From the corner brewery to Nasdaq.

Raised

$240K

Investors

356

Median check

$250

Platform

Wefunder

To bring a brewery to a restored 100-year-old building in Appalachian coal country, the founders offered a revenue share: 5% of gross sales paid out to investors every quarter. About half the money came from Kentuckians; the most common investment was $100.

What happened next: the raise paid for renovation, brewing and kitchen equipment, and Harlan's first brewery opened in October 2022.

You don't need a huge market. A small town with a clear story drew investors from 32 states.

Source: Wefunder case study (published by the platform)

Raised

$124K

Investors

157

Platform

Wefunder

Year

2022

Carol Pak capped her 2022 community round at $124K because she didn't have reviewed financials yet. It filled in four hours, about two months sooner than she expected, and it brought in angel investors with larger checks outside the platform.

What happened next: by 2023 Sool had sold more than 2.4 million cans, moving from H Mart into Whole Foods and Total Wine.

Start small and fill fast. A modest goal that sells out creates momentum and credibility for the next round.

Sources: Wefunder case study, The Korea Times

Raised

$916K+

Founded

2016

Platform

StartEngine

Year

2024–25

A woman-founded brewery in a crowded craft beer market, Holidaily carved out a niche making gluten-free beer. It launched a StartEngine campaign in late 2024 to expand distribution beyond its nine states, and drew more than $916,000 within three months.

Own a niche. A clear "only one doing this" story (here, what the company calls the top-selling gluten-free beer in the U.S.) gives investors a reason to pick you.

Sources: Axios Denver, company announcement

Raised

$480K

Investors

297

Platform

Honeycomb

Year

2024

Voodoo raised $480,000 from 297 investors on Honeycomb Credit, a platform built for local businesses that raise through loans repaid with interest. It was the largest campaign on the platform that year.

Loans can work too. Borrowing from your fans keeps full ownership in your hands while giving investors a set payback schedule.

Source: Honeycomb 2024 impact report (published by the platform)

Raised

$38,850

Investors

67

For

1 van

Platform

Honeycomb

Naomi Homison needed one thing to grow: a delivery van. She raised $38,850 from 67 local investors in the very first campaign on Honeycomb Credit.

What happened next: with the van, the company expanded its wholesale distribution to more than 40 locations across the city.

Raise for something specific. "Help us buy a van" is easier to back than "help us grow."

Source: Honeycomb Credit (published by the platform)

Raised

$25K

In business

90 yrs

Platform

Honeycomb

Year

2020

Justin Strong set out to fund a renovation, then the pandemic hit and he pivoted to cleaning medical uniforms, which needed new capital. He raised $25,000 from his community, including his former fourth-grade teacher.

"It's the only time we get treated like a Fortune 500 company." Even a $25K raise can mean a neighborhood business gets real backing from the people it serves.

Source: Honeycomb Credit (published by the platform)

Raised

$1M

Investors

700+

Platform

Wefunder

Year

2016

Weeks after Reg CF went live in May 2016, Beta Bionics became the first company to raise the full $1 million then allowed, from more than 700 investors. Eli Lilly had invested $5 million at the same valuation shortly before.

What happened next: after years of clinical work and venture rounds, the company listed on Nasdaq (BBNX) in January 2025, pricing an upsized $204 million IPO at $17 a share.

A crowd round can sit right alongside strategic investors. Matching Eli Lilly's valuation gave small investors the same entry price as a pharma giant.

Sources: Crowdfund Insider, MIT Technology Review, MassDevice

Raised

$1.07M

Valuation

$9M pre

Platform

StartEngine

Year

2019

With about $271K in revenue the year before, Generation Genius raised the then-maximum $1.07 million in common stock, timing the campaign so new videos would be ready for teachers' fall buying season. The average check was about $1,400.

What happened next: the company later bought back its crowd investors' shares. KingsCrowd reports a 4.07x return overall, and about 10.2x for investors from that first round.

A buyback is a real exit path. Not every success needs an IPO or a sale; a profitable company can simply return investors' money with a gain.

Sources: KingsCrowd offering data, Los Angeles Business Journal, KingsCrowd exits report

Raised online

$62M+

Investors

38,000+

Online rounds

7

First round

2019

Monogram raised more than $62 million before its IPO through online rounds open to everyone, starting in 2019. That included a 2022 StartEngine round that passed $16 million from more than 10,000 investors. About 20% of each new round came from people who had invested before.

What happened next: after a Reg A+ offering, shares began trading on Nasdaq (MGRM) in May 2023. In 2025, Zimmer Biomet agreed to acquire the company in a deal valued at about $177 million.

The crowd can be a long-term financing engine, not a one-off. Most of the later rounds used Reg A+, which allows far larger raises than Reg CF.

Sources: DealMaker case study, Benzinga, Crowdfund Insider, Zimmer Biomet announcement

Raised

$7.8M

Investors

6,688

Platform

Wefunder

Year

2023

Instead of only going back to venture funds, Substack invited its writers and readers to invest at a $585 million valuation. It started with a $2 million goal, raised it to $5 million within a day, and closed at about $7.8 million from 6,688 investors between April 6 and 30.

Why it's over $5M: the Reg CF cap is $5 million, but companies can run a parallel offering for accredited investors on the same platform, which is how rounds like this go higher.

Your users can be your most motivated investors. Substack's pitch was ownership in the platform its writers already depended on.

Sources: P2PMarketData, Axios, ETCentric

Crowd round

Up to $5M

Main round

$115M

Valuation

$1.6B+

Year

2021

When Coatue led a $115 million round valuing Mercury at over $1.6 billion, the company also opened a round of up to $5 million alongside it for its own customers and other everyday investors through Wefunder — a few months after the SEC raised the Reg CF cap to $5 million.

Reg CF isn't only for small companies. A late-stage startup can use it to let its customers in alongside top venture firms, turning users into owners.

Source: Fortune

Raised

$5M

Investors

4,800+

Platform

StartEngine

Year

2021

In 2021, the year the cap rose to $5 million, WiGL became the first company to raise the full amount on StartEngine. Its founder credits radical transparency with investors, an active social presence, and early PR help.

What happened next: WiGL returned to StartEngine with a larger Reg A+ round of up to $20 million at a $146.59 million pre-money valuation.

Treat investors like insiders. Sharing "the good, the bad and the ugly" builds the trust that gets people to invest.

Sources: Crowdfund Insider (founder's account), Crowdfund Insider

Raised by 2020

$10M+

Investors

25,000+

Platform

Wefunder

Founded

2016

Legion M built its whole business model around crowd ownership. Fans invest, help pick projects and get perks like set visits and premieres. Within about four years it had raised over $10 million from more than 25,000 fan-investors across repeated rounds.

Perks and participation turn investors into a marketing army. When owners are also the audience, every round promotes the product.

Source: Crowdfund Insider

Round 1

$977K

Round 2

$4.35M

Investors

~5,000

Platform

Wefunder

RAD AI's first community round in 2020 raised about $977,000 from roughly 1,000 investors. Its second, after it acquired another company, reached $4.35 million from about 3,990 investors. Three client deals came directly from people who had invested.

A second round is easier than the first. Your first investors are the warmest audience for the next raise, and they can become customers too.

Source: Wefunder case study (published by the platform)