help.wefunder.comWefunder FAQ

Explore Raise Money Learn Investor FAQ Investor School Founder FAQ Fundraising Playbook Blog Earn up to $10,000 Login Signup Login Signup Explore Startups Raise Money Learn Investor FAQ Investor School Founder FAQ Fundraising Playbook Blog Earn up to $10,000 Got a question? We’d love to help! Can’t find what you’re looking for? Email us: support@wefunder.com US Version US Version EU Version INVESTOR FAQ FOUNDER FAQ GLOSSARY STUFF TO READ Back to FAQs Sorry, we couldn’t find any matches Let’s try the following and see if it helps: Full Sentences Use Keywords Fewer Keywords Different Keywords Want to ask a human? Shoot us an email: support@wefunder.com Investors FAQ Getting Started Reservations Investing Payment Methods VIP Membership Co-Investing Lead Investors Investment Contracts Refunds and Reinvesting After You Invest Taxes Troubleshooting Risks Contact Founders FAQ Why Wefunder? The Basics Lead Investors SPVs & More Investment Terms Form C Promotion After You Raise Tax Primer For Founders Glossary Basic Jargon Exemptions Contracts Deal Terms Disclosures Financials Stuff to read Guides Blogs Books Getting Started What is Wefunder? Why should I invest in startups? What kind of companies are on Wefunder? Which offerings am I legally allowed to invest in? How secure is my account? Why do you need my Tax ID (SSN/EIN)? Why do I have to verify my identity? How secure is the verification process? What types of documents can I use to verify my identify? How do I calculate my net worth? What’s an accredited investor? How do I verify my accreditation? Can I add a spouse or beneficiary to my investment? What do terms like Community Round, Issuer, and Target mean? What is Wefunder? We help everyone invest as little as $100 in the startups they love. You can think of us as Kickstarter for investing.” Unlike Kickstarter, you are not buying a product or donating to an artist. Instead, you are investing in a business hoping to earn a return on your investment. You decide which companies are worthy of funding. If the business does well, you may make money. If it doesn’t do well, you lose all your money. Either way, you join a community of other investors who seek to help the startup succeed. You sometimes get neat perks from the companies, too. Startups on Wefunder are much earlier-stage than companies listed on the NASDAQ or the New York Stock Exchange. Here are a few significant differences: Starting in May of 2016, thanks to a new law called Regulation Crowdfunding, it became legal for everyone to invest small amounts of money in the startups they believed in. From 1933 to 2016, investing in a private company was illegal unless you were an accredited investor” (i.e., wealthy). We started Wefunder to fix that because we weren’t rich and wanted to invest in our friends. The first thing we had to do was convince Congress to change the law. We managed to do that, and here we are today! Was this article helpful? Yes No Why should I invest in startups? It shouldn’t be to make lots of money! This isn’t the stock market. Startups are much riskier and more likely to fail. Greed is a wrong reason to invest. Of course, if you invest wisely, you can make money. Our advice? Invest only in what you understand (and preferably love). If you are a customer and love the product, it’s likely a good investment. If you don’t understand it, investing may be a bad idea. Investing should not be solely about earning a return. To invest in something as risky as a startup, you should feel something extra beyond just the business model. For us, that something extra” is the fulfillment we feel helping a founder take " their shot " at making our world slightly better. We also think it’s pretty cool to learn about different industries when we get updates from the founder. Was this article helpful? Yes No What kind of companies are on Wefunder? As we like to say, nearly the entire American economy! That’s the fun part! We’ve funded tens of millions of dollars in startups like: Moonshots like flying cars, space telescopes, and fusion reactors Neighborhood businesses like cafés, restaurants, and breweries Software like mobile apps and online education Biotechnology, like glowing plants and researching cancer cures Entertainment like Hollywood studios and immersive theater And much more! The one commonality? All companies that raise successfully on Wefunder have a loyal community of people who believe in them. Was this article helpful? Yes No Which offerings am I legally allowed to invest in? It depends on whether you’re an accredited or non-accredited investor. If you’re accredited , you can participate in all security offers. You can invest in Reg A+ and Reg CF offers if you are non-accredited. We do not allow investors from certain sanctioned countries, including Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and Ukraine’s Donetsk, Crimea, and Luhansk regions. Was this article helpful? Yes No How secure is my account? Wefunder takes the security of user accounts seriously. Here are some measures in place to ensure account security: Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Users can enable 2FA, which adds an extra layer of security by requiring a verification code in addition to the password during login. Users will have the option to choose the level of security they want on their account: SMS/Text Message - Add your phone number for SMS two-factor authentication. Authenticator App - Use an authentication app or browser extension to generate one-time codes. Security Key - Security keys are hardware devices that can be used as your second authentication factor. Please note: This is for single-device use only at this time. While these measures help protect user accounts, it is important for users to also take personal responsibility for their account security. This includes using unique and strong passwords, being cautious of phishing attempts, and keeping devices and software up to date. Was this article helpful? Yes No Why do you need my Tax ID (SSN/EIN)? When investing on Wefunder, you need to provide a tax ID to invest. Tax ID generally means an SSN for an individual and an EIN for a company. We require these because when the company you invest in makes a distribution to investors (for example, if they get acquired), we’ll need to provide tax documents to you, such as a Form K-1, which requires us to include your SSN. If we don’t receive your SSN, your investment will be canceled. We know you might be hesitant to provide this information, but we guard your SSN like our life depends on it. We encrypt and store Social Security Numbers (SSNs) on a separate group of servers from wefunder.com. We use an RSA key to encrypt the SSN and isolate the private key from production machines. Access to the database storing encrypted SSNs is restricted within Wefunder on a need-to-know basis. We have a policy for access if and when an employee may need to view an individual’s SSNs (for example, if we’re preparing a tax filing or investigating fraud). Was this article helpful? Yes No Why do I have to verify my identity? Identity verification is standard practice as part of Wefunder’s Know Your Customer and Anti Money Laundering (KYC/AML) compliance. You may receive a prompt as you log in to your Wefunder account or through email to verify your identity to complete your investment. You may be flagged to verify your identity at the time of your first investment or after a later investment made on the platform. Was this article helpful? Yes No How secure is the verification process? Identity verification is standard practice as part of Wefunder’s Know Your Customer and Anti Money Laundering (KYC/AML) compliance. We take the security of your information very seriously. The information you provide is sent via secure API to Onfido, a trusted and widely used service provider. You can read about Wefunder’s privacy policy here . For more information, please also see the privacy policy for Onfido . Was this article helpful? Yes...