The Second Security Token Offering (STO) “Made in Germany”
StartMark is the second Security Token Offering (STO) “Made in Germany” approved by the BaFin (The German Financial Regulatory Authority).
Token market
With ICOs disappearing and IEOs slowing down and also fading, the next variant of alternative financing for a businesses is just around the corner, the STOs.
In opposite of ICOs and IEOs token holders hold a right against the token issuer and token issuers have an obligation against token holders. The tokens are backed by an asset that holds a true value. Since the entrance in the STO markets is much steeper for the token issuer than with ICOs and IEOs because of compliance and regulations it is to be expected that this market will be much more professional and serious and will be less fraudulent although there might always be exceptions.
The market for STOs is still its early stages and there are still some problems to solve like lacking interoperability between stakeholders and a missing secondary market for tokenized assets but this quiet normal with a new market in development, we think these problems will be solved shortly. The good thing though about STOs is that investors are more protected due to more strict rules about compliance and regulations for the token issuer, beside the fact that STOs are allowed by the regulators once approved, where ICOs and IEOs are still seen as illegal.
First movers
Out of a slowly but steady growing stream of first movers in the STO market we identified a new STO that might be as appealing to you as to us, but we liked the overall idea of StartMark.
Being a start-up ourselves we have first hand experience with the problem that StartMark is trying to solve so we think their business idea is not only sympathetic but also has a lot of potential since most startups are struggling with the same problem.
If you are an investor looking to diversify your investment portfolio and receive dividends then the proposition of StartMark might be appealing to you.
Problem within the European Union (EU)
StartMark is aiming to overcome one of the biggest problems perceived by Small and Medium Enterprises in the EU, access to capital to finance their businesses.
Especially innovative start-up companies need money to do further research and development, grow their potential, enter new markets, do the necessary marketing etc. It must be clear that these activities are costly and can not be paid by peoples own savings. Either loans or investments from other people are needed in order to be able to grow the business.
Due to the risk assessment procedures of banks because of compliance and regulations it can take a very long time for these start-up companies to get a loan, but more often the outcome is that the start-up does not get the loan granted that was applied for. Both outcomes are in general not good for the start-up company because of the competition they are in, salaries and other operational costs that need to be paid, the stress it brings or in the worst case scenario not getting their business from the ground.
According to a recent article published by Euler Hermes a Credit insurance company with a worldwide network of affiliates Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are suffering a staggering 400bn of bank-financing.
source article: https://www.eulerhermes.com/en_global/media-news/news/SMEs-in-Europe-lack-an-estimated-400bn-of-bank-financing.html
Since SMEs are critical to the overall growth of the economy of the EU this is a serious problem that is leading to lower investment growth and less innovation.
Mission
It is StartMarks mission to offer investors a simple and easy way to participate in start-up companies “made in Germany” where this was until now only possible for Venture Capitalists, Angel Investors, Family Offices and Banks. StartMark does not exclude these investor groups who already have this entrance but gives retail investor also the opportunity to participate.
By setting the entry barrier as low as €100 for investors everybody should be able to participate in the future of Europe starting with financing innovate startups “made in Germany” with great potential and a bright future and make this new way of financing for SMEs a big success.
Market
The StartMark team consists of Entrepreneurs with strong roots and experience in the investor scene of Düsseldorf and the area of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) with about 18 mln citizens. The NRW federal state is accounting for 21,4% of the German GDP being the countries economically strongest region, this means there are a lot of opportunities for investing in solid “Made in Germany” companies.
For more info about NRW can visit the following url: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/regional-innovation-monitor/base-profile/north-rhine-westphalia
Asset
The proposition of StartMark is a diversified investment portfolio of start-up companies “Made in Germany” represented by the SMK token. If these start-up companies are successful for which StartMark holds partly responsibility (StartMark is coaching and providing management to these start-up companies) the investor will profit from the results in the form of dividend payments and a rising token price since these start-up companies will be more worth.
Token Sale Phases
Currently StartMarks Private Token Sale is Live and active until 30 September 2019, investors can enter at a 30% discount receiving 1000 SMK for a minimum investment of €700
In the Presale Token Sale phase from the 1st of October till the 30st of November 2019 investors can enter at a 10% discount receiving 500 SMK for a minimum investment of €450
In the Public Token Sale phase from the 1st of December 2019 till 2nd of July 2020 investors can enter at no discount receiving 100 SMK for a minimum investment of €100
Next to this an Investor who decides to invest €50.000 or more during the Private Token Sale (or Family & Friends Offer) can secure a seat in the Investment Committee.
Conclusion
We mentioned it earlier in this article as a start-up company ourselves we think the idea of StartMark is sympathetic and has a lot of potential, but now it is up to the investors to decide if they think STOs are better than ICOs and IEOs and if they think the same like us in supporting StartMarks plans so that SMEs will be able to become less dependent on banks in finding alternative ways of financing for their businesses.
Useful Links
Website https://startmark.de
Whitepaper https://www.startmark.de/en
Investing https://www.startmark.de/invest
