Ken Nguyen: Making the private markets public

Ken Nguyen is the co-founder and CEO of Republic. Republic is a fintech firm that enables anyone to invest in private markets. In 6 years, Ken took the company from $1 million in investment deployed, to over $600 million in 2021. Ken and his family migrated from Vietnam to the US in his early years. He started his career as a Securities Attorney (yes, we have a thing for lawyers) before joining AngelList as their General Counsel. At AngelList, he discovered he wanted to do more. He wanted to make investing accessible to anyone, no matter their background. So he left his high-profile job without any plans set, just a vision. In this interview with Ken, we discussed: The initial fundraising journey for Republic The vicious fight to normalise equity crowdfunding in the US The different mindsets between the UK and US in adopting crowdfunding How Ken maintains excitement for the future as an entrepreneur The future vision of being the biggest financial household name Useful links: Connect with Ken Nguyen here. Invest in cool startups on Seedrs here. Capital at risk. If you are an entrepreneur or investor, and you’re ready to dive into the world of crowdfunding, get in contact with us today here.

Austen Allred is CEO and co-founder of Bloomtech, an online platform that educates future software engineers and scientists for free. In exchange, Bloomtech alumni give a share of their future income for two years. Austen also never enjoyed or appreciated academia. A native of rural Utah, it was not something he felt connected to. But one thing he knew for sure was that he wanted to live and work in Silicon Valley. Oh, and work in tech. But he didn’t have the money to do that. So what did he do? He moved anyways and slept in his two door Honda Civic whilst working a full time job. Problem 2: he didn’t have the money to start Bloomtech. He had to get creative. Austen co-founded a media platform named GrassWire and co-authored Secret Sauce, a growth-hacking textbook which quickly became a best-seller. This provided him with the personal seed money ($250,000) to create and launch Bloomtech in 2018. As well as the support and experience from being part of the 2017 Y-Combinator cohort. What began as a monthly cohort of 20 people, turned into 250 people a month. They have since graduated over 3000 students. The majority of those placed into high-paid jobs at companies like Apple and Google. The team includes 40 full time employees and 80 part time. Sharing his rewarding moments and success stories, you feel inspired by his motivation to help people financially. “It’s not about the stats, it’s about that girl who finally has her own bedroom for the first time.” Listen to the full story of Austen Allred and Bloomtech here. Useful links: Discover more about Austen Allred here. Invest in cool startups on Seedrs here. Capital at risk. If you are an entrepreneur or investor, and you’re ready to dive into the world of crowdfunding, get in contact with us today here. Don’t forget to leave us a 5* review on Apple Podcasts with the chance to win a £50 voucher from a brand of your choice!

Martha Lane Fox is the founder of Lastminute.com. A period in her life which she describes as ‘total chaos’. At 25 years old, with co-founder Brent Hoberman, she embarked on a very exciting journey creating one of the first European startups combining e-commerce and travel. However, when you’re the first to do something, there’s always a lot of naysayers. People didn’t think Lastminute.com was going to be successful. Little did they know they were just getting started. In 2005, they sold the company for £577 million. Martha took what she had built with Lastminute.com to create GDS (Government Digital Service). This is a section inside the Cabinet Office of the British government responsible for improving access to online public services. Martha's other interests are explored in this episode, including how technology and the internet can be improved for everyone in the UK, women and venture capital, and Martha's future vision for Dot Everyone, her most recent venture. Useful links: Discover more about Martha Lane Fox here. Invest in cool startups on Seedrs here. Capital at risk. If you are an entrepreneur or investor, and you’re ready to dive into the world of crowdfunding, get in contact with us today here. Don’t forget to leave us a 5* review on Apple Podcasts with the chance to win a £50 voucher from a brand of your choice!

Mansoor Hamayun is one of three co-founders of energy tech company Bboxx. The trio met during their studies at Imperial College London where they ran a student led organisation named Equinox. This set them up with enough experience to eventually become business partners. Mansoor recalls seeing a 2008 advertisement stating that 1.6 billion people in the world had no electricity. This shocked him and triggered the idea process that eventually led them to launch Bboxx in 2010. They have since installed around 200,000 solar energy systems in homes and businesses across East Africa. In this episode, it’s clear that Mansoor has an appetite for risk – operating in countries where people otherwise would not – but then again “risk equals reward.” Mansoor discusses Bboxx’s fundraising journey, how decentralisation and digitalisation go hand in hand, and cost effective ways to produce energy in the home. They also discuss the developing technology of mobile payments in Africa and company culture. This forward-thinking episode will appeal to those who aim to solve a problem! We’ll leave you with Mansoor’s outlook: “If you’re not solving someone’s problems or needs, you’re not really in business.” Useful links: Discover more about Mansoor Hamayun here. Invest in cool startups on Seedrs here. Capital at risk. If you are an entrepreneur or investor, and you’re ready to dive into the world of crowdfunding, get in contact with us today here.

Anne Boden is CEO and founder of Starling Bank. Anne had accumulated 30 years of experience in traditional banking when she realised there was a whole world out there that was embracing new technology and entrepreneurship, and she just  had to learn about it. This led her to travel to the U.S, spark conversations and further spend a year in Fintech. In January 2014, Anne quit her job and established Starling Bank, transforming the world of mobile banking from scratch. However, she recalls the initial fundraising wasn’t an easy journey, going from door to door looking for people to believe in her vision for the future of banking. In this episode, Anne Boden discusses the hustle of raising funds, the culture of banking pre-financial crisis and post-crash, the challenges of legacy banks trying to build something new, leading on the Make Money Equal campaign, and how to attract the best technological minds for a team. She is also passionate about her technological vision for the future of banking. This podcast episode is for those who want to change the scope of the world; as Anne simply states: “I believe people make things happen, not process…. Leaders need to lead - they can change the culture.” Useful links: Discover more about Anne Boden here. Learn more about Seedrs here. Invest in cool startups on Seedrs here. Capital at risk. If you are an entrepreneur or investor, and you’re ready to dive into the world of crowdfunding, get in contact with us today here.

Richard Reed is one of three co-founders of the brand, Innocent Drinks. After seven years of pondering back and forth on what business to create, it took just one hangover for the trio to decide they wanted to launch a smoothie company. The decision took some time to get to, and so did the growth. Reed mentioned on this episode, “If I had known just how difficult those [first] 15 months were going to be, I would’ve gone - ‘you know what, I’ll just stay in my job. It’s quite good fun.’” Reed opened up about the hardships of growing Innocent Drinks, including the financial difficulties which eventually led to Coca Cola buying the brand in 2009. Whilst they had a successful exit in the end, Reed credits this highly to his team. He spoke enthusiastically about his best friends, his co-founders, and his team who even after selling their brand, were well looked after. We won’t give away too much on this inspiring conversation but this is the perfect episode for anyone at the ideation or start-up stage, needing a guarantee that you know what - it will be fine in the end. Make sure you leave a review on Apple Podcasts to be in for the chance to win £50 of credit to invest in an amazing start-up crowdfunding on Seedrs… and share this with a mate because it helps get our message out there. Useful links: Discover more about Richard Reed here. Invest in cool startups on Seedrs here. Capital at risk. If you are an entrepreneur or investor, and you’re ready to dive into the world of crowdfunding, get in contact with us today here.

Reshma Sohoni is the Founder and Managing Partner of Seedcamp. As an immigrant coming to work in a British firm, Reshma felt like she ‘didn’t fit in’ and quickly realised that if she wanted to be part of a world she’d like to live in, then she would have to go out and make it. This led her to establish Seedcamp in 2007. Seedcamp have since backed over 300 businesses and are considered to be one of the largest Seed investment companies in Europe. Whilst with all their success, Reshma reminds herself and team to ‘stay hungry and alive’ as an organisation. The ecosystem is maturing and the competition is as high as ever. This episode truly focuses on the evolution, from Seedcamp’s early days as an accelerator into a funding business, the emergence of its own economy portfolio and their future growth and partnerships. Reshma also doesn’t shy away from giving great fundraising advice too, reminding us that “the great founders are out there hustling and building relationships, not just promoting their product”. You’ll be left feeling motivated! Useful links: Discover more about Reshma Sohoni here. Invest in cool startups on Seedrs here. Capital at risk. If you are an entrepreneur or investor, and you’re ready to dive into the world of crowdfunding, get in contact with us today here.

Bill Browder is the CEO and Co-Founder of investment fund Hermitage Capital Management, which at one time was the largest foreign portfolio fund in Russia. Bill studied at Stanford Business School and upon graduation in 1989, mixed with some soul searching, Bill joined the Boston Consulting Group. During an assignment in Poland the following year, he came across the mass privatisation of companies at one half of one year’s earnings. He took his life savings of $2,000, invested it and made 10x his money back. This led Bill to co-found HCM in 1996, citing “big successes don’t come from people spotting business opportunities, but being interested in something which becomes a business opportunity”. Described as one of Putin’s biggest critics, and this podcast may confirm just that, his journey has been far from simple. In this episode, Bill tells us about his life as a businessman and an activist, and paints a picture of his conflict with Russia. He also touches on how he moved the business to a global market. Today’s episode highlights the sheer determination of taking risks, and that spotting an opportunity can lead to great success even in dire circumstances. Useful links: Discover more about Bill Browder here. Invest in cool startups on Seedrs here. Capital at risk. If you are an entrepreneur or investor, and you’re ready to dive into the world of crowdfunding, get in contact with us today here.

Jeff Lynn is the co-founder and Executive Chairman of Europe’s largest equity crowdfunding platform, Seedrs. Jeff noticed a gap in the wealth market for investors, whilst co-founder Carlos Silva had witnessed a number of small businesses struggling to raise capital, which led them to combine their experiences and launch Seedrs in 2012. Jeff is a huge believer in the value of creating potential for small businesses that are trying to take over the world. Something that was reflected in his early vision “to help first time entrepreneurs raise their first few hundred thousands of pounds – to take the concept, build out a prototype, do a market test and begin generating revenue” Seedrs has since helped to fund hundreds of business deals and has processed over £1.5 billion of investment on the platform. In our first episode of the Go Fund Yourself podcast, Jeff explores the journey of Seedrs from the initial idea, how the co-founders secured their first investor and financial backing, how the early financial crash and the recent pandemic has changed the landscape of businesses, up to the key moment when he stepped down as CEO. He passed the torch to Jeff Kelisky, who he describes as “a really outstanding CEO, who has brought the discipline of the business to a scaling business” This insightful episode is a combination of knowing when to play on your strengths and making sacrifices in order to achieve growth in the business in an ever-evolving world. Don’t forget to leave us a 5* review on Apple Podcasts with the chance to win some money to invest in a startup of your choice on Seedrs! Useful links: Discover more about Jeff Lynn here. Invest in cool startups on Seedrs here. Capital at risk. If you are an entrepreneur or investor, and you’re ready to dive into the world of crowdfunding, get in contact with us today here.

Welcome to the Go Fund Yourself Podcast, a podcast powered by Seedrs, Europe's largest equity crowdfunding platform.  Every week, join Josh Davey and Alex Dunning, as they present you with inspiring and candid conversations from the best entrepreneurs, investors and leaders right now.  Subscribe and leave us a review if we're your cup of tea!  Learn about how to raise capital for your startup here.  Invest in innovative companies and inspiring founders here. Capital at risk.