{"data":{"type":"company_profile","id":135660,"entity_id":"wefunder:company:135660","attributes":{"canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid","generated_at":"2026-06-22T04:00:31Z","updated_at":"2026-06-21T05:00:47Z","entity_ids":{"company":"wefunder:company:135660","slug":"wefunder:company_slug:clearingbid"},"profile_visibility":{"owner_published":true,"public_search_results":true,"site_search_listed":true,"privacy_mode":"promote","invite_only":false},"provenance":{"source":"wefunder_public_company_profile","as_of":"2026-06-22T04:00:31Z","claims":{"total_amount_raised":{"source":"FrontCompanySummary#amount_raised","last_verified_at":"2026-06-21T05:00:47Z","as_of":"2026-06-22T04:00:31Z","confidence":"high"},"total_investors":{"source":"FrontCompanySummary#number_of_investors","last_verified_at":"2026-06-21T05:00:47Z","as_of":"2026-06-22T04:00:31Z","confidence":"high"},"active_raise_states":{"source":"Fundraise.visible(nil, nil)","last_verified_at":"2026-04-20T13:38:56Z","as_of":"2026-06-22T04:00:31Z","confidence":"high"},"latest_fundraise_state":{"source":"Fundraise.visible(nil, nil).order(funding_started_at)","last_verified_at":"2026-04-20T13:38:56Z","as_of":"2026-06-22T04:00:31Z","confidence":"medium"}}},"company":{"id":135660,"entity_id":"wefunder:company:135660","slug":"clearingbid","name":"ClearingBid","tagline":"Democratizing Access to IPO Investing","story":"Everyone Can Participate in IPOsClearingBid is an investment platform that democratizes access to IPO investing and other securities. For the first time in history, all retail and institutional investors can participate equally in these incredible wealth-generating events and buy shares at the IPO price. Our platform is built, tested, proven, compliant and regulatorily approved. With 10 granted patents, ClearingBid seamlessly integrates with existing order management systems to accommodate easy order entry by all investors via their brokers. Our previous crowdfunding campaign raised more than $5 million in less than 3 weeks from 3,700 dedicated investors. We are now preparing to enter an exciting IPO market with more momentum and soaring demand for Equal Opportunity Investing™ among all investors, small and large.“Some on Wall Street are speculating that 2026 could be the biggest year ever for IPOs. OpenAI, rival Anthropic, and SpaceX are among the most closely watched tech darlings that could go public, though listing activity also has picked up for smaller companies.”– Wall Street Journal, 1/30/26The ProblemThe IPO process is highly exclusionary and costs companies and investors billions of dollars every year. IPO share allocations typically favor major institutions while locking out millions of investors, and pricing is conducted behind closed doors with minimal insight into true market demand. The result is inefficient pricing and poorly distributed offerings, forcing most investors to pay higher prices once the IPO begins to trade publicly.When a company today goes public via an IPO, shares are first sold to investors at the IPO price before trading begins on exchanges like the NASDAQ or NYSE. This is how companies raise capital. But only a hand-selected group of the same institutional investors chosen by the big investment banks have the privilege to buy at that price. Everyone else is locked out and forced to purchase at inflated secondary market prices.The system favors the few who have access. Companies increasingly recognize they're leaving significant money on the table due to limited price discovery and limited investor reach. In the meantime, retail investing has exploded (e.g., with Robinhood, Fidelity, SoFi all desiring to have access to IPOs), creating growing demand for broader participation.The IPO process hasn't fundamentally changed in decades, but the market has. Everything on Wall Street has evolved with the Internet, except for the IPO process. Technology can enable transparent, broad-based price discovery with greater inclusion and less risk. ClearingBid is simply changing how it is done by combining its patented transparent price discovery platform with existing and proven systems used for millions of secondary market trades every day.The ClearingBid SolutionOur platform revolutionizes the IPO process by allowing any retail or institutional investor to participate, while displaying real-time market pricing and demand – as well as all necessary offering materials – on one convenient public portal. Our proprietary price discovery tools help to optimally price and allocate IPO shares based on the price and time of investor orders, making it transparent, efficient, and fair for everyone. Thanks to the patented process through which ClearingBid uses existing order entry systems used in secondary market trading every day, investors can now purchase shares of an IPO just like they would buy stocks online today! This allows all investors and brokers to participate seamlessly without having to adopt new methods or change their habits.All “In-the-Money” Orders Get Allocations – this means that every investor whose bid is at or higher than the final IPO price receives a guaranteed allocation, creating incentives for both retail and institutional investors, as well as the brokers who service their clients. Orders submitted early-on receive higher allocations for their larger price discovery contribution – a patented feature of ClearingBid.Key ConceptClearingBid’s algorithms enable underwriters to identify the clearing price at which all shares can be sold and then set an offering price at a discount to investor demand. This leaves less money on the table for issuers, but still provides investors with the opportunity to invest at the IPO price and realize upside gains on the shares purchased with any aftermarket “pop”.The infrastructure is already in place to use FIX (Financial Information eXchange) protocol and enable every investor to participate via their existing broker. We connect to 700+ brokerages through our partnership with Virtu ITG Net, and 25+ million investors with Apex Fintech Solutions, while clearing and settling through Wedbush Securities. Lead investment banks keep full control over final pricing but can now make better pricing decisions with complete market data.Everybody Wins with ClearingBidMarketClearingBid’s initial focus is on two large, validated markets: equity IPOs and corporate debt offerings. Together, these markets generate more than $20 billion per year in transaction fees. This estimate reflects only the initial market opportunities ClearingBid plans to serve. The platform is built to expand into additional primary market offerings and securities over time, increasing revenue opportunities and democratizing the securities industry no matter the state of the markets.Equity IPOsEquity IPO transaction fees alone reached a high of approximately $22 billion in 2021, driven by strong public market demand. IPO activity subsequently slowed as companies waited for better market conditions, with many issuers choosing to delay going public rather than accept unfavorable pricing or limited investor access. The ideal conditions are now upon us as the market appears to be ready for a breakout and is highly conducive for seeing many more companies go public, large and small. The Wall Street Journal expects that 2026 will be the “biggest year ever for IPOs”. Read more here.Key dynamics shaping this opportunity for ClearingBid in 2026A growing backlog of companies now beginning to go public as market conditions continue to improve and the demand for capital increases.Studies show that more than 31,000 private companies, representing more than $3.7 trillion in market value, remain on the sidelines, many of which have exceeded the expected lives of their funds with venture capital and private equity sponsors.Greater emphasis on liquidity alternatives, including the private markets which offer limited investor access and poor financial disclosures.A more favorable posture by the SEC to make it easier for companies to go public.Increasing investor demand for a broader and more transparent IPO access.As markets normalize, equity IPO transaction fees are expected to return to pre-pandemic levels, averaging at least $10 billion per year.Corporate Debt OfferingsCorporate debt issuance represents an even larger market opportunity than equity IPOs.Primary corporate bond offerings generate transaction fees estimated at $10 billion or more annually. These offerings face many of the same structural challenges as IPOs, including:Limited transparency around pricingRestricted access for most investorsDistribution controlled by a small group of large institutionsClearingBid’s platform is designed to improve the offering process while preserving many of the core pricing, aggregation and allocation mechanisms.Market ReadinessThe current system benefits a small group of insiders, but it's showing strain. When investment banks underwrite an IPO, they technically commit their own capital to buy shares from the issuing company and resell them. If they misprice too low, companies complain, and regulators scrutinize. If they price too high, banks get stuck with shares they can't sell.ClearingBid reduces these risks by showing what the market actually wants to pay before pricing decisions are made.Lead managers earn the same fees, brokers can earn more IPO commissions, and companies are able to raise more capital.We believe market conditions are aligned for adoption. Retail investor demand is rising, underwriters are exploring new tools to reduce exposure, and brokers and wealth management professionals are seeking more compelling economics while remaining relevant. We designed our platform to be plug-and-play, to support these evolving demands without the need to adopt new tools or systems.TractionClearingBid has made significant progress across platform development, capital formation, intellectual property development and key industry partnerships. The platform is highly functional and designed to meet the operational requirements of primary offering workflows seamlessly.PartnershipsClearingBid has established working relationships with industry participants, Capitol Hill, and regulators that support our operational model.Platform Development and TestingClearingBid’s operational platform, including the desktop and mobile apps, are built to scale and has been tested through complete transaction flows, including order entry, price discovery, pricing, allocation and settlement.In early 2024, ClearingBid’s first transaction was filed with the SEC and underwent review and comments from the Commission. The transaction advanced to near-execution before being paused by the underwriter due to uncertain market conditions at the time. This event validated the platform’s reliability in a real-world context, including the engagement of all relevant parties necessary for complete testing and functionality.We are now actively adding to our pipeline of issuers eager to go public using ClearingBid’s platform.How We Make MoneyOur business model is simple but allows for additional revenue streams as we expand through multiple product verticals down the line. When a company goes public, or issues bonds using ClearingBid, we take a small percentage of the offering proceeds, similar to a toll fee, to operate with our network.ClearingBid is a fully compliant broker-dealer with FINRA, unlike other syndicate software providers who are exclusively institutionally focused and are unable to charge transaction fees. This allows us to support multiple product verticals for different securities, creating additional revenue streams as the Company begins to gather data on investor preferences and behavioral patterns for a more targeted user experience.Platform Fee per Transaction – We charge a fee for each IPO processed through the platform. This fee is typically separate from the traditional gross underwriting spread and covers platform access, price discovery technology and settlement coordination to optimize pricing and execution results. Our transaction fees typically run around 50 bps, or 0.5% of the gross offering proceeds, which will vary by offering size and the type of security.Multiple Product Verticals – The same infrastructure supports follow-on offerings, at-the-market (ATM) distributions, fixed income offerings including corporate and structured bond offerings, municipal bonds and, eventually, private market transactions. Each product type generates platform transaction fees while using the existing technology with broker oversight for investor protection – a high priority with FINRA and the SEC.Future Licensing – ClearingBid expects to generate a recurring revenue stream from eventually licensing its proprietary PDP/price discovery platform to underwriters and brokers. This can include the tokenization and sale of a wide range of asset classes to retail and institutional investors once the adoption of blockchain settlement and digital ledger technologies become mainstream and standardized.User Data – From an expanding range of security offerings and the resulting insights into user investment preferences and their behavioral patterns on the platform, ClearingBid will be further enhanced with AI applications and our online Knowledge Hub, including providing independent and agnostic portfolio analyses, expanding financial services and customer support.Financial ProjectionsOn a single small cap IPO of $100M, ClearingBid generates $500,000 in revenue. We anticipate scaling up to 50 (much larger) transactions per year including IPOs, corporate bonds, and more.As transaction volume increases, we expect margins to improve due to operating leverage. However, all projections depend on external adoption, continued platform development and market conditions.Use of FundsWe are raising capital to expand our price discovery platform with state-of-the-art FIX connectivity, and to support our operations to prepare for our first deal launches. Funds will be allocated principally across four areas:Back-End System Upgrade (20%) –Improve our price discovery platform with higher capacity, reliability, and additional connectivity options to ensure the platform scales as transaction volume grows and distribution widens.Working Capital and Operations (55%) – Maintain platform readiness, ongoing technology, legal expenses relating to securities, corporate and patent work, regulatory compliance costs, and support team compensation.Marketing and Market Education (15%) – Fund marketing campaigns, social media, PR engagement and educational content. Most investors and brokers still do not understand how ClearingBid works or why it matters. ClearingBid’s tutorial video will help support these efforts. Please view our tutorial video here: Tutorial VideoPreparation for Deal Launches (10%) – Finalize underwriter relationships and participation agreements, including clearing brokers, and ensure operational readiness and compliance when lead managers, syndicate members and selling group participants use our platform.Allocation may shift based on operational needs or regulatory requirements and supplemental capital from the Company’s concurrent Reg D offering. The goal is to move from a tested and proven platform to one actively processing IPO transactions. Invest in ClearingBidClearingBid opens IPO access to all investors through transparent, market-driven pricing. The platform has been built, tested, proven and fully integrated while possessing all the necessary regulatory approvals.Today’s capital markets leave almost all investors out of the loop and issuers without full insight into demand. Underpricing trends lead to significant value shifts away from issuers and the investors who want to buy and own their securities from the outset. ClearingBid is designed to help correct these inefficiencies to demonstrate true market demand – enabling fairer, more efficient pricing while mitigating execution risk. These are revolutionary steps to leverage the existing securities industry infrastructure while eliminating the antiquated and highly exclusionary practices that limit capital formation and investor inclusion – all of which require a combination of technology application and best practices execution.Our team includes professionals with decades of experience across Wall Street, trading platforms and exchange technology architecture and infrastructure. We have an intimate understanding of the current system and its limitations, and we have built ClearingBid to work within it while being able to dramatically improve upon it. It’s time for change, so join us as we bring IPO investing into the 21 century.Check us out online- https://www.clearingbid.com/This is a Regulation Crowdfunding offering. Investing in early-stage companies carries significant risk, including the possibility of total loss of capital. ClearingBid's platform requires adoption by issuers and underwriters, which is not guaranteed. Market conditions, regulatory changes, and competitive dynamics may impact the Company's ability to execute its business plan. Please review all offering materials, financial projections and risk factors before investing.","location":"San Francisco, CA","website":"https://www.clearingbid.com/","total_amount_raised":5618000,"total_investors":3830,"is_funded":true,"is_active":true,"quality_score":4,"related_urls":["https://wefunder.com/clearingbid","https://www.clearingbid.com/"]},"media":{"share_image_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company/header_media_photo/135660/xxl_avatar.jpg","logo_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company/logo/135660/large_blob.png","header_media_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company/header_media_photo/135660/standard_avatar.jpg","cover_photo_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company/header_media_photo/135660/standard_avatar.jpg"},"links":{"company_url":"https://www.clearingbid.com/","linkedin_url":"https://linkedin.com/company/clearingbid"},"highlights":[],"quick_facts":[{"index":1,"claim_id":"claim-fact-1","value":"$2.1M of concurrent private round already raised from Accredited Investors at the same valuation"},{"index":2,"claim_id":"claim-fact-2","value":"Progress since last raise in IP protection, platform deployment, and institutional distribution"},{"index":3,"claim_id":"claim-fact-3","value":"Platform built, tested, and approved by SEC/FINRA through complete transaction cycles"},{"index":4,"claim_id":"claim-fact-4","value":"Access to over 25 million investors and 700+ brokers via strategic partnerships"},{"index":5,"claim_id":"claim-fact-5","value":"10 granted patents covering proprietary pricing and allocation methods"},{"index":6,"claim_id":"claim-fact-6","value":"Previously raised over $5 million on Wefunder in less than 3 weeks from more than 3,700 investors"},{"index":7,"claim_id":"claim-fact-7","value":"Plug-and-play solution utilizing Wall Street’s infrastructure including FIX protocol"},{"index":8,"claim_id":"claim-fact-8","value":"Platform infrastructure supports IPOs, follow-ons, corporate bonds, and other securities"}],"team":[{"id":3536475,"entity_id":"wefunder:company_role:3536475","user_entity_id":"wefunder:user:2891791","role":"founder","name":"Matt Venturi","title":"CEO \u0026 Founder","bio":"40-year Wall Street veteran. 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Senior appointments under President Reagan, served as the California Public Utilities Commissioner, brings decades of leadership across finance, energy, and international development","avatar_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company_role/custom_photo/6614828/square_avatar.jpg?1774467166","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/torsoderquist/","related_urls":[]},{"id":6614829,"entity_id":"wefunder:company_role:6614829","role":"employee","name":"Chris Whitcomb","title":"Managing Director","bio":"Former ECM Executive at Oppenheimer, Institutional Equity Sales at William Blair, Equity Capital Markets and investor relations expert. AI \u0026amp; data science specialist","avatar_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company_role/custom_photo/6614829/square_avatar.jpg?1774467166","linkedin_url":"https://linkedin.com/in/christopher-whitcomb-45017539/","related_urls":[]},{"id":3604313,"entity_id":"wefunder:company_role:3604313","role":"employee","name":"Tor Soderquist","title":"Head of IT \u0026 Exchange Technology","bio":"Director Service Management at NASDAQ OMX, Service Manager at OMX Technology. Management and developer expertise","avatar_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company_role/custom_photo/3604313/square_avatar.jpg?1774467166","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/torsoderquist/","related_urls":[]},{"id":3604314,"entity_id":"wefunder:company_role:3604314","role":"employee","name":"Ed Scanlon","title":"Chief Compliance Officer","bio":"Business Development at Walleye Trading, Equity Derivatives Trader at The Vertical Group, Options Broker at Chapdelaine \u0026amp; Company. Provides regulatory and compliance oversight helping ClearingBid expand its distribution footprint in a practical manner","avatar_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company_role/custom_photo/3604314/square_avatar.jpg?1774467166","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-scanlon-a448a040/","related_urls":[]},{"id":6602677,"entity_id":"wefunder:company_role:6602677","user_entity_id":"wefunder:user:5020513","role":"employee","name":"Sandor Pelle","title":"Senior Analyst","bio":"Yale Economics, performing product development, finance, business development and operations","avatar_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company_role/custom_photo/6602677/square_avatar.jpg?1774467167","profile_url":"https://wefunder.com/sandor.pelle","personal_url":"https://linkedin.com/in/sandorpelle8/","linkedin_url":"https://linkedin.com/sandorpelle8","related_urls":["https://wefunder.com/sandor.pelle","https://linkedin.com/in/sandorpelle8/"]}],"featured_investors":[{"id":13217,"entity_id":"wefunder:company_investor_profile:13217","investor_profile_id":2901368,"investor_profile_entity_id":"wefunder:investor_profile:2901368","subject_entity_id":"wefunder:user:3438744","name":"Timothy Pettee","role_title":"","bio":"Tim is a member of ClearingBid Inc.’s Board of Directors. He is an Independent Trustee for Victory Funds and Portfolios. He brings an extensive background and leadership in asset management and investment strategy.","avatar_url":"http://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/user/avatar/3438744/medium_cropped_Linkedin_pic.jpg","profile_url":"https://wefunder.com/timothy.pettee","endorsement_quote":"ClearingBid is the ultimate alignment of incentives among investors, issuers, and underwriters. No other technology is capable of reaching a broader investor base, raising capital more efficiently, or de-risking the transaction quite like this. In the future, I believe it will be the way every single company goes public.","endorsement_name":"","investment_total":300000,"investment_info":"Invested $25,000 this round \u0026 $275,000 previously","is_lead_investor":true,"related_urls":["https://wefunder.com/timothy.pettee"]}],"investor_memos":[],"tab_counts":{"posts":0,"ask_questions":61,"featured_investors":1,"faq_entries":5},"active_fundraises":[{"id":157159,"entity_id":"wefunder:fundraise:157159","state":"successful","offering_type":"4(a)(6)","funding_type":"note","structure":"ttw","security_type":"","currency":"USD","testing_the_waters":true,"min_purchase":100,"max_purchase":9,"funding_target":618000.0,"minimum_target":"50000.0","maximum_target":"618000.0"},{"id":157158,"entity_id":"wefunder:fundraise:157158","state":"successful","offering_type":"4(a)(6)","funding_type":"note","structure":"safe","security_type":"equity","currency":"USD","testing_the_waters":false,"min_purchase":100,"max_purchase":9,"funding_target":618000.0,"minimum_target":"50000.0","maximum_target":"618000.0","funding_started_at":"2026-03-17T01:27:52Z","funding_closed_at":"2026-04-20T03:59:59Z"},{"id":86029,"entity_id":"wefunder:fundraise:86029","state":"successful","offering_type":"4(a)(6)","funding_type":"note","structure":"safe","security_type":"equity","currency":"USD","testing_the_waters":false,"min_purchase":100,"max_purchase":9,"funding_target":5000000.0,"minimum_target":"200000.0","maximum_target":"5000000.0","funding_started_at":"2023-06-15T19:04:30Z","funding_closed_at":"2026-04-17T00:00:00Z","auto_close_at":"2023-07-29T03:59:59Z"},{"id":86030,"entity_id":"wefunder:fundraise:86030","state":"successful","offering_type":"4(a)(6)","funding_type":"note","structure":"ttw","security_type":"","currency":"USD","testing_the_waters":true,"min_purchase":100,"max_purchase":9,"funding_target":5000000.0,"minimum_target":"200000.0","maximum_target":"5000000.0","funding_started_at":"2023-06-06T21:38:23Z","funding_closed_at":"2026-04-17T00:00:00Z"}],"latest_fundraise":{"id":157159,"entity_id":"wefunder:fundraise:157159","state":"successful","offering_type":"4(a)(6)","structure":"ttw","testing_the_waters":true,"can_invest_now":false,"funding_started_at":null,"funding_closed_at":null,"terms":{"eb":null,"nb":"$30M","txt":"valuation cap"}},"recent_posts":[],"q_and_a":[{"id":253601,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:253601","question":"In your future revenue estimates, have you accounted for any potential revenues from the investor data information you will be collecting on IPO's that ClearingBid will be involved with? Please discuss topic. Thanks.","author_name":"Donald Petrie","votes":3,"created_at":"2023-07-11T17:55:21Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-253601","answers":[{"id":253644,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:253644","answer":"Hi Don, I am glad that you asked the question! Our model does not currently account for revenues generated from the gathering of investor data; however, we believe this can become a significant contributor to our business model in the future. We chose to exclude this contribution due to the difficulty in quantifying it and to be conservative in our current forecast. But as users - investors and their advisors - tap our site for information on offerings, including our proprietary pricing information, prospectus, roadshow and research, while providing individual profile information on their investing interests, these behavioral patterns and investor preferences (which I like to call \"where the fish are biting\") will allow us to conduct more targeted offerings for issuers and underwriters to the benefit of our users. Over time, we may choose to monetize these data lakes of information with up-selling and cross-selling opportunities. Someone made the observation that our sociodemographic user base, within the securities industry, will be similar that of The Golf Channel - coveted and unique to advertisers. I am not suggesting that we'll plan to begin targeting adds to our users, because we want to be considered the trusted resource of choice for independent, agnostic and relevant information in this marketplace. But the reality is, no one has, or will have, this kind of data except for us when it comes to the new issue/IPO market. We offer the only IPO network and, to this end, we will respect the goodwill that goes along with it, as some of these opportunities continue to develop for us and our stakeholders.","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":3,"created_at":"2023-07-12T00:03:15Z"}]},{"id":252191,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:252191","question":"On opening day some people are allowed bail out and others aren't. This is what needs fixed.","author_name":"John Feazel","votes":3,"created_at":"2023-06-30T02:08:15Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-252191","answers":[{"id":252259,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:252259","answer":"Great point John! This is commonly referred to as \"flipping.\" When an IPO \"pops\" on the first day, after the initial pricing, clients are encouraged to not sell their shares immediately, and some firms will penalize those investors (who are lucky enough to be able to receive allocations in the first place) who do sell by not allocating them shares on another hot deal. This makes no sense; if a stock is up dramatically from its pricing, investors shouldn't be restricted from selling. The larger institutions are not restricted from selling, so why should retail investors be restricted? This is a way for the underwriters to limit how many shares get allocated to retail investors, suggesting that retail investors will sell and, consequently, cause the underwriter to have to be in the aftermarket to support the issue with a bid. I believe just the opposite: if given a fair shake, retail investors can be loyal buyers and investors for the longer haul. With ClearingBid, there are no restrictions on selling shares for those buying on the IPO.","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":4,"created_at":"2023-06-30T15:48:49Z"},{"id":253086,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:253086","answer":"There should be no restrictions on who can sell. You can't blame someone for taking a profit!","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":4,"created_at":"2023-07-07T00:26:59Z"}]},{"id":254221,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:254221","question":"To clarify. I invested in ClearingBid because of your business model: democratizing the pre-IPO process. Anyone following through on this commitment instead of seeing the retail investor \"kicked to the curb,\" should be applauded. I'm sure you will run into some headwinds, but you've already factored that in. I believe in the end that will help to solidify ClearingBid's growth forward.","author_name":"Harold Warner","votes":2,"created_at":"2023-07-15T19:16:40Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-254221","answers":[{"id":254242,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:254242","answer":"Thanks Harold. Just to clarify, we are essentially democratizing the IPO market - when the company actually goes public - rather than the trading of securities before an IPO. Pre-IPO market trading is competitive and saturated. No one has \"cracked the code\" to be able to level the playing field for IPO pricing and distribution, until now. I love the retail investors who, unfortunately, suffer from the Rodney Dangerfield syndrome - they \"don't get any respect!\" We're changing that for ALL investors. We are on the cusp of a new era, having incurred many headwinds, as you suggest, to get here. However, I believe this is the perfect storm and that the market is ready for us NOW. I would encourage everyone to pick up a copy of Dakin Campbell's book, GOING PUBLIC - HOW SILICON VALLEY REBELS LOOSENED WALL STREET'S GRIP ON THE IPO AND SPARKED A REVOLUTION. This will provide some background on what goes on behind the scenes. We're writing a different playbook and we can't wait to show all of our investors! Thank you!!!","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":1,"created_at":"2023-07-15T23:09:15Z"}]},{"id":253040,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:253040","question":"Hi Matt. Love the direction and team looks good. I understand a number of the barriers to entry, regulatory and industry network for example, but am wondering what other hurdles there are for a competitor to overcome beyond technology. A concern as an investor would be the ability of a big IPO house to create their own IPO ATS along the same lines a yourselves. Do you have any intellectual property that is particularly hard to replicate or, even better, protected? What do you think will be the biggest differentiator between you and any competitors in the future beyond first to market?","author_name":"Kevin Doyle","votes":2,"created_at":"2023-07-06T19:38:05Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-253040","answers":[{"id":253071,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:253071","answer":"Hi Kevin, Alan had a similar question below, regarding barriers to entry, so I will defer to some of those answers. And as you point out, being first to market can be an advantage but it isn't a defensible strategy over the longer-term. It's pretty simple what we've created, which is the ability to layer over the existing securities infrastructure by applying the same principles used in the secondary market to the primary/new issue/IPO market. What's proprietary is the connectivity and feedback loop used for demand authentication and real-time price discovery. This results in unique distribution, pricing and allocation capabilities. I am happy to say that we do have intellectual property protection, now with four patents, two of which were just issued this week on July 4th!","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":1,"created_at":"2023-07-06T23:18:36Z"}]},{"id":253006,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:253006","question":"Hi Matt, there is a lot to like here, and I am impressed with both the quality and the commitment of your Lead Investor. My only hesitation right now is not knowing how you will \"win\" in this space - what are the barriers to entry for others who want to do this and compete with you, and, relatedly, what would happen if an established brokerage with deep pockets (like a Robin Hood for example) wanted to get into this area? Thanks!","author_name":"Alan Jacobson","votes":2,"created_at":"2023-07-06T17:17:38Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-253006","answers":[{"id":253064,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:253064","answer":"Thank you for your questions Alan. Tim Pettee is a great lead investor; he initially invested back in 2016 and then again this year, before leading the Wefunder round with us. He's a great addition to our board too. Winning in this space takes knowledge and fortitude. It also helps that Wall Street's underwriting process hasn't caught up with technology. I honestly believe that the biggest barrier to entry, when it comes to the larger investment banks, is that they will not voluntarily disenfranchise themselves. It's understandable that they don't want to open up their offerings to everyone else, at the expense of reducing their underwriting fees (commissions) and losing control over who gets allocated shares in a quid pro quo world. Yet, at these biggest firms, most all of their 20,000+ brokers and millions of clients have no opportunity to participate in their offerings. We are going to change that! When it comes to the exchanges, they are a logical competitor, but they don't want to get into the underwriting business at the risk of competing with the investment banks, who recommend the listing of their clients' shares on the exchanges. We benefit all of these competitors; however, if it came down to it, they would likely buy versus build, once our franchise becomes big enough. In our efforts to build market share, we significantly benefit the middle-market firms who can benefit from our broad distribution and ability to mitigate underwriting risk. Firms like Robinhood can become great customers of ClearingBid too. First, they have no new issue solution (i.e., customers don't know if, or at what price, they might be able to get IPOs) and the big banks don't want to allocate to them. Secondly, for each share that that a customer buys through them, HOOD will receive a fee for settling and clearing that trade, more than what they are currently earning for payment for order flow, which is controversial and under scrutiny by the SEC. Transparency, fairness and investor protection will become powerful underlying tenets of ClearingBid, which conflicts a number of firms.","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":1,"created_at":"2023-07-06T22:48:59Z"}]},{"id":330067,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:330067","question":"Hi Allison, if I understand your question about funding, are you asking how ClearingBid will allow for an IPO to be conducted and investors to invest? If so, the best primer for introducing the process to investors and brokers has been released on our website: https://www.clearingbid.com/?video=how-it-worksEssentially, the IPO issuing company engages the investment bank of their choice, who helps prepare the prospectus and begins to market the offering. All of this is the same. What is different, however, is that instead of orders only being directed to the lead manager controlling the offering, every selling group member in the underwriting syndicate is able to put orders in for their customers, similar to sending limit orders to a stock exchange. This way, everyone can participate, while also engaging and incentivizing all of the participating brokerage firms. This will help to eliminate the exclusionary practices of how IPOs are brought to market today and provide greater transparency with fair and equal access to all investors.","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":1,"created_at":"2026-04-04T18:22:50Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-330067","answers":[]},{"id":329995,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:329995","question":"Hi Brian, our projected pipeline for 2026 is 3 offerings, all equity IPOs at this point, with the expectation of ramping up to 13 offerings in 2027, including a couple fixed income offerings. We are currently conducting an outbound marketing campaign to secure issuer mandates for this year. We have two companies we've been in communication with, and which fit our profile. We're focusing on consumer-facing companies for the time being, and expect more to follow.","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":1,"created_at":"2026-04-03T17:45:49Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-329995","answers":[]},{"id":329800,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:329800","question":"What I am fuzzy on is how you anticipate securing business? I can see how this is a huge win for the company going public, but the Lead Managers have been protective of their turf. As I recalled a firm's level in the syndicate and shares allocated dictated the overall underwriting fees received. Will you be pitching to the IPO company, managing underwriter or will there be a regulatory mandate? I love the concept but in current environment a lot more money is made pre-IPO by accredited investors.","author_name":"Charles Hardesty","votes":1,"created_at":"2026-04-02T03:03:00Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-329800","answers":[{"id":329856,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:329856","answer":"Thanks Charles. You bring up a couple questions and observations. Regarding securing business. we are reaching out directly to issuers (and their sponsors) to make the appeal for using ClearingBid. We work alongside the underwriters that the issuer chooses to engage, while effectively derisking the transaction. We are able to provide a broader investor reach, coupled with our proprietary price discovery tools, to mitigate the final pricing, clearing and settlement risks. The lead managers are protective of their turf in that they like to have the discretion as to whom to allocate shares to, and what the final pricing is. We adhere to a strict auction methodology wherein every order that is in-the-money is entitled to a fill/allocation. However, in order to make up for the fact that the lead managers may not be getting all the orders, they receive a larger portion of the gross underwriting spread in the form of the management fee so they will be economically indifferent and, possibly, even make more if they sell more securities themselves. We can outline this in another post and specifically address the unit economics. In the end, we want the brokers selling the offering to get paid while providing the lead manager with the opportunity to make as much or more compensation for bringing the offering to market, all while mitigating the execution risk. On the pre-IPO accredited investor front, getting back to my post about what's happening with SpaceX, many pre-IPOs shares are not even authorized to be sold by the companies, so buyer beware. But assuming you can get into the right names, at the right price, at the right time, as an accredited investor, then that is something that a subset of investors can or may be able to take advantage of. The public market offering alternative with IPOs is a more transparent, vetted via due diligence, and a regulated process that is centered around investor protection, which is where we think the opportunities are ahead - not in bringing more private offerings to retail investors who will not have the same rights and benefits of institutional investors. We plan to address some of these inequities and pitfalls going forward. Great and accurate observations though. Thanks.","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":1,"created_at":"2026-04-02T18:18:15Z"}]},{"id":261773,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:261773","question":"In trying to register on your website, I get the error, that my phone number is not valid. But I only have the one phone number, and it is a valid number here in Denmark. I can not send you a message on your website for the same reason, so now I write here, hoping you can fix this?","author_name":"Kenneth Martin Hansen","votes":1,"created_at":"2023-09-11T17:50:02Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-261773","answers":[{"id":328972,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:328972","answer":"Kenneth, we have reverted to a new website and will begin to allow for onboarding by interested investors. This will be expanded as we get closer to launching our first offerings. In the meantime, we have also posted our tutorial video on the site in order to introduce how to use ClearingBid - for investors and brokers.","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":0,"created_at":"2026-03-25T19:12:00Z"}]},{"id":261349,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:261349","question":"Is it to late to invest?","author_name":"Michael Lavarda","votes":1,"created_at":"2023-09-07T00:16:13Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-261349","answers":[{"id":328971,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:328971","answer":"Michael, we were oversubscribed in 2023. We decided to go back out for a smaller raise, which was just initiated last week.","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":0,"created_at":"2026-03-25T19:08:07Z"}]},{"id":255407,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:255407","question":"What type of access to shares do you anticipate the buyer to have, and when do you anticipate they will be able to sell those shares? For example, one of my startups Monogram Ortho went IPO at $7.25 a share. The day it opened it started in the $9s, and went as high as $40s a share. After a few days it went down hard as low as 3s. People didn't get access to their shares from the transfer agents for 5-7 days and were unable to sell.","author_name":"Adam Sampson","votes":1,"created_at":"2023-07-23T23:42:16Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-255407","answers":[{"id":255553,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:255553","answer":"Hi Adam, the short answer is that all investors have equal access to buying shares and they can be purchased at the offering price. Investors should not be restricted from selling but they will have to pay for the shares on the settlement date, typically T+3 (i.e., they cannot postpone the settlement and wait until the proceeds from the sale come in). A lot of variables can come into play insofar as how the shares trade in the aftermarket. In our case, we expect there to be more demand than supply, given that later orders are expected to receive lower allocations than earlier orders (i.e., based on price and time), suggesting that the issue should trade upward once it is free to trade. To see how IPOs and Direct Listings have performed in the aftermarket after pricing, please refer to the IPO Data Hub in our Knowledge Hub at www.clearingbid.com.","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":0,"created_at":"2023-07-25T18:11:57Z"}]},{"id":255071,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:255071","question":"Hi Matt, I would like to know the difference and benefits for retail investors between placing an order on an IPO today and the clearing bid process. Specifically, does your platform allow retail investors to purchase and own shares before they go live in the market, or does it only enable placing orders that may or may not get filled at the desired price once the stock goes live, potentially causing a large variance if it gaps up or down? Thanks.","author_name":"Collin Murphy","votes":1,"created_at":"2023-07-20T21:13:18Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-255071","answers":[{"id":255111,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:255111","answer":"Today, retail investors typically do not have access to buying shares at the IPO price and, if they do, they don't know what the price will be or how many shares, if any, they may get. It's fair to say that they are generally shut out of the process. With ClearingBid, any retail investor who has an account with a participating broker (i.e., one of the underwriters or selling group members) will be able to seamlessly place a limit order with their broker. If that customer's order is \"in-the-money,\" meaning their limit price is at or higher than the price of the IPO, they will be entitled to an allocation of shares at the IPO price BEFORE it opens up and begins to trade on the exchange as a publicly-listed security. The investor's allocation of shares at the IPO price will depend upon when their order is submitted; earlier orders will be entitled to larger allocations than orders submitted late in the marketing process. Insofar as the variance, or volatility, in the secondary market, ClearingBid provides full pricing transparency to the public, so everyone will see what the \"clearing price\" is. It will be up to the underwriter, and the issuer, to price the IPO at a discount to the clearing price (i.e., the offer price) so that investors can expect to see the stock open up and begin to trade at a premium, thereby benefitting from a modest \"pop\" in the price once the IPO begins to trade publicly. We believe that everyone should win in this process, not only a select few.","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":0,"created_at":"2023-07-21T00:26:42Z"}]},{"id":253366,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:253366","question":"Hey Matt, a couple of questions for you: (1) Is your CTO full-time? He appears to be a consultant, so what does that relationship look like? Is he personally developing the software, or is this being outsourced? (2) In the risks section, you mention that underwriters are the users of the product and may be unwilling to adopt this new technology; what have you done to date to validate they will, in fact, want to use this product? What incentives do they have to use this product over the existing IPO process? Does this product align with their thoughts/feelings/values when compared to the current state of IPOs today?","author_name":"Sam Howard","votes":1,"created_at":"2023-07-09T01:41:40Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-253366","answers":[{"id":253388,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:253388","answer":"Hello Sam. Our current CTO, Roland Tibell, resides in Europe, which is the reason for having a consulting agreement with him rather than a W-2. He has been full-time with us, but he has also been able to take on outside consulting arrangements, typically with major exchanges and regulators around the world. We’ve been beneficiaries of this knowledge, overlaying upon existing exchange-like architecture while creating our own proprietary backend and frontend solutions. Our development efforts have been outsourced with two different developers (resulting in our proprietary API data feed and how it’s publicly displayed), while owning all the IP within ClearingBid. With respect to your adoption question, all the middle-market investment banks that we’ve been in active discussions with have shown receptivity given that ClearingBid can (i) facilitate greater distribution without the inherent fixed costs; (ii) offer them unique precision calibration pricing and allocation tools; and (iii) provide for an alignment of interests when it comes to the underwriting economics. We don’t look to compress gross spreads, rather, our proposed reallocation of the underwriting fees favor the lead manager while also incentivizing brokers and RIAs to solicit their customers. We believe that our transparent pricing methods will allow all firms, especially the middle-market investment banks, to take on more, and potentially larger, transactions without commensurate underwriting capital risk. Today, most all of these firms, and their brokers, are precluded from participating in IPOs given the current concentration among only a few investment banks and the industry’s exclusionary underwriting practices.","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":0,"created_at":"2023-07-09T16:24:26Z"}]},{"id":252878,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:252878","question":"Hello, Under the Details tab you wrote, \"We are not currently generating revenue. We need to receive regulatory approval in order to start that...\". When do you anticipate to get that regulatory approval? Is your software MVP fully built out? Thanks.","author_name":"Senitiki Rokocakau","votes":1,"created_at":"2023-07-05T20:13:13Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-252878","answers":[{"id":253078,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:253078","answer":"Good catch! This comment was taken out of context because while we haven't had any revenues recently, having been focused on building out our platform, we do have regulatory approval (with FINRA and the SEC) to begin to earn distribution fees from transactions - which will be our primary source of revenues. These fees are expected to be supplemented with advisory fees/retainers and, eventually, the monetization of data as we grow our user base to do more intelligent offerings. We are going to be seeking additional regulatory support (and advocacy) for taking a more responsible approach to underwriting and pricing new issues, which we believe could give us a competitive advantage. Regarding our MVP, we are essentially fully built out and are now beginning to work on the deployment and testing with underwriters and brokers. We have developed the equivalent of exchange architecture technology, having the ability to process thousands of transactions per second, with reliability, security and scalability. This is what part of these offering proceeds are being used for, which will allow us to get to market with our first transactions.","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":1,"created_at":"2023-07-07T00:07:11Z"}]},{"id":252759,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:252759","question":"Are there any regulatory restrictions to overcome for making this possible? Like allowing everyday investor early access.","author_name":"Durganand Thatavarthy","votes":1,"created_at":"2023-07-05T03:31:01Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-252759","answers":[{"id":252766,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:252766","answer":"I love this question! Our methods conform to, and even enhance, industry regulatory standards. Borrowing from the BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIVE SYSTEM AND METHODOLOGY description in our patents: \"The present invention will engage all interested investors in the new issue offering process without regard to which financial advisors they have already chosen to do business with. This will be done by applying well-tested technology and protocols as an overlay to existing securities industry infrastructure in a new way that preserves industry incentives and investor protection measures while bringing much higher levels of transparency to the price discovery and demand discover processes.\" We are currently working with world-class, highly respected regulatory legal counsel and technology experts to help with these efforts, while pioneering new standards with which to allow ClearingBid to become an industry leader. Here's to Equal Opportunity Investing!","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":0,"created_at":"2023-07-05T04:42:49Z"}]},{"id":252684,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:252684","question":"Why are you talking about a $13 million valuation, when the investment says there is an $18 million valuation cap?","author_name":"Elliot Freier","votes":1,"created_at":"2023-07-04T22:25:21Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-252684","answers":[{"id":252699,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:252699","answer":"This relates to the difference between the pre-money valuation and post-money valuation. The Form C filing indicates a valuation cap of $18M in connection with a $5M capital raise, which translates to a pre-money valuation of $13M. Our intent is to raise the full $5M in proceeds.","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":0,"created_at":"2023-07-04T23:30:07Z"}]},{"id":252574,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:252574","question":"What would be the estimated timeline for reaching market activation via ClearingBid compared to the traditional IPO processes? Would the duration until the IPO be relatively the same, or could we expect variations?","author_name":"David DiLoreto","votes":1,"created_at":"2023-07-03T22:04:32Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-252574","answers":[{"id":252700,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:252700","answer":"David, there is no difference from what a traditional, or typical, timeline would be for a public offering. The issuing company, conducting the IPO, chooses their preferred underwriter, who helps draft the preliminary prospectus and conducts the roadshow. Everything leading up to this point is the same. The only difference is that instead of orders being directed to and through the lead manager/underwriter's syndicate desk, investor orders can be submitted through each brokerage firm participating in the offering. As the orders are aggregated, the collective order book is displayed publicly on ClearingBid's public portal/website for everyone to see. The duration is the same as with a traditional IPO; however, the information dissemination is much quicker, including the real-time pricing, which is unique to ClearingBid.","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":2,"created_at":"2023-07-04T23:49:38Z"}]},{"id":252357,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:252357","question":"If the various pre IPO companies on the different investment platform sites would go through Clearingbid, this would sure be convenient when if the time comes.","author_name":"John Feazel","votes":1,"created_at":"2023-07-01T02:40:45Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-252357","answers":[{"id":252382,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:252382","answer":"We would like to see every firm be a part of ClearingBid. No brokerage firm in good standing, or investor, should be excluded from being able to put orders in for an IPO (or new security issue). The brokerage firms are responsible for vetting the authenticity of each order, and just like the secondary market, there should be no discrimination among investors. Order priorities are based on time and price. Every firm should, and we believe will, want to participate. But we want investors, like you John, to also encourage their firms to be a part of the network.","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":0,"created_at":"2023-07-01T14:37:33Z"}]},{"id":252254,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:252254","question":"If I'm an investor who has no background in valuing a company, how do I know what a reasonable bid might be? Is there any guidance provided from Clearingbid to prospective investors ahead of time so that they can know what the \"fair\" bid price might be? Otherwise, people might collectively tend to underbid, just as they do on eBay.","author_name":"Nicholas Karras","votes":1,"created_at":"2023-06-30T15:17:56Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-252254","answers":[{"id":252279,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:252279","answer":"Nicholas, this is one of the reasons why we want to see the brokerage community engaged in this process; they are responsible for knowing their customer (KYC) and suitability testing/investor protection. Even the self-directed firms are responsible for providing such investor oversight. With respect to determining appropriate valuations, the initial steps taken by the investment bankers is to look at comparable companies and arrive at the initial filing range, which is published in the preliminary prospectus. However, this is just the starting point, as a reference, since the filing range may be amended (up or down) as the marketing of the offering commences. [Take a look at our IPO Data Hub on www.clearingbid.com to see how these filing ranges, and the sizing of deals, have changed with previous IPOs.] ClearingBid will offer direct access to all the marketing materials, including the prospectus, virtual roadshow and independent reports, with which to assist investors and their advisors in making informed decisions. This will also be a feature of our Knowledge Hub - for investor education. In the end, the ultimate pricing/valuation will be determined by the market. To this end, ClearingBid's proprietary, real-time price discovery tools will allow the public to see what the clearing price is, as the order book continues to build, with the underwriter making the final determination as to where to price the issue. Each investor's order that is \"in-the-money\" will be entitled to a fill/allocation.","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":0,"created_at":"2023-06-30T16:22:23Z"}]},{"id":252195,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:252195","question":"Placing an order with an online broker today requires a ticker symbol. Will brokers automatically recognize the company's ticker symbol of IPO that you facilitate or must you seek each broker's cooperation?","author_name":"William P. Huenefeld","votes":1,"created_at":"2023-06-30T02:24:42Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-252195","answers":[{"id":252266,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:252266","answer":"The symbols for new issues/IPOs will be automatically recognized and not require anything special. Typically, when filing the registration statement with the SEC, the company and its underwriters will request a symbol from the stock exchange, which is included in the filing for the market to see. In rare cases, a \"when issued\" temporary symbol may be issued. This will be published on ClearingBid's site with each offering that comes to market. So it's as easy as submitting a limit order, with the symbol, along with the desired number of shares and a price, through your broker - whether full service or a self-directed account. EVERY order is recognized individually, and has standing as a good 'til cancelled order. The cooperation of the broker will come down to which firms are participating in the offering (i.e., underwriters and members of the syndicate/selling group). Today, each participating firm must sign the Master Agreement Among Underwriters in order to participate in a given offering. Our vision is to allow any and all brokers, and their accounts, to have equal access.","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":0,"created_at":"2023-06-30T16:03:37Z"}]},{"id":330561,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:330561","question":"What is the exit plan (acquisition, IPO, merger, etc.) in which investors will be able to see a ROI?","author_name":"bugg logg","votes":0,"created_at":"2026-04-09T11:46:39Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-330561","answers":[]},{"id":330094,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:330094","question":"What prevents any current IPO market maker from adopting even similar services, say rebating some of the profits it’s makes when selling shares higher than the official ipo price, in a bid to make clearingbid obsolete?","author_name":"Binyamin Bodner","votes":0,"created_at":"2026-04-05T06:24:36Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-330094","answers":[{"id":330122,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:330122","answer":"Hi Binyamin, we are providing the market maker with more issues to trade, so they don't undermine us. Once the IPO begins to trade in the secondary market, it is out of our hands. ClearingBid's proprietary pricing and allocation algorithms facilitate the initial pricing to have more demand than supply in the aftermarket, and see the issue trade up, but there's no rebating that takes place; the IPO price is the net price for everyone. On a separate front, the underwriter can exercise the over-allotment/green shoe and sell those shares at a price higher than the IPO price, but it's intended to facilitate a short covering as opposed to a money-maker for the underwriter. Regarding obsolescence, it's a competitive market and we're another alternative to the antiquated and highly exclusionary process of book-building, with also distinct advantages over a Direct Listing. We don't compete with SPACs since they are always generally priced at $10 per share. Our patents are expected to provide us with a competitive advantage, but there's no substitute to being first to market and trying to establish a dominant market share as soon as practicable.","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":0,"created_at":"2026-04-05T18:25:10Z"}]},{"id":330057,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:330057","question":"What is the process in funding with ClearingBid for an IPO? It is not clear to me how we go about doing this. Can't do anything about doing this until I get an answer. I have the money. I just don't know how to do it.","author_name":"Allison Kitchen","votes":0,"created_at":"2026-04-04T15:36:27Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-330057","answers":[]},{"id":330020,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:330020","question":"What lessons do you take from OpenIPO's failure to gain traction in the 2000s? What makes ClearingBid succeed in gaining long term traction and market share where OpenIPO didn't?","author_name":"Brian S","votes":0,"created_at":"2026-04-03T21:51:30Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-330020","answers":[{"id":330064,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:330064","answer":"We get this question a lot Brian. OpenIPO was conceived by Bill Hambrecht, who successfully brought a number of Dutch auction IPOs to market, including Google (as a co-manager), Interactive Brokers, Morningstar, NetSuite, Peets Coffee, Ravenswood, Rackspace, and others. But WR Hambrecht + Co. was competing with Wall Street firms - serving as an underwriter, while compressing gross underwriting spreads and threatening to sue over patent infringement. Some of these efforts were counter to the big firms' interests. We are not competing with Wall Street right now and, in fact, help to derisk a transaction while also allowing many more investors to participate. Additionally, we have incorporated several unique features in our proprietary approach which WR Hambrecht didn't or couldn't at the time, including how our pricing algorithms work, the time-priority incentives to help build price discovery, the FIX connectivity for seamless order entry, and full regulatory compliance with the SEC and FINRA, among other considerations. I also think that we now have a whole different market environment that is creating the perfect storm for opening these opportunities up to the masses. I am not saying that we don't still have headwinds ahead, or that this has been an easy endeavor. But it's because of the sentiment seen here, among our crowdfunding investors, and everyone that I have spoken with who say that \"...it's not a matter of if, but when,\" that I believe our time is now. I appreciate your raising the question because it serves as the most visible precedent for what we need to be thinking about as we move forward.","author_name":"Matt Venturi","votes":1,"created_at":"2026-04-04T18:08:26Z"}]},{"id":329990,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:329990","question":"Do you have your first IPO lined up? What's your pipeline look like for 2026?","author_name":"Brian S","votes":0,"created_at":"2026-04-03T17:02:21Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/clearingbid#question-329990","answers":[]}],"faq":[{"question":"Would regulatory agencies besides the SEC need to approve this Clearing bid process? If so what agencies....","answer":"Thank you for your question John. Since our revenue model includes receiving a success fee contingent upon the conclusion of an underwriting, we were required to register at a broker-dealer with FINRA in order to receive these fees. That being said, we do not handle customer funds and all the KYC (know your customer), suitability testing and customer oversight is done by each participating broker with whom the investor's account resides. The SEC will remain the primary regulatory body oversee..."},{"question":"How is your process different from the Dutch Auction IPO used by Google? Do you need all retail brokerage firms to partner with you to submit retail investor's IPO bids? What happens if my brokerage firm does not submit my bid to your process?","answer":"Great question! The short answer is that a Dutch auction determines the highest price at which all shares in the offering can be sold. Anyone who bids at or above the clearing price should be entitled to being filled at that same price. Google's offering was still discriminatory and highly restrictive when brokers, like Merrill Lynch, were asked to post letters of credit to participate! ClearingBid's proprietary pricing technology and algorithm allows us to determine the clearing price, simil..."},{"question":"ClearingBid came recommended by Brownstone Research. There is a definite need to democratize the IPO process! With that said, Brownstone mentioned the company valuation was $13M. I see it here at an $18M valuation. Was it a simple mistake in Brownstone’s recommendation write u...","answer":"Thanks Jared. The confusion with this issue came from the Form C filing stating a $18M post-money valuation, which would translate to a $13M pre-money valuation (assuming that the full $5M is raised). Brownstone was particularly enamored with the valuation level since this is right on top of where we raised our last $3M in 2022-2023, with our Series A financing, at a $13M post-money valuation. The calculation is correct, but they each get there from a different direction! It remains to be see..."},{"question":"On opening day some people are allowed bail out and others aren't. This is what needs fixed.","answer":"Great point John! This is commonly referred to as \"flipping.\" When an IPO \"pops\" on the first day, after the initial pricing, clients are encouraged to not sell their shares immediately, and some firms will penalize those investors (who are lucky enough to be able to receive allocations in the first place) who do sell by not allocating them shares on another hot deal. This makes no sense; if a stock is up dramatically from its pricing, investors shouldn't be restricted from selling. The large..."},{"question":"Placing an order with an online broker today requires a ticker symbol. Will brokers automatically recognize the company's ticker symbol of IPO that you facilitate or must you seek each broker's cooperation?","answer":"The symbols for new issues/IPOs will be automatically recognized and not require anything special. Typically, when filing the registration statement with the SEC, the company and its underwriters will request a symbol from the stock exchange, which is included in the filing for the market to see. In rare cases, a \"when issued\" temporary symbol may be issued. This will be published on ClearingBid's site with each offering that comes to market. So it's as easy as submitting a limit order, with ..."}]}}}