CDA Health
Age of company:
2 years
Sector:
Health
Annual Revenue:
$342,000
Campaign link:
Total Raised:
$1.5 million
Number of Investors
550
Country:
Australia
Background
After witnessing his chronically ill mother experience pain and suffering which he later found out was preventable, founder Ben Jansen immersed himself in medicinal cannabis research. After medicinal cannabisβ re-legalisation in 2016, Ben founded Burleigh Heads Cannabis Pty Ltd (BHC), now a subsidiary of CDA Health.
CDA (standing for Cannabis Doctors Australia) was founded shortly after, and focussed on the training of doctors to safely prescribe medicinal cannabis to those who need it. CDAβs service gained ground quickly, resulting in patient waiting lists growing longer and available CDA doctors being placed under greater strain. As CDA had a significant crowd of supporters and was on the verge of their next stage of growth, it was time to consider sharing the companyβs ownership.
βWe want to give everyday Australians and sophisticated investors an opportunity to be part of our business. By offering equity to like-minded people in our community, we look to remain independent from Big Pharma.β
Timeline
What worked well?
Good planning and timely execution
CDA had a well thought-out communications strategy and campaign plan before launching. They accounted for any ad-hoc changes which mightβve had to occur too.
Getting experts and the media involved
During their campaign, CDA held several interviews, with medical and industry experts, which built trust and credibility. They got in touch with the media and were featured by several outlets, such as Business News Australia.
Showing the human element
Unlike many other companies in the industry, CDA was very humanised from the start. They showed their faces and engaged with their crowd long before the campaign.
Bouncing back
Despite having to cancel a Facebook Live mid-way through, CDA rescheduled and smashed it the second time around, coinciding with the reaching of their minimum target!
What could have been improved
Internal communications was not always on-point
Once or twice, CDA team members diverged from the original communications plan, which may have possibly taken away from the impact and reach of the content.
The Silver Bullet
How they exceeded their minimum target three-fold
What CDA did very well was having a clear view of their potential campaigners and cultivating these relationships through a well-planned and executed communications strategy.
They were prepared with a list of supporters who had strongly indicated their interest in investing.
They prepared their crowd by welcoming the interested supporters through carefully crafted, informative emails and other online content.
They observed and learned. Before and during their campaign, CDA used techniques they had observed as being successful in similar campaigns run by other companies. This inspired one of their most successful means of growing awareness of their campaign and brand.
Conclusion
Angel Food raised $385k through 194 Shareholders.
Your action plan
Putting it into practice
Carve out the time and space to prepare and stay on track
Before the campaign starts, give yourself the best chance possible by researching what worked for others.
Create ways to stay on track
Throughout the campaign, figure out a dedicated time for weekly campaign check ins.
Linking in your wider crowd for support and social proof
Write emails. Hold events. Help the people who already love your brand to amplify the news about your campaign.
Create a solid comms and social media strategy
Prepare yourself, prepare your crowd, and follow up!
How can PledgeMe help?
If youβre considering an equity crowdfunding campaign, weβre ready to help. Contact us for a chat.
You can also learn more about creating crowdfunding campaigns in Australia or New Zealand.
