Liquid Crowd, an equity crowdfunding platform, launched in Montreal yesterday. They will facilitate financing for companies under the start-up equity crowdfunding exemption in Canada.

What differentiates Liquid Crowd, however, is that all applicants to the platform must include an initial public offering (IPO) intent in their business strategy. Additionally, they have partnered with Momentum PR, a public investor and media relations agency based in Montreal that will handle relationships with investors.

“Our relationships allow us to connect local investors with Canadian companies. Liquid Crowd focuses on one of the biggest difficulties that investors face when investing in private companies: the exit strategy,” Tomas Gauthier, Co-founder and CEO of Liquid Crowd told MTLinTECH. “By working with companies whose business plan includes an initial public offering in the short-to-medium term, Liquid Crowd pursues investments that have a targeted exit strategy.”

Last few hours before the official launch of #liquidcrowd 🚀! Ready to bring out the #venturecapitalist in you?

— LiquidCrowd (@liquidcrowd) June 7, 2017

Under the startup crowdfunding exemption in Quebec, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Liquid Crowd has been authorized to act as a funding portal in accordance with applicable securities laws. Any individual resident in one of those provinces may invest up to $1,500 per offering in a company raising money under this exemption. Before the exemption, only a few individuals, such as accredited investors and friends and family members of a company’s management could invest in a private placement.

“Liquid Crowd creates a modern, cost-effective way to connect Canadian companies with local investors. Companies typically need at least 150 investors to list on a Canadian stock exchange. In light of this, crowdfunding is an attractive way not only for companies to raise capital but also to reach the minimum number of shareholders needed to go public,”said Gauthier.

To identify candidates for crowdfunding equity financing, Liquid Crowd will draw on its relationships with incubators and universities. The partnership with Momentum PR, which serves publicly traded companies listed on the TMX, will assist with investor relations.

The first three start-ups that are raising funds through the Liquid Crowd platform are the following:

InstaPay

A prepaid mobile wallet designed to seamlessly bridge the gaps between e-Commerce, remittance (domestic and international), retail POS payment and consumer loyalty industries.

Auxico Resources Canada Inc.

A Canadian mining company founded in 2014 that holds 100% interest in 16 high-grade silver-gold historical mines on the Zamora Property in Mexico.

Bougex

A social network that allows users to connect locally with members interested in the same type of sports and plan sports activities together.