How People Invest

What to Expect from the Investment Lifecycle

The following is a step-by-step breakdown of the investment lifecycle—from the second an investment is submitted to the moment the CEO of a company closes his/her offering.

  1. A potential investor will make an investment through the StartEngine platform.
  2. Once submitted, the investor will immediately receive an email from StartEngine notifying that the investment has been submitted.
  3. In order to verify the investor’s identity and ensure security, every investment will go through series of anti-money laundering and background checks.
  4. When all the necessary checkpoints have been cleared, StartEngine will automatically send the investor an email confirming that the investment has been cleared.
  5. Upon meeting the company’s minimum funding goal, the CEO can choose to close on all “cleared” investments and disburse them into the company’s escrow account.
  6. Once the disbursement has been made, the investor will then receive a proof of ownership, or a “countersigned subscription agreement” signed by both the CEO of the company and StartEngine.

We do everything we can to maintain constant communication amongst all parties to ensure transparency so the investment lifecycle can run as smoothly as possible.

Title III / Regulation Crowdfunding Investor Limitations

Investors are limited in how much they can invest on all crowdfunding offerings within a 12-month period. These limitations depend on the investor’s annual income and net worth.

If investor’s annual income or net worth is < $107,000, then he or she can invest:

  • Up to $2,200; or,
  • 5% of annual income or net worth

(Whichever is less)

If investor's annual income and net worth are equal to or more than $107,000, then he or she can invest:

  • Up to $107,000; or,
  • 10% of annual income or net worth (Whichever is less)

Material Changes

Material changes to an offering includes, but is not limited to, a change in minimum offering amount, change in security price, etc.

If a material change is made, investors will have 5 business days to reconfirm their investment, otherwise the investment will automatically be canceled and the funds will be returned.

Investment Cancellations

If investors change their minds, they have 48 hours before the offering period closes to cancel the investment.

International Investors

StartEngine can accept investments from most international countries.

Unless an investor has a US bank account, all international investments need to be made via Wire Transfer. In terms of the currency exchange, this happens prior to the funds leaving the originating country.

There are some additional costs for companies who receive money from abroad. The costs are detailed in the FundAmerica Tech Services Agreement.


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