Recently, I was a keynote at the SuperCrowd25 and had a chance to speak to an audience of entrepreneurs, investors and stakeholders about the future of investment crowdfunding. This is some of what I shared with them…

The Problem with Traditional Funding

Here’s a reality that every entrepreneur knows: traditional venture capital is broken for most businesses. VCs fund less than 3% of companies that apply to them. Banks require collateral that most startups don’t have. And even when you do get traditional investment, those investors have zero emotional connection to your brand. On top of that, the last few years have taught us that they have moved upstream to less risky deals where they can still deploy large checks, leaving a void in early-stage financing.

But what if I told you that your best funding source might already be buying your products?

Enter the “INVESTOMER”

Over the past decade, I’ve watched a quiet revolution unfold in early-stage finance through investment crowdfunding. Since the JOBS Act opened investment opportunities to everyday Americans in 2012, over $3 billion has been raised through investment crowdfunding.

But here’s what most people miss: this isn’t just another way to raise money. It’s the birth of an entirely new type of stakeholder—the INVESTOMER.

An investomer isn’t just an investor who writes a check and disappears. They’re not just a customer who buys and leaves. They’re both—someone who is financially invested AND emotionally invested in your success.

Why This Changes Everything

When customers become investors through investment crowdfunding, something magical happens. They don’t just provide capital—they become your marketing force.

Think about it: traditional investors might give you money and expect returns. But investomers? They:

• Share your story on social media (authentically, because they’re actually invested)
• Refer friends and family to your products
• Defend your brand during tough times
• Continue buying your products because they want to see strong company performance

This creates what I call the “multiplication effect”—where every dollar invested generates additional value through marketing, referrals, and loyalty that money simply can’t buy.

The Qnetic Case Study: From Customers to Advocates

Let me share an example from our own portfolio at D3VC. Qnetic, a flywheel energy storage company, launched their investment crowdfunding campaign on Wefunder to solve a critical problem: long-duration energy storage for renewable energy.

Here’s what made their approach brilliant: instead of just seeking investors, they activated their community of renewable energy enthusiasts, engineers, and environmentally conscious consumers who were already passionate about solving the climate crisis.

The result? Qnetic didn’t just raise capital—they built an army of advocates. Their investomers became their most credible validators when they secured over $110 million in signed Letters of Intent from major customers, including deals with AREVON (Tesla Megapack’s #1 customer).

These weren’t just financial investors—they were believers in the mission who helped spread the word, provided technical feedback, and opened doors to additional opportunities. When you have hundreds of investomers who genuinely believe in solving the energy storage challenge, that creates a network effect that traditional investors simply can’t provide.

The Investment Crowdfunding Data Tells the Story

The shift is already happening. When investment crowdfunding first launched in 2016, about 63% of deals came from pre-revenue companies—startups with just ideas. By 2024, that flipped completely: 65% of deals now come from post-revenue companies.

Why? Because businesses with existing customer bases consistently outperform. They have something that pre-revenue startups don’t: a community of people who already believe in their success.

How to Transform Customers Into Investomers

If you’re thinking about this investment crowdfunding approach, here’s what works:

Start with a foundation. You need paying customers first. This isn’t about ideas—it’s about proven businesses that customers already love.

Build community before you need capital. Use social media, email lists, and customer events to create genuine relationships. When you eventually offer investment opportunities, it shouldn’t feel like a surprise—it should feel like a natural next step.

Treat them like partners, not transactions. Send regular updates. Offer exclusive access. Celebrate wins together. Remember: their investment made your success possible.

Enable them to become “influvestors.” Give your investor-customers the tools to promote your brand. Provide shareable content, hashtags, and easy ways for them to spread the word. They’re your most credible marketing channel because they have real skin in the game.

Beyond the Initial Raise

Here’s where most companies get it wrong: they treat investment as a transaction. Money comes in, relationship ends.

But the real power of investomers reveals itself after the raise. These aren’t just names on your cap table—they’re your competitive moat. Happy investomers reinvest in follow-on rounds. They bring their networks to future opportunities. They create customer acquisition engines that can’t be easily replicated.

The Future is Community-Driven

We’re witnessing a fundamental shift in how businesses think about growth through investment crowdfunding. The companies that will thrive in the next decade won’t just have customers or investors—they’ll have communities of people who are both.

This isn’t about replacing traditional funding. It’s about recognizing that your customers might be your greatest untapped funding source. They already believe in your mission. They know your product works because they use it. They want to see you succeed because your success benefits them.

The question isn’t whether this trend will continue—it’s whether you’ll be part of it.

Your Move

Take a moment to think about your most loyal customers. The ones who consistently buy from you, refer others, and genuinely seem excited about your brand. Now imagine if those same people could invest in your growth through investment crowdfunding.

That’s not just a fundraising strategy—it’s a relationship strategy. And relationships, when done right, become the foundation for sustainable, community-driven growth that no competitor can easily disrupt.

The future belongs to companies that blur the line between customers and investors. Your customers already believe in you. Now give them a way to invest in your success.

If you want to know more about INVESTOMERS and how customer-investors are shaping the future of early-stage finance, get the book on Amazon. It’s a deep dive into the frameworks, case studies, and strategies that are transforming how businesses grow.