questions & answers

c-crowd.com is the leading Swiss Internet platform that brings together projects and capital. On c-crowd.com:

• companies (Company projects)
• charitable and artistic projects (Charity projects)
• commercial projects (Campus projects)

can introduce themselves to a broad audience (crowd) of potential capital providers, and:

• private individuals
• investors
• business angels
• foundations

can, already with modest employment of capital, gain access to professionally prepared projects that were previously only open to an exclusive circle of people.

c-crowd thereby offers an alternative way to invest, donate or deploy capital and opens up new possibilities to secure financing for a project.

Projects, together with their supporting documents, can be submitted free of charge using a pre-defined input mask. c-crowd will assess the plausibility of the documents and will check whether the project fulfils the admission criteria. The project will then be uploaded after being unanimously approved by the c-crowd AG board of directors. It’s as simple as that and your project is free to start attracting funding.

Company projects:

• Questionnaire (download sample)
  
• Share Issue prospectus (request sample)
• Business plan
• Executive Summary
• Presentation, if available

Charity & Campus projects

• Detailed and meaningful project documentation
• Overview of project initiators
• Photos & YouTube films
  

It doesn't cost anything to submit a project to c-crowd. c-crowd doesn't earn any money until the project has been successfully financed. For Company projects, c-crowd AG charges a fee of 10% after the successful capital increase. For Campus projects, the fee is 5% of the capital obtained via c-crowd. And for Charity projects, c-crowd AG charges a one-off activation fee of CHF 299.

No. It is important to understand that c-crowd does not accept any funds from investors, donors or financial supporters. As soon as a funder announces their interest in a project, c-crowd forwards the details straight to the project initiator, who then prepares and sends the applicable documents (subscription form, shareholders' agreement for Company projects, bank account details for Charity & Campus projects) directly to the funder. c-crowd merely acts as an intermediary that brings funders and projects together.

No. Although c-crowd assesses the plausibility of the submitted projects and, in the case of Company projects, meets the respective entrepreneurs in person, c-crowd does not assume any liability for the projects. Each investor/donor/supporter must form their own opinion of the project and reach a decision themselves, ideally by consulting their financial advisor.

Company projects are Swiss limited companies (AG / S.A.) with a capital requirement of at least CHF 50,000 for growth purposes. The funding is provided to the entrepreneur in the form of a capital increase, for which the investor will be registered as a shareholder.

• Must be a limited company (AG / S.A.) with head office in Switzerland.
• The purpose may not be illegal or immoral.
• The entrepreneurs must have answered all questions contained in the c-crowd questionnaire. The entrepreneurs themselves are responsible for the answers provided – they are not cross-examined by c-crowd.
• The entrepreneurs must provide a business plan (the length of which is at the companies' own discretion) as well as a share issue prospectus pursuant to Art. 652a of the Swiss Code of Obligations (the companies themselves are responsible for the preparation and content of these documents – they will not be cross-examined by c-crowd).
• The people who are responsible for the company must be registered in the commercial register.

After registering free of charge, the input mask on c-crowd.com will guide the entrepreneur through the entire process once he has clicked on the button "Submit project". Submitting a project is free of charge.

• You can gain an overview of the projects without having to register.
• If you come across an investment opportunity on which you would like to find out more or, in particular, view the business plan and share issue prospectus, you will need to register with c-crowd first (free of charge).
• You will then be able to assess the investment opportunity and the corresponding documents in order to gain a better idea of the venture.
• When you have decided to invest, simply click on the "Invest" button and specify your desired investment amount. This information will then be forwarded straight to the company.
• As soon as the project has reached its specified funding target, the company will send you the binding subscription form directly (by email), together with the deed of accession for the shareholders' agreement.
• You will then need to sign and date it and return the original subscription form and deed of accession to the company by post.
• The next step is to transfer the subscription amount directly to the company's capital deposit account (escrow account). The company will send you the account details directly.
• After completing the capital increase and entering it in the commercial register, you will be registered as a shareholder in the company's share register and will receive confirmation thereof.
• The entrepreneur is then obliged to keep you regularly informed of the business's performance (in accordance with the shareholders' agreement).
• If the entrepreneur wishes, you can become actively involved in the company yourself by contributing your own expertise and network of contacts.
• Good luck with your investment!

As an investor in a Company project, you should be aware that your investment constitutes a venture capital investment and, in the worst-case scenario, can result in total loss. Each investor should therefore discuss any potential investment in detail with their financial advisor.

In the case of Company projects, companies are financed by means of a share subscription within the context of a capital increase. Here, c-crowd aims to make the business angel concept – which was previously only open to very wealthy investors – available to all people, even if they only wish to invest a small amount of capital. 

Investing via c-crowd offers many advantages for investors:

• Alternative: c-crowd offers investors access to companies with innovative business models, thereby providing an alternative to traditional investment methods with smaller investment amounts.
• Serious projects: All projects wishing to present themselves on c-crowd.com must submit clearly specified documents (business plan, share issue prospectus, etc.) that have been prepared in a serious manner. c-crowd assesses the plausibility of each Company project, and additional questions are clarified in personal meetings with the entrepreneurs (see admission criteria). A project will only be uploaded to the platform once the c-crowd AG board of directors has unanimously approved it.
• Investment process: The investment process is structured in a sleek, simple and efficient way. On the one hand, it consists of a subscription form, and on the other hand, (usually) a shareholders' agreement. c-crowd provides the entrepreneur with samples of these documents free of charge.
• Investment: The investment will only become due if the specified minimum funding target being sought by the company is reached. This enables the investor to retain control of his capital until the point of the capital increase.
• Capital increase: All of the investor funds raised from the capital increase will flow directly into the company, which means that your investment will only be used for growth/expansion purposes and will not be paid out to existing shareholders.
• Direct access: The investor receives the capital increase documents directly and signs these together with the company. The invested funds are paid directly to a capital deposit account (escrow account).
• Transparency: The company is obliged to provide the new shareholders with regular and transparent information about the business's progress (in accordance with the shareholders' agreement).
• Support your company: If the company wishes, investors can contribute their own knowledge and contacts, so that, in addition to providing financial support, they also derive an emotional benefit.

The financing of a Company project via c-crowd.com can usually be compared to private equity/venture capital financing. This takes place by means of a share capital increase and a share subscription by investors (equity financing). With financing via c-crowd, it is not possible for the founding shareholders to sell shares to investors. This ensures that the acquired funds are used exclusively for growth/expansion purposes.

After the entrepreneur has submitted the documents specified by c-crowd, c-crowd will then assess the plausibility of the Company project. And it goes without saying that c-crowd equally prioritises on getting to know the brains behind the project. In a personal meeting, c-crowd will scrutinise the Company project in order to ensure that the quality requirements of potential investors are met. c-crowd will then decide whether to upload the project on its platform, depending on the unanimous approval of c-crowd AG's board of directors. In the case of a positive decision, the project will be free to present itself to potential investors and start attracting finance.

The entrepreneur controls the financing. In addition to defining a minimum funding target, the entrepreneur specifies the minimum permissible investment amount for each investor. The entrepreneur thereby controls the maximum number of new investors that he wishes to attract for his company.

c-crowd offers the entrepreneur several important legal documents (e.g. share issue prospectus, subscription form and shareholders' agreement) at no extra cost. In addition, c-crowd actively markets the platform, which, of course, also benefits all uploaded projects.

The entrepreneur is, of course, also required to promote his c-crowd profile and offer in his network of contacts. Only the dedicated marketing of the project to a large number of people increases the probability to successfully finance the project. It goes without saying that c-crowd is always willing to support the entrepreneur with ideas and advice.

In the Charity projects category, c-crowd presents projects that are funded by donations. These projects can have a charitable or an artistic purpose.

●    Must have a connection to Switzerland (domicile of the project initiators and/or objective of the project).
●    Must have a charitable/non-profit objective or constitute an artistic project.
●    The objective of the project may not be illegal or immoral.

After registering free of charge, the input mask on c-crowd.com will guide the project initiator through the entire process once he has clicked on the "Submit project" button. Submitting a Charity project is free of charge.

• 1As a visitor to c-crowd.com, you can already gain an overview of the various Charity projects without having to register.
• If you come across a Charity project on which you would like to find out more, you will need to register with c-crowd first (free of charge).
• Once you have found a Charity project that you would like to support, click on the "Donate" button and confirm your donation. This information will be forwarded directly to the project initiator.
• The project initiator will send you the account details directly (by email).
• After the donation has been successfully transferred, the project initiator will send you confirmation of your donation, which also acts as a receipt.
• If the project initiator wishes, you can become actively involved in the project yourself by contributing your own expertise and network of contacts.
• We hope you derive pleasure from your donation!

• Alternatives:
  With c-crowd, the potential donor gains access to interesting and innovative charity projects that were previously only open to a limited section of the public. This offers the donor an alternative to traditional channels with well-known projects.
• Serious projects:
  All projects that wish to present themselves on c-crowd.com must be prepared in a serious manner and submit clearly specified information. c-crowd will assess the plausibility of each Charity project (see c-crowd admission criteria)
• Easy procedure:
  The funds for supporting Charity projects will flow directly from the donor into the project.
• Project support:
  If the project initiator wishes, the donor can become involved in the project himself and thereby augment his emotional benefit.

c-crowd actively markets the platform, which, of course, also benefits all uploaded projects.

The project initiator is, of course, also required to promote his c-crowd profile and offer in his network of contacts. Only the dedicated marketing of the project to a large number of people increases the probability to successfully finance the project. It goes without saying that c-crowd is always willing to support the entrepreneur with ideas and advice.

Campus projects have a commercial objective. This type of project is particularly suited to people who have a good business idea but are unable – or not yet willing – to form a limited company. Campus projects are financed by means of a funder receiving a clearly specified reward from the project initiator. The reward may be chosen at the project initiator's own discretion, but may not be of a financial nature.

●    Must have a connection to Switzerland (domicile of the project initiators and/or objective of the project).
●    Must be submitted by a private individual.
●    The objective of the project may not be illegal or immoral.
●    The Campus project may not be a charitable project.
●    The Campus project must have a start and an end – no open-ended projects can be published.
●    The project initiator must offer the supporters a reward in order to make the project appealing.
●    Paypal account

After registering free of charge, the input mask on c-crowd.com will guide the project initiator through the entire process once he has clicked on the "Submit project" button. Submitting a project is free of charge.

1.    As a visitor to c-crowd.com, you can already gain an overview of the various Campus projects without having to register.
2.    If you come across a Campus project on which you would like to find out more, you will need to register with c-crowd first (free of charge).
3.    Once you have found a Campus project that you would like to support, click on the "Support" button and confirm your amount. This information will be forwarded directly to the project initiator.
4.    The project initiator will send you the account details directly (by email).
5.    After the financial contribution has been successfully transferred, the project initiator will send you confirmation of the corresponding reward.
6.    If the project initiator wishes, you can become actively involved in the project yourself by contributing your own expertise and network of contacts.
7.    We hope you derive pleasure from supporting your chosen Campus project!

• Alternatives:
  With c-crowd, the potential supporter gains access to interesting and innovative Campus projects that were previously only open to a limited section of the public. This offers the funder an alternative to traditional channels with projects that are already well-known.
• Serious projects:
  All projects that wish to present themselves on c-crowd.com must be prepared in a serious manner and submit clearly specified information. c-crowd assesses the plausibility of each Campus project (see c-crowd admission criteria)
• Easy procedure:
  The funds for supporting Campus projects will flow directly from the supporter to the the project initiator.
• Reward:
  The project initiator is obliged to offer the supporter a reward.
• Project support:
  If the project initiator wishes, the supporter can become involved in the project himself and thereby augment his emotional benefit.

c-crowd actively markets the platform, which, of course, also benefits all uploaded projects.

The project initiator is, of course, also required to promote his c-crowd profile and offer in his network of contacts. Only the dedicated marketing of the project to a large number of people increases the probability to successfully finance the project. It goes without saying that c-crowd is always willing to support the entrepreneur with ideas and advice.