InvestiNation launches new platform to democratize investment opportunities

In the midst of the ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, InvestiNation has launched its new crowdfunding platform to help U.S.-based investors to take part in investment opportunities. The platform is based on a 2019 framework designed to democratize investment opportunities for individuals or entities looking to invest, particularly in Contech companies.

“We had portfolio companies that were in the middle of a roadshow in the U.S.,” recalled InvesiNation’s Founder and CEO, Oded Eliashiv as Covid-19 caused travel to come to a standstill. “They had to pack up their stuff and come back to Israel. I was thinking, ‘we need to get some kind of solution. How can we provide access to our startups and our investors?’

InvestiNation is part of the BESADNO Group, founded by Chairman Eli Gross and considered the biggest investment house within the Jewish Orthodox community. At the time of its launch, it has six individual companies that are open for investment starting at $15,000. They include SolidBlock, Augmind, MyTower, Structshare, and Trusstor. Its goal is to provide an easy way for investors to support the Israeli tech ecosystem without the pressures faced by conventional VCs.

“When we come across an investment opportunity, it goes through a very vigorous, methodical process of due diligence,” Eliashiv explained when discussing how companies are chosen by InvestiNation. “We do all our investigation, analysis, and we really bet on the company. We put our skin in the game and we want to enable our other investors to come in with the same terms as we come in.”

Eliashiv believes that InvestiNation will help individual investors who, in most cases, don’t have “the tools, the team, the manpower, or experience” to properly identify strong opportunities. An accredited investor is the term used by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an individual or entity that may be financially sophisticated, but may not be investor-savvy or familiar with the logistics. This can refer to wealthy individuals but may also extend to banks, brokers, or trusts. “We provide all the process, data, analysis, all the visibility for those investors,” he said.

Half of the companies that are currently available to investors on the platform relate to Contech or Proptech sectors. This isn’t a coincidence. Eliashiv is also the co-founding Managing Partner of Built Up Ventures, a firm that is part of the network and has invested in two companies that will soon appear on the platform.

“Israel is turning out to be the right place where Contech and Proptech companies are growing”, he added. “The ingredients are here. Proptech is utilizing developed technologies within an ecosystem and packaged to provide a solution for the real estate arena, which has been conservative for many years, and recently, been opened up to new technologies.”

InvestiNation is now open for all U.S.-based accredited investors looking to invest in Israeli startups. It has plans to add more portfolio companies in the future and become a “bridge between the startups in Israel and the markets abroad.”