The Investors' Handbook
Republic Europe, formerly Seedrs, is one of the most prominent crowdfunding platforms in Europe, having helped launch companies such as the now बेहद popular Revolut, which is also widely used in Hungary. The platform operates in the United Kingdom and, since its founding, has raised more than £3 billion across over 2,400 campaigns (Republic Europe, 2024). Recently, the company conducted a survey among more than 1,000 of its investors to explore crowdfunding trends and investor preferences.
From an investor’s perspective, one of the key decisions is determining the maturity level of companies to invest in, both in terms of revenue and financing stage. Among respondents to the Republic Europe survey, startups in the venture stage were the most popular, with 74% of respondents willing to invest in them. This category significantly outperformed both seed-stage and growth-stage companies, with only 61% and 45% of respondents, respectively, indicating willingness to invest in those phases.
But what do these numbers mean? Investors most prefer to become shareholders in companies that already have a proven concept, an MVP product, initial revenues, and intend to use the raised capital for scaling, expansion, and increasing market share. Growth-stage companies are the least attractive to investors, as these businesses already have substantial revenues and market share and are often approaching an exit, such as an acquisition or IPO. This is entirely understandable, as investors tend to find companies less attractive once they have moved beyond the initial, rapid, high-intensity growth phase. Interestingly, even seed-stage investments are more popular than growth-stage ones, despite carrying the highest risk and often the possibility of total capital loss.
Another important question is which sectors startups seeking funding come from. According to the survey, investors on the platform are most interested in energy companies (47%), followed by fintech (44%), artificial intelligence (34%), and healthcare (34%). The report notes that in 2024, the United Kingdom reached a record, generating nearly half of its energy mix from renewable sources. The government has set an ambitious target to increase this share to 95%, which is expected to drive demand for renewable energy companies in the medium to long term.
The strong performance of the fintech sector also has regional and historical roots. Led by London, the UK remains a dominant player in global financial markets, and partly due to this legacy, fintech investments in 2025 reached a total volume of $7.2 billion—exceeding that of the entire EMEA region combined.
Every serious investor carefully evaluates the companies they plan to invest in—but which factors matter most? In the Republic Europe survey, respondents were asked to rank decision-making criteria. The results, in descending order of importance, were as follows: path to profitability, team, traction, total addressable market (TAM), and company valuation.
Among these, the plan for achieving profitability is the most important benchmark—unsurprisingly, as every investor ultimately seeks returns. The team—meaning the founders and management—ranked as the second most important factor. Investors consider the experience, skills, vision, and track record of a startup’s leadership more important than even market size or valuation. While this may seem surprising at first, it becomes more understandable when considering that investment decisions—similar to those in the stock market—are often influenced by subjective judgment. From a founder’s perspective, this result strongly highlights the importance of clearly, confidently, and convincingly communicating personal strengths and capabilities during a crowdfunding campaign.
The Republic Europe study provides valuable insight into investor decision-making processes. However, it is important to note that while the survey offers meaningful perspectives, it is focused on the United Kingdom, and its conclusions should not be directly extrapolated to the broader European crowdfunding market.
