I like the variety of offerings, especially the relatively new one's involving more advanced companies via an intermediate LLC. But once things get funded, there are few follow-up reports regarding how the funded company is doing and what an exit might look like at some point. This applies also to the Start Engine offering itself. I have no idea what the business plan is and when there might be an orderly exit. The potential of selling into a secondary market at a deep discount is not a substitute for a periodic progress report about funded companies. For these reasons I have slowed down my investments considerably and have no idea how I will ever get out of most of the ones I am in.
I'm still waiting for a response to my question as to how to access the security after the ipo. They seem to be focused on sales.
Hi Michael, thank you for your feedback! It looks like our support team was able to assist you with answering IPO-related questions on 10/9/2024. If you still need additional clarity please contact us directly at contact@startengine.com. Thank you!
I got an invitation to contribute to a C series for Kyte. The funding offered is sitting in an account unused for weeks. I can't find Kyte on their website. I keep getting invitations to other start ups, but nothing on this one. Maybe this is just that I'm new to this - having a video to explain how all of this works might help.
Hi David, thank you for your feedback. I have reached out directly to your email to assist with any navigation issues and to provide any additional clarification needed. We are constantly looking for ways to improve so your feedback on the investment process is appreciated. Hope you hear from you soon!
The site is very easy to understand and use. Good job!
Thank you for the kind words! We're thrilled to hear you found the site user-friendly. Your feedback means a lot to us!
I tried to make an investment and my payment was cancelled for no good reason so I cancelled the whole transaction including the $275 fee. I am still having trouble getting the $275 fee credited to my credit card. It has been a horrible experience!
Hello! Thank you for bringing this to our attention. It looks like on 9/16/24 we tried to cancel the subscription and process a refund at your request but then you disputed the charge with your bank. For additional clarity, when an investor files a dispute with their bank, the bank takes control of the funds which no longer gives us access to the money to issue the refund. A dispute can take up to 90 days for the investigation to be completed before a final decision is made by the banks.
After further investigation, your dispute has about 12 days until we get an update from your bank. Please allow some additional processing time for your bank.
Please note that if StartEngine wins the dispute, we will still honor the refund the moment the funds are returned to us. I can see you are already in contact with our support team so please feel free to reach out if you need anything else. Thanks again for bringing this to our attention and we hope this clarification helps!
I bought into this thinking I knew something about it only to discover that it's not what I thought it was it has been difficult for me To find an explanation of where my money is, and what it's doing. I really don't know what to expect.
Hi Kathleen, thank you for providing this feedback. We apologize for any difficulties you have experienced. All investments made by you will be shown in your StartEngine account dashboard. You can access it by going here: https://investment.startengine.com/account/portfolio. Please feel free to reach out to us directly at contact@startengine.com if you need any assistance! We hope you are able to log in and see your investment soon! Have a great day :)
I had a simpleton question that experienced seasoned investors would have probably laughed at but the lady who responded was patient, kind and explained in detail, very thorough! It made all the difference in the world!
Hello Nathan! Thank you for your wonderful review! We're thrilled to hear our team provided patient and thorough assistance. Your feedback means a lot to us, and we're glad we could make a difference for you!
Good points:
- Customer service timing is quite good. They go straight to the point and solve your issues. They are very kind, respectful, and responsive. Very good customer service.
- Company referral program rewards are awesome.
- Investing in companies is easy and straightforward.
- The verification process is easy and straightforward.
- Transparency with fees and costs.
- Issuance of the subscription agreement is a fast and reliable process.
- Most momentum companies and listings' details are useful.
Not so good:
- I'm an international trader/investor. It was easy to purchase StartEngine shares, but trading is disallowed on the marketplace for international traders. Please support international investors because it's not easy to sell outside the marketplace.
- Company referral acceptance is complicated. Not every company is a good fit to raise money on StartEngine, which makes the prospecting process difficult.
- It could be great to show the current share value on the dashboard.
Hi Carlos!
Thank you for taking the time to provide detailed feedback about your experience with our platform. We greatly appreciate your insights and are thrilled to hear that you've found many aspects of our service to be excellent.
We're delighted that you've found our customer service to be prompt, efficient, and courteous. Providing exceptional support to our users is a top priority, and we're glad to hear that our team has been able to assist you effectively.
Regarding your suggestions for improvement, we hear you loud and clear. These are all very valuable suggestions, and we'll definitely take them into consideration as we continue to enhance our platform for all users.
Once again, thank you for your valuable feedback. We're committed to continuously improving our platform to better serve your needs and provide you with the best possible investment experience. If you have any further suggestions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to us directly at contact@startengine.com.
Have a great day!
Still waiting for my investment in StartEngine to reflect a stock split announced several months ago. This is normally a same day process.
Hi Richard, thank you so much for your feedback here. We apologize that the stock split reflected in your portfolio has been delayed further than we both anticipated, however, this is a complex task that several teams are responsible for and unfortunately, it is not a same-day process. Rest assured all teams involved are working diligently to make sure this is reflected soon. Thanks again for your patience, if you have any other questions or concerns please contact us directly at contact@startengine.com. Have a great day!
Had some issues with my account and the representative was thorough in following up and making sure it was resolved.? Only issue I had was the amount of time it took. However at the end of the day it was resolved.
Hey Tim! Thanks for sharing your experience! We're glad our representative was thorough and able to resolve the issues with your account, even though it took longer than expected. If you need any further assistance, feel free to reach out. We appreciate your patience and understanding!
Answer: Yes, StartEngine is absolutely a legitimate business to invest in. Most recently they've hired Kevin O'Leary from the investment TV show "Shark Tank" as their new spokesman. They are currently the 10 fastest growing private company in CA.
Answer: Hi John. Refunds are processed within 10 business days. To check on the status of your refund, please reach out to our support team by emailing contact@startengine.com and we'd be happy to assist.
Answer: Hey William, Thanks for getting in touch with StartEngine, we are happy to assist with your question! To clarify, companies that raise funds on StartEngine are private companies, so unlike companies listed on the NYSE or NASDAQ, their shares do not fluctuate in value on a day-to-day basis. These investments are considered longer-term and not immediately liquidating. Typically, you will only see a change in the value of your shares if/when the company raises additional capital or goes through an exit event, such as an acquisition or IPO. And keep in mind that your StartEngine dashboard won't reflect any changes in share value – it only shows the initial terms of your investment at the time you made it. If you have any questions about the company and its progress, we recommend reaching out to them directly through the "comments" section of their campaign page or website. If you want to learn more about investing in startups and the potential outcomes, you can check out the articles at www.startengine.com/blog/investing-in-startups-101 and help.startengine.com. If you have further questions, please feel free to reach out to our support team directly at contact@startengine.com. Thanks for using StartEngine and have a great day!
Answer: Hi Bruce, Thank you for your question. StartEngine is an investment platform that allows companies to raise capital by exchanging capital for securities (equity or debt). Rather than asking friends, family, and fans to donate money to help raise funds, StartEngine enables companies to raise capital by offering investment opportunities to the general public. Now anyone is able to be an angel investor! To learn more about investing with StartEngine, please check out our handy Help Guide at: https://help.startengine.com If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact us directly at contact@startengine.com. Have a great day!
Answer: Hi Antonio, Thank you for your question. StartEngine is an investment platform that allows companies to raise capital by exchanging capital for securities (equity or debt). Rather than asking friends, family, and fans to donate money to help raise funds, StartEngine enables companies to raise capital by offering investment opportunities to the general public. Now anyone is able to be an angel investor! To learn more about investing with StartEngine, please check out our handy Help Guide at: https://help.startengine.com If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact us directly at contact@startengine.com. Have a great day!
Answer: Hi Daniel. To see the status of your investment, you can log in to your account and go to investment.startengine.com/dashboard. If you have any other questions, please reach out to us at contact@startengine.com. Thank you!
Answer: Hi Frank, We cannot provide financial advice or predict a return on investment. However, as a rule start-up investing is inherently extremely high risk, longer term, and illiquid and you should only invest what you can afford to entirely lose. Investing in start-ups should only be done because you are passionate about supporting the company and believe in them. As always, we recommend consulting a financial professional to discuss your own personal goals. You can follow companies on our platform and receive their updates even without investing by making an account and clicking on the "heart" icon on their campaign page.
StartEngine has a rating of 2.7 stars from 187 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers dissatisfied with StartEngine most frequently mention customer service, phone number and email address. StartEngine ranks 2nd among Crowd Funding sites.
Thank you for sharing your detailed feedback. We’re glad to hear you appreciate the variety of offerings, including those involving more advanced companies. We understand your concerns about follow-up reports and exit opportunities. Transparency and communication are areas we continuously strive to improve, and feedback like yours helps us prioritize these efforts. We’ll take your input into consideration as we work on enhancing progress updates and providing clearer paths for investors. We truly appreciate your support and investment journey with us!