Collett’s Corner
Age of company:
< 1 year
Sector:
Real Estate
Annual Revenue:
$270k projected for FY2024 (Opening)
Campaign link:
Total Raised:
$503,800
Number of Investors
345
Country:
New Zealand
Collett’s Corner is the first community-minded, equity crowdfunded property development in Aotearoa.
Background
Collett’s Corner was founded on the principle of community ownership. Its founder, Camia Young, didn’t think it was right that only people with a certain amount of wealth were able to access the property development market. She believed that a crowd could come together to develop a site for the community, by the community, and which would give back to the community. The idea of Collett’s Corner was born and Camia set about funding it via an equity crowdfunding campaign.
“I call it compassionate capitalism. We’re investing in the change we want to see in the world.”
Timeline
“It’s not just a property development, it’s a project that brings people together.”
What worked well?
Lots of information - The Collett’s Corner team made sure that their crowd was educated about their campaign. They had a very thorough Information Memorandum, they hit the streets with flyers and to talk to potential investors, and made a publicly available document of almost 50 FAQs
Their crowd was involved from the very start - The project started with the community of Lyttleton in mind. Locals were consulted throughout the project and made up a natural crowd of supporters for it.
Awesome, informative pitch video - The pitch video included shots and soundbites from plenty of Lyttelton community members who were involved in the project. It showed Collett’s Corner’s vision for Lyttelton and the impact it would have.
First of its kind in New Zealand - Collett’s Corner was New Zealand’s first community-owned property development and it addressed a very clear global issue (wealth disparity).
What could be improved?
Design is important - The team at Ohu were lucky that their founder had some amazing design skills. This meant that their document was professional and beautiful, and really resonated with some potential investors.
Find someone who loves socials - The team at Ohu weren’t big fans of social media. So find someone that can help you with that if needed. You do need to show the people behind the project and, where possible, have the founder sharing their story and plans as well.
Matched funding can be powerful - After the campaign launched, one of the investors offered to match all investments made to $50k. This was very powerful, and is definitely something you should explore with your early investor base too!
Conclusion
Collett’s Corner raised $500k and has 345 shareholders.
Your action plan
Putting it into practice
Educate your crowd
Before you start readying yourself for an equity crowdfunding campaign, make sure your crowd is ready too. Gauge their interest in owning a piece of your company and make sure they know what that means in practice.
Prepare, prepare, prepare
Make sure you’ve planned out everything beforehand, from your communications with your crowd to launch events, etc. The more prepared you are, the better you’ll be able to handle unexpected events.
Emphasise your impact
Make sure potential investors know what the X factor of your campaign is, whether it’s the first of its kind, has a social good, or is doing great things for the planet.
How can PledgeMe help?
If you’re considering an equity crowdfunding campaign, we’re ready to help. Contact us for a chat.
You can also learn more about creating a crowdfunding campaign in Australia or in New Zealand on our main website.
