When you start to consider the possibility of starting a funding round, it is therefore natural to ask yourself how long it will take to conclude the campaign.
We can say right away that, on average, an equity crowdfunding campaign develops over a period of time ranging from six to eight months, considering both the preparation phase and the actual raising of funds.
Now, let’s see what the various phases consist of.
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Pre-campaign
In this phase, which generally lasts from two to four months, startups and SMEs carry out all the activities preliminary to the launch of the actual campaign. Typically, this is the period in which all the informative documentation for investors is produced (market analysis, business plan, pitch) and during which the marketing and communication strategies that will support fundraising are defined.
During the pre-campaign phase the marketing plan and the budget to be allocated for communication will be defined first and then all the necessary activities will be implemented to reach the target investors and prepare them for the start of the campaign.
This is a crucial stage in the success of the campaign, where nothing can be left to chance.
Campaign
A funding round has an average duration of two to three months. The campaign period can also be further divided into phases.
Private Live
At this stage, companies may decide to make the investment available only to a small, selected network of contacts.
Generally, this is a relatively short period of time, lasting a couple of weeks or so, but during which it is possible to maximize the raising of funds before opening up the subscription to a wider audience.
Public Live
his is the moment in which the campaign is made accessible to the entire audience of potential investors. This is the period during which it is necessary to reach 100% of the minimum fundraising target in order to have access to the capital invested, as required by the equity crowdfunding regulations.
Although it is not possible to indicate a specific duration, on average this phase lasts about a couple of months.
Post-campaign
Once the fundraising has closed, the campaign cannot yet be defined as effectively concluded.
It is necessary, in fact, to consider all the investor relations activities that startups and SMEs will be called upon to carry out from this moment on with investors who have become true co-partners of the company.
However, this is not all: once the financing round is over, a series of formalities are obligatory before the campaign can be considered effectively concluded.
First of all, it will be essential that all investors complete their subscriptions and then await the possible exercise of the ‘right of withdrawal’.
After that, the fundraising portal will also begin its due diligence, fundraising and allocation of subscribed shares for each of the lenders.
Typically, this is a phase that lasts for a month on average.
