Brokers and banks have been known to partner with sports clubs and racing teams, but what about Crowdfunding platforms? While this sector is still in its infancy, the early results show that crowdfunding firms prefer to align with individual athletes instead of entire teams.
The latest example is a weekend announcement from Seedrs that they have entered a strategic partnership with UK and Scottish born tennis star Andy Murray. Operating an equity crowdfunding platform, Seedrs is tapping Murray to help them grow their brand both in the UK and internationally. In addition to providing brand recognition, Murray is expected to offer unique advice to Seedrs in its analysis of different sectors such as in the health, sport and wearable technology spaces. According to Seedrs, Murray will also be investing and participating in equity crowdfunding deals on the platform.
The partnership marks the first major sports athlete to join an equity crowdfunding platform in a management or advisory role. However, in the past, athletes have been involved with individual deals, acting as headline investors to crowdfunding campaigns.
According to Seedrs, the connection with Murray began as he used the platform to personally invest in some deals. This led Seedrs to contact Murray about entering a business relationship, culminating in the current strategic partnership.
Commenting publicly through Seedrs, Murray stated, “I’ve always been interested in investment, and being able to get involved in an innovative way to help support British startups really appealed to me.” He added that he chose Seedrs after reviewing various platforms.
