Crowdfunding is a means of raising investment from a large number of people through a dedicated online platform. Anyone can invest through such a platform, with investments typically ranging from £10 to over £50,000.

Unlike other types of fundraising, if you invest in a business in this way, you become a shareholder in the company – you have a share of ownership, or equity, in the business.

If Milbotix is a success and is eventually bought by another company or goes public at a higher value than it was when you first invested, you’ll get a return on your investment. However, the opposite is also true. If the company fails, you may lose some, or all, of your investment.

There are two main ways you can make money on your shares – through either a trade sale (where Milbotix is sold to another company) or an IPO (Initial Public Offering – where shares in Milbotix are offered on the stock exchange). We hope that both of these options would enable you to sell your shares in Milbotix at a higher price than the price you paid.

There are two main risks to be aware of when investing in private businesses such as Milbotix.
The value of your shares depends on how successful the business is and as such they can go up and they can go down. If the businesses fails, you risk losing all of your investment.
Until the anticipated trade sale or initial public offering (IPO) it can be difficult to value and sell your shares. During this period you may not be able to sell your shares even if the business is successful and has increased in value.

Shares bought via the Crowdcube platform tend not to be traded on any secondary market although this is not impossible and platforms such as Crowdcube are looking into how they might open a secondary market to facilitate the sale and purchase of these types of shares.
Milbotix business is at an early stage but at the point of a trade sale / IPO (Initial public offering) you would be able to sell your shares.