HEC PARIS - Master Thesis Can Equity Crowdfunding Crowd-Out Other Alternative Sources of Finance? Supervised by Mr. Patrick Legland David Timothy Schneider Matriculation Nr: 54060 MSc International Finance Email:
[email protected] Tel: +44 7393 179 350 Tuesday, 13 September 2016 The author would like to thank his Master Thesis supervisor, Mr. Patrick Legland, for both his availability and feedback during the writing of this paper. The author would also like to thank Ms. Angela Mashey and Ms. Ivy Wong for their help in connecting the author to entrepreneurs, investors and people with industry knowledge in the San Francisco Bay Area. Abstract Following the financial crisis of 2007, many smaller firms had no access to capital. The Obama administration tried to change that with the passage of the JOBS Act in 2012, which would allow firms to seek financing from anonymous individuals online and offer debt or equity as securities. In the vacuum left behind by the retreat of bank lending stepped a host of alternative lenders, crowdfunding in its many forms being one of them. As the industry grows and matures it is starting to compete with other alternative lenders1. It is the aim of this paper to compare equity crowdfunding to the other equity investors, those traditionally being angel investors, micro-VCs and larger VC-firms. Initially the various types of crowdfunding will be defined and how they came about, subsequently this paper will examine the various forms of private equity. Finally, the types will be compared on the global volume available to investors, the cost of financing, the median investment size made by each investor type, the role of the intermediary, the degree to which shareholders involve themselves in the company’s business affairs and the legal structure of the types.