Proud to share: we have raised $20M to accelerate the explosion of retail capital. @Dealmakertech

Robotics is on the verge of its ChatGPT moment. A founder told me recently that he thought this milestone was years, not decades, away. That kind of progress lights a fire under what we're building at DealMaker. Many robotics companies will still raise through traditional VC

Ukraine is a place where people are standing up to forces that would take away their freedom. This is as true today as when the war began, almost four years ago. Join me in adding your voice to the call for peace and in supporting Ukraine directly:

Hearing directly about the challenges and opportunities you’re seeing makes these conversations especially valuable. Thank you to everyone who came out. If you’re based in NYC and are interested in joining a future event, reach out.

I appreciated the chance to connect with so many of you, including Kayla Getter from @ArielPrjctLevel, Katherine Radziszewski, co-founder and COO at simplydbs, Stephanie A. Rieben-de Roquefeuil, Co-Founder and CEO at Diadem Capital, and Amanda Benaim from DealMaker.

Tuesday night’s Cocktails & Capital mixer in NYC was a great evening. The room was full of people shaping where this industry is heading, and the conversations ranged from new fundraising strategies to how founders are thinking about growth in the current market.

@axios article the data was pulled from is here for those interested:

Sure, some are trend-chasing. But the fact is, retail investors are becoming an undeniable economic force.

Younger investors are getting in earlier, buying stocks, crypto, and other assets. Fewer 25-year-olds are buying homes, more are buying stakes in the markets. Technology made it easy. Pandemic cash gave them fuel. High prices got their attention.

• 33% of 25-year-olds have an investment account—that’s six times more than 2015. • People with below-median incomes are five times more likely to invest than a decade ago.

Most people are sleeping on retail investors. They’re not “just hobby traders” anymore. They’re showing up in numbers that actually matter.

Revolut proves them wrong. Early believers helped fuel one of the world’s most valuable fintechs. Congrats to Revolut and all the early retail investors who believed in their story. I’m more bullish than ever on the rise of retail.

Revolut raised an equity crowdfunding round in 2016 at a £1M valuation. Last week they were valued at $75B. This is a huge milestone. I’ve been in equity crowdfunding for over a decade, and I’ve seen skeptics dismiss retail investors and call these rounds a sideshow.

With AI reshaping entire industries in real time, today was about building the tools and workflows that will help us go even faster and grow the retail capital movement. Every idea explored and every prototype launched was a glimpse into the company we are becoming. A company

It was AI Hackathon Day at DealMaker yesterday, one of my favourite days of the year. Hackathons bring out what makes our team special: speed, creativity, collaboration, and that spark that turns ideas into reality.

So yes, I’ve heard every insult, every smirk, every “you’ll get it someday.” But here’s the thing: if the people who believe in you most want to invest, it’s smart to invite them in.

And while the experts kept repeating their 2014 opinions, the world quietly flipped. Retail investors became a force. Community ownership became a growth engine. Direct-to-consumer capital went from fringe experiment to real strategy.

Here’s what the critics never bothered to actually think about: crowd investors aren’t dumb. They’re first. First to believe. First to buy. First to tell someone else why you matter.

I’ve spent years building in crowdfunding. And for years, I heard the same genius takes: “Crowd investing is dumb money.” “Real companies raise from institutions.” “This whole category will never be taken seriously.”

To our investors, our team, and the founders we serve: this is just the beginning. The future of capital formation will be written by communities, not just institutions. Grateful to @nicolecasperson at @Forbes for sharing our story. Full piece:

Over 900+ companies have proven this model works. Now, we're scaling the infrastructure to make it accessible to thousands more.