Tech Forward

Welcome back to another episode of Tech Forward, listeners! This week I spoke with Caroline Hofmann, COO and Co-Founder of equity crowdfunding platform Republic. In her role as Chief Operating Officer, Caroline manages the company’s multi-faceted operation and its fast-growing team. Prior to Republic, she spent seven years as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company in London and New York. Caroline is also an active angel investor and mentor to several startups. In 2016, title 3 of the Jobs Act opened up venture investing to non-accredited investors, which thereby opened the doors to equity crowdfunding. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, think of equity crowdfunding as a combination of angel investing, and crowdfunding as you know it through platforms like GoFundMe and Kickstarter. The investment itself is similar to those donations, but the investor holds a stake in the company moving forward. While Republic does not require investors to disclose their net worth, Caroline estimates that 80% of in