CFG for Investors

CFG is here to facilitate investments in excellent startups around the world. To make things easier and simpler for investors, we offer clear and focused information, extensive, carefully selected deal flow, and direct access to startup investments. All that is given to investors for free. Completely free, since we do not take any part of the investment, no brokerage fee from investors nor from the startups, and no carry either. 

CFG is a great option for angels and individual investors that are confident in taking their own investment decisions and want the advantages of connecting directly with startup founders. We are also a great fit for angel investor groups, micro VCs and other professional investors, and welcome them to partner with us. However, our broad selection and clarity in presenting information, and the informative guides we provide (again, for free) make CFG a great place for even novice investors to explore.

Clear advantages:

There are various platforms that offer startup investment opportunities, but CFG’s  unique model holds many important advantages for investors:

Cost – We are truly free: 

Unlike other platforms, we are truly free for investors. We take no toll on your investment, no brokerage fee, and no carry. Other platforms might claim to be free for investors, but they take a brokerage or success fee as a percent of the investment – meaning that ultimately you as an investor are the one that is paying, since part of your investment is used to cover this fee.
We also take no carry. You might think that committing to pay a carry from a successful liquidation event in the future is insignificant, but in fact, it is. Consider that the returns from successful investing in early-stage startups usually all come from just a fraction of the startups invested in. This means it is reasonable to expect a loss on most of your investments, as a small number of big exits (or even just one) can bring in returns that compensate for all your losses. Now think of the implication of giving away a quarter of the returns from that one successful exit as a carry and the impact that carry will have on your overall returns. We take no carry, on CFG the success you will hopefully gain will be all yours to keep.

Clarity and ease of use: 

We present information on our startups in the clearest way possible, highlighting the key factors and metrics. You can browse startups on our Pitch Summaries page and get a quick idea of which ones are of potential interest, then go to their full Pitch Summaries (listings) and get the most important info in a clear and short format. That will allow you to decide quickly, within minutes, whether you want to spend more of your time learning about the startup, or not.
We have spent a lot of time and energy refining and standardizing the way we present startups so that you don’t waste your time unnecessarily trying to understand whether or not a startup is worth exploring for a potential investment. We don’t drown our site visitors and investors in endless verbiage about each startup, as many other platforms do.

Direct Access: 

We offer investors direct access to many of the startups on CFG, by making a personal email introduction between the investor and one of the startup’s leading team members or founders. This is a great way to connect with the startup, learn about it and about the team, and start a relationship with them. This level of access is particularly valuable for investors that want to be involved with the startup beyond the money they invest, such as by providing advice and connecting with their network.

Wide Selection: 

CFG is a sector agnostic platform for startups from around the world. In addition to the startups that raise funds directly on CFG, we also host listings from startups that are raising funds in real-time on other platforms, as well as listings for other platforms. We do that to widen the selection investors can find on CFG and increase their potential deal flow (note that if you invest in a startup that is presented on CFG but is raising funds on another platform, the fees and costs of that other platform will apply.) 

Things Investors Need to Know About Using CFG:

We do not make investment recommendations:

After you find startups you are interested in on CFG, it is now up to you to go deeper, learn more about the startup, decide if you are interested in investing, and complete your due diligence by going through their documentation, etc. We recommend that you diversify your portfolio to reduce your risk and that you always consult a professional investment advisor that knows your personal financial situation. Please be sure to read the disclaimer at the footer of our website. 

Some of the startups on CFG only accept accredited investors:

Each country has its own definition of accredited investors, but most startups on CFG rely on the US definition. A natural US person is considered an accredited investor when having a yearly income above $200k (or $300K together with a spouse), or a net worth above $1M (jointly with a spouse, excluding the value of one’s primary residence), but some additional regulations apply. Please see the US SEC’s definitions here. You are welcome to read our article on the topic to learn more. Please be aware that to complete an investment as an accredited investor the startup will most likely need you to provide proof of your accreditation level. That can be easily done by providing a letter from your CPA, or online through the use of third-party service providers, for a small fee. 

How to make the best use of CFG as an investor?

You are welcome to contact us, and tell us about your interests. You are also welcome to sign up to receive investment opportunities by email. Finally, you can browse through the presenting startups on our Pitch Summaries page.