Now you can invest in Australia’s most exciting startups & innovators
Investing in startups is no longer just for VCs and high net worth individuals. Anyone over 18 can back Australian startups and innovators from as little as $100.
Crowd-sourced funding is your chance to support the early-stage growth of companies with big ideas and growth ambitions.
Australia’s most exciting deals happen on Birchal
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$ 0.00m
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Australia’s most exciting deals happen on Birchal
ZeroCo
$5 million
Equal biggest raise
Old Young's
$2.7 million
Largest alcohol raise
Your Mates
Brewing
1h 54min
Fastest raise
Cannaponics
$5 million
Equal top raise
$1 million+
1/4 of FY23 raises
Birchal
70% of funding
Top performing platform
Birchal campaigns have two key stages – the Expression of Interest and the Offer campaign – to help you deep dive into the company and its goals, chat to founders, and learn about the terms of the deal.
STAGE 1・EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
Expressing interest
During the EOI you can deep dive into the business, check out the company’s profile and pitch video. By expressing interest at this stage, you benefit from:
Priority access to the deal when it opens for investors
Live founder updates
Invitation to investor Q&A webinar
Direct messaging to founders
It also helps reduce your chance of missing out on fast-moving deals that can reach the max funding targets during the priority access period!
An EOI is a non-binding expression of interest to invest in the company.
STAGE 1・EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
Expressing interest
During the EOI you get the chance to review a company’s profile and pitch video. By expressing interest at this stage, you benefit from:
Priority access before the deal is public
Live founder updates
Invitation to investor Q&A webinar
Direct messaging to founders
It also ensures you don’t miss out on fast-moving deals that can reach the max funding targets during the priority access period, and close to investors!
STAGE 2・THE INVESTMENT OFFER
Becoming an investor!
This is your chance to invest in the brands you love! At this stage, you can review the details of the deal via the Offer Document, and can make an application to become a shareholder.
Once a company hits its minimum funding target, the campaign is now ‘funded’ and the deal goes ahead. The company will continue accepting investment until reaching its maximum raise target, or until the set close date of the campaign.
STAGE 2・THE OFFER
Becoming an investor!
At this stage, you can review the key terms of the offer in the crowd-sourced funding offer document, and apply for shares in the company.
Once a company hits its minimum funding target, the campaign is now ‘funded’. The company will continue to accept applications for shares until reaching its maximum target, or until the set close date of the campaign (which ever comes first).
Always review the general CSF risk warning before investing.
Ready to get started?
Start browsing deals any time, and sign up to Birchal for market updates, and to start building your investor portfolio!
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Browse latest deals
Review all the the latest crowd-sourced funding campaigns on our Birchal platform, including company activity and updates.
Express interest & invest
Support the brands you want to help grow by reviewing company campaigns, and start building your portfolio!
Your top investor FAQs answered!
For other queries and help with payments, visit our Birchal Help Centre.
What is Birchal’s role?
Birchal is a licensed crowd-sourced funding platform, that enables businesses to offer shares to a crowd of investors. As a licensed intermediary regulated by ASIC, our roles and responsibilities are prescribed by law, including as a ‘gatekeeper’ for our platform. Other roles include:
ensuring a company is eligible to make an offer under the CSF regime
operating an online platform through which a company offers shares and investors invest money in exchange for shares
ensuring company crowd-sourced funding offer documents meet certain minimum content requirements and are presented in a 'clear, concise and effective' manner
holding investor money and passing it to the company when the offer is complete
performing checks on the issuing company and its directors and senior managers
implementing certain investor protections
Priority access before the deal is public
Live founder updates
Invitation to investor Q&A webinar
Direct messaging to founders
How much can I invest?
Anyone over the age of 18 years can invest from as little as $100 and up to $5m, depending on the terms of the offer. To invest over $10k, you need to be a wholesale client, which you commonly qualify for by having at least $2.5m+ in assets or $250k+ gross income for the past two financial years, evidenced by your accountant. More information in the question below: "What is the difference between a retail and wholesale investor".
What kind of companies can I invest in?
A huge range of businesses now use crowd-sourced funding, with popular sectors including Food & Beverage, Sustainability & Impact brands, Financial Services and Consumer Goods. Get the latest industry report Funded! Report FY23 for more insights. Under the Australian CSF regime, eligible private and unlisted public companies can raise up to $5 million per year through licensed crowd-sourced funding platforms, like Birchal.
How do I begin investing?
You can begin reviewing investment opportunities on Birchal’s Browse Companies page. When you’re ready to invest, you’ll need to sign up to create a Birchal account if you haven’t already. Next, from the company’s campaign page, you simply select the ‘invest’ tab and follow the prompts to complete an investment application. The company needs to meet its minimum target for the deal to go ahead, but once the campaign closes, you’ll receive further instructions about paying and receiving your shares. You also have a five day cooling off period to cancel your investment, after you make your application.
Can I invest through a self managed super fund (SMSF)?
Yes, it is possible however you should seek independent advice on whether it is permissible for your SMSF to invest in crowd-sourced funding offers. Learn more by clicking here.
When will I get my shareholder certificate?
Once the offer closes and the company has met its minimum subscription amount, the "settlement process” will begin. You will receive your share certificate (legal evidence of your ownership of the shares) as soon as the company issues your shares to you. Companies that have made a crowd-sourced funding offer will typically engage an online share registry to manage their share registry. The company or the share registry will notify you via email when your shares have been issued, with instructions on how to access the certificate.
How do I get a return on my investment?
Many companies using crowd-sourced funding are early stage or rapidly growing ventures. Typically, they have many years of hard work ahead to grow the business and execute on their strategy. The funds raised and any ongoing profits are typically reinvested back into the business. However, there may be various events or ways to receive a potential return on your investment, although not guaranteed.
For example:
the company undertakes an IPO and lists on a securities exchange
the company undertakes an exit event, like a sale of the company
you transfer your shares to a third party and a price for the shares is agreed
the company declares dividends
the company undertakes a share-buy back
the company participates in a trade facility, like Birchal Trade
To satisfy yourself of the investment opportunity and associated risks, we recommend you read the company's constitution, crowd-sourced funding offer document and other campaign materials. If you are unsure, seek independent financial, legal or other professional advice, and also read the general CSF risk warning.
What is the CSF offer document?
The CSF offer document is a regulated disclosure document. All companies seeking to raise funds under the CSF regime must prepare a CSF offer document & publish it on a CSF platform. Its purpose is to give potential investors enough information to make an assessment on whether or not to invest in the company.
The offer document must include the following key information:
description of the business, business model and business strategy
financial statements for the last financial year prepared in accordance with accounting standards
directors and senior managers and other key team members
corporate structure
capital structure, including a description of all securities issued before and after the CSF offer
key terms of the offer, including the minimum and maximum subscription amount
key risks facing the business
a description of the rights associated with the shares and the company's corporate governance obligations
a description of investor rights, including information about cooling-off rights and the communication facility for the offer
other relevant information
You must read the CSF offer document before you participate in the CSF offer and make an investment application. Please seek independent legal, financial or other professional advice if you need it. Please also read the the CSF risk warning.
What’s the difference between retail vs wholesale investor?
Your status as a 'retail client' or 'wholesale client' determines how much you can invest. Retail clients can invest up to (and including) AUD$10,000 per company per year, while wholesale clients can invest over AUD$10,000.
Wholesale clients need to provide Birchal with evidence of wholesale client status at the time of making an investment application. We typically require an accountant's certificate, which has been prepared by a qualified accountant within 6 months of the date of your investment application, certifying that you:
have net assets of at least AUD$2.5 million; or
have a gross income for each of the last 2 financial years of at least AUD$250,000
Priority access before the deal is public
Live founder updates
Invitation to investor Q&A webinar
Direct messaging to founders
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Still got questions?
Discover success stories, latest news, record-breaking deals and more through our Birchal blog.
For latest market updates and industry data, go to our Publications page to download reports.
For more questions on payments, how to use the platform or other support, head to our Birchal Help Centre.
