JOIN THE
MOVEMENT
TO FIX CAPITALISM
We’re a Public Benefit Corporation with a goal to fund 20,000 more founders by 2029.
In all 50 states. From all backgrounds. From coffee shops to supersonic planes. Backed by the people who believe in them.
2012-2021
Impact Report
Letter from the CEO
I founded Wefunder because I wanted to invest in my friends. I don’t feel a sense of meaning when I buy shares of Amazon. But startups? If I can support those I believe in, that’s value beyond only returns. I could give back, too.
That is the core of what Wefunder is about. It’s about voting with your $100 on the future you want to see built – whether it’s a local coffee shop or a supersonic plane. It’s about believing in founders with crazy ideas... and then helping them succeed. And, if the idea works, it’s about sharing the wealth more fairly with everyone who also believed – so it’s not just the rich who keep on getting richer.
This used to be illegal. So in 2012, we set out to persuade Congress to allow anyone to invest in the startups they love. That worked. But it took until 2020 for the laws to be reformed to be workable. You can see this in our growth chart:
Since 2012, we’ve helped fund over $250M into thousands of founders (about half in the last year). We’re proud of what we accomplished. But the best is yet to come. We’ve seen first-hand the raw untapped potential in America – those being left behind. One of the most powerful forces in the world is when someone believes in you and backs it up with a bit of their own money. We can now do that at scale.
We’re a Public Benefit Corp not only for our mission to fix capitalism, but because it's the way companies should be run. Customers, employees, communities, and the long-term must be balanced with short-term results. We believe more long-term wealth will be generated for investors – and more wealth shared more fairly – if we focus on our impact and treat people fairly.
If we are to remake capitalism, we must spark a social movement. Only when enough people share our values, will we succeed. I hope you’ll join us.
April 2021
Hi. We’re Wefunder.
We’re here to fix capitalism.
Capitalism has created tremendous wealth, but the rewards are not shared broadly enough. Too many are being left behind – lacking the money, mentors, and community to help get them started.
We help anyone invest in what they believe in – to vote with their dollars on what our society should fund. Together, we help more scrappy, hungry risk-takers take their shot to move our world in a better direction.
The people are wiser than banks or venture capitalists
The "wisdom of the crowd" makes better decisions than gatekeepers. Capitalism works best when more of us invest our own money, voting with our dollars on the future to create.
Everyone has the right to invest in what they believe in
Laws that limit investments to the wealthy are paternalistic, widen the wealth gap, and perpetuate structural racism. We are all worthy of deciding the people or causes to invest in.
Helping more founders take their shot increases all of our wealth
Young, hungry, scrappy companies do more, faster.
Investing in dreams - win or lose - benefits us all
Changing the world is hard; most startups die. But by funding more founders who strive valiantly to take their shot, we enrich our society and boost our talent, even if they fail.
First, we helped Congress create this industry
... and then lobbied for 9 years to make the laws workable.
Our results
2012-2021
We’ve signed up 3,288,772 new angels
Our angels are artists, educators, lawyers, & scientists. Many are parents or grandparents, too.
78% of investments are under $500
Our angels don’t risk more than they can afford to lose. They invest small amounts in the people or causes they care about.
Investment
than once
Income
They've written 343,921 notes about why they invested
Most often, making lots of money isn’t #1 – impact is. Sort of like socially good lottery tickets.
Together, we’ve helped 3,553 founders take their shot
Someone putting in their money to help your vision come to life is one of the most powerful forces in the world.
Our founders come from all backgrounds.
Gender, race, country of origin, location shouldn’t be barriers to capital. Or to anything, really.
We’re one country. We help all of America, not just blue America.
We’re liberals in the older sense. We don’t wage economic warfare to punish those we may disagree with.
We fund every type of company under the sun
From coffee shops to ostrich farms and supersonic planes!
$32 million went to founders who shoot for the moon
We help fund hard technical challenges with long development horizons. Our country needs to invest in bold ideas.
MIT PhD Carl Dietrich spent over decade of his life building a practical flying car. Big aerospace companies and VC firms wouldn’t take the risk to back his vision. So we did.
When his son developed Type I diabetes at 11 months old, Ed Damiano committed himself to developing a solution. Ed and the Beta Bionics team has since developed a bionic pancreas called the iLet™.
Solstar Space Company enables tweets that are out of this world – literally. The team built the first Wifi hotspot for outer space. One of their advisors is Charlie Walker, the world’s first commercial astronaut.
Wesley & Zach are curing cancer in dogs. They’re using next-gen technology to reprogram immune cells into cancer fighting machines.
LEAH Labs, was the first gene-editing company to be accepted into Y Combinator
Atom Limbs’ prosthetics seem the stuff of sci-fi. Tyler Hayes and his team are building mind-controlled limbs to restore physical mobility to veterans and others who’ve lost limbs.
LPPFusion is developing the densest form of fusion, with the most power in the least space. This type of “Focus Fusion” is safer, cleaner, and far cheaper than any present-day energy source. It’s also unlimited.
Our founders created 51,932 jobs in communities across America
We've helped community leaders revitalize their main streets. They’ve brought beer, bao, and jobs to cities across the country.
Kyle, SD
Oakland, CA
San Diego, CA
Honolulu, HI
Boise, ID
Chicago, IL
Tanka Bars is run by the Oglala Lakota people of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
The destruction of the buffalo has locked them into generational poverty, resulting in an unemployment rate of 70+% , per capita income of $5,200, and the lowest life expectancy in U.S.
Tanka’s employees share ownership, creating livelihoods on Pine Ridge.
Our companies have raised over $5 billion from venture capital after Wefunder.
Wefunder often gives founders that first bit of money to help them get off the ground. Some have gone on to great success.
We’ve gone the extra 9,000 miles
We aim to spread the opportunities that Silicon Valley takes for granted. Three times, our entire company has taken the Amtrak across America. We’ve hit 32 cities and met thousands of founders face to face.
We’ve mentored 83 early-stage founders
We launched XX in 2018. It's our "pre-YC" accelerator for super early-stage startups.
Many are women, immigrants, or founders of color who’ve faced doubt from others. XX is often the first to take a chance on them – to say "Heck yes, you can!" We get them the resources, mentors, and bit of capital they need to launch into the most exciting, challenging effort they’ll ever take on.
Our 100+ mentors are more valuable than money
Guidance from those a few steps ahead can be priceless for founders. And our mentors are stoked to pay it forward.
"...My relationship with mentor Daniel has been super helpful. He spent a lot of time with us and changed the future of our company forever."
"I was able to really get to know Gaurang and Go Violet and the best part is getting to continue to be a cheerleader for him as the business grows. He's doing some really amazing work, and it's been wonderful to support him along the way."
"Shruti became much more than a mentor to me -- she became a lifelong friend. Shruti provided feedback on our product, fundraising narrative, and sales processes, and was always there when I needed support."
"I was lucky enough to work with the MedMe founders as part of XX’s Fight the Virus cohort. As a YC alum myself who’s seen many startups, I was incredibly impressed by their knowledge, resourcefulness, and ultimately progress throughout the batch. I can’t wait to see what they do next."
"Our mentors humanized the startup journey and continue to inspire us in expanding what we believe to be possible."
"Nodira is a modern day pioneer! In just a few weeks I've watched her pivot and pandemic proof her physical business model into an online one, she built a hardworking team while drumming up new business with an inspirational, laid-back attitude. Being her mentor and part of her journey has been so rewarding!"
"I grew so much as a person and CEO through my chats with Yaprak, and focused has benefited greatly. We are more than 10x bigger today than we were at the beginning of the year thanks to Yaprak's mentorship"
"It's been so wonderful meeting and learning from Anthony this year. Anthony is a rare combination of humility and brilliance. I can't wait to see what 2021 has in store for Anthony and StarkTx!"
"I don’t think I’ll ever be able to say this enough: I’m glad that John is a part of my journey. Admittedly, it’s unusual for me to have someone care so much and be genuinely interested in me and what I’m working on. John’s set the bar for what I’d want out of a mentor and a friend."
JOIN THE MOVEMENT to fix capitalism
Start a company, invest in the future, or join the team.
