.g. size, growth, penetration, etc.) Competitive landscape and industry dynamics Exit opportunities Intellectual property Historical financials Financial projections (including error-checking, evaluation of key assumptions and reconciliation to stated growth plan) Reference checks (e.g. previous investors, advisors, etc.) Investment overview (including determination of key terms, uses of funds, and current and previous investors) The findings of the foregoing review are presented to Dalmore Group, LLC, which may approve, reject, or require additional information for the offering. Upon approval and following the onboarding process, an offering can begin accepting investments online. General considerations Notwithstanding the foregoing, these investments are illiquid, risky and speculative and you may lose your entire investment.  The foregoing summarizes our standard process. However, each diligence review is tailored to the nature of the company, so the aforementioned process is not the same for every issuer. Completing the vetting process does NOT guarantee that the company has no outstanding issues or that problems will not arise in the future.  While the foregoing process is designed to identify material issues, there is no guarantee that there will not be errors, omissions, or oversights in the due diligence process or in the work of third-party vendors utilized by Dalmore Group, LLC and DirectCF. Each investor must conduct their own independent review of documentation and perform their own independent due diligence and should ask for any further information required to make an investment decision.

If a company does not reach their minimum funding goal, all funds will be returned to the investors after the closing of their offering.

All available financial information can be found on the offering pages for the company’s Regulation Crowdfunding offering.

if you have questions that have not been answered in the FAQ, please email our Investor Support Team at investor@directCF.com