WIKIMEDIA, MPLAJAIn 2008, Thierry Merquiol joined a crowdfunding effort to produce the first album of a little-known French singer named Grégoire. The investment paid off, Grégoire became a hit, and the experience inspired Merquiol to set up a similar crowdfunding platform for undiscovered companies. Nearly five years later, Merquiol and his business partner’s group, the Toulouse, France-based WiSeed, have helped finance 33 startup firms, including four in biotechnology. “Ours is democratization of equity funding,” said WiSeed associate Souleymane-Jean Galadima.
Investors on this side of the Atlantic have only been able to watch as their French counterparts joined the crowdfunding party. In the U.S., equity-based crowdfunding—in which those who offer up money act as investors—is only slowing unfolding, thanks in part to the JOBS Act passed in 2012. Until now, crowdfunding has been limited to donation-based financing (think Kickstarter or Indiegogo), in which the funds can’t buy a monetary stake in the company. Independent investigators have had considerable success appealing to lovers of science with a charitable nature, but the biotechnology industry has, for the most part, sat on the sidelines.
The JOBS Act—or Jumpstart Our Business Startups—opened the door for U.S. companies to take advantage of equity-based crowdfunding. In the fall of 2013, the ...
