Editorial note: this is an independent educational overview. Solar Plus Garden is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or partnered with Wearestarting. Fees, minimums and regulatory details change over time. Always check the official pages of the platform before investing.

Comprehensive Guide to the WeAreStarting Crowdfunding Platform: Features, Process, and Investor Protections

Understanding the WeAreStarting Crowdfunding Platform and Its Investment Focus

The WeAreStarting crowdfunding platform operates under the legal entity WEARESTARTING S.r.l., registered in the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) Crowdfunding Service Providers (ECSP) register as of September 30, 2026. This registration mandates compliance with the European Leverantör av gräsrotsfinansieringstjänster Förordning (ECSPR), which establishes legal regulations enhancing transparency, investor protections, and operational uniformity across platforms within the European Economic Area (EEA).

The platform’s home member state is Italy, regulated by the Commissione Nazionale per le Societa e la Borsa (CONSOB). WeAreStarting received its formal authorization from CONSOB on February 20, 2024, under CONSOB Resolution No. 23097, obligating it to comply with disclosure, investor suitability, and campaign management rules. The platform is accessible via its official website www.wearestarting.it, where investors can browse active fundraising campaigns.

WeAreStarting’s fundraising campaigns primarily finance sectors outside renewable energy, focusing on real estate development projects (such as residential and commercial properties), small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) loans, and consumer lending initiatives. This contrasts with sector-specific platforms like Solar Plus Garden, which target solar infrastructure and agrivoltaik with combined community building and environmental impact objectives.

Campaigns on WeAreStarting are required by legal regulations to present a detailed projektbeskrivning covering background, objectives, campaign goals, including funding targets quantified in Euros, and associated risks. Fundraising success is trackable via kampanjuppdateringar that include progress against these targets and the kampanjens tidslinje, which typically ranges from 30 to 90 days depending on the project.

Investors should be aware that investment in real estate or SME credit campaigns involves different risk dynamics, such as liquidity constraints and market cyclicality, compared with infrastructure assets in renewable energy. The absence of direct environmental benefit or community co-ownership also affects overall risk and return profiles.

Step-by-Step Process for Investing via WeAreStarting Crowdfunding Platform

The platform enforces a rigorous investment workflow emphasizing investor safeguards and regulatory compliance.

1. Account Creation and KYC Compliance: New investors register on WeAreStarting by submitting identification documents, such as government-issued ID and proof of address, to fulfill Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations designed to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. This procedure generally completes within 2-3 business days, supported by secure automated identity verification systems.
2. Browsing and Selecting Campaigns: Verified users access a catalog of fundraising campaigns with comprehensive details including donor profiles of previous backers when available, the exact finansieringsmål, minimum investment amounts, and predefined avgifter för gräsrotsfinansiering. Detailed projektbeskrivningar encompass risk disclosures aligned with CONSOB’s transparency mandates.
3. Minimum Investment and Fees: Campaigns set minimum online donations to encourage broad participation, typically ranging from €200 to €5,000 depending on the issuer and funding model. Fees can include an initiation fee of up to 2%, success fees proportional to the raised amount, and possible management fees over the project lifecycle. All fee structures are explicitly detailed within each campaign’s terms.
4. Payment Processing through Integrated Payment Gateways: The platform integrates PCI DSS-compliant payment gateways that accept bank transfers, credit/debit card payments, and some e-wallet options, ensuring secure betalningshantering with encrypted transactions. European PSD2 regulations support strong customer authentication, enhancing plattformssäkerhet och dataskydd.
5. Receipt of Key Investor Information Sheets (KIIS) and Non-Sophisticated Investor Test: Before finalizing any contribution, investors receive a standardized KIIS document summarizing fees, risks, investment horizon, and campaign goals. Investors must pass a non-sophisticated investor test—consisting of a structured questionnaire assessing crowdfunding knowledge—to confirm suitability and legal compliance, reducing the likelihood of inappropriate investments.
6. Fyra dagars reflektionsperiod: Following investment commitment, ECSPR mandates a 4-calendar-day cooling-off period during which investors can withdraw contributions without penalty. This statutory right is communicated clearly via the platform interface and investor communications, facilitating deliberate investment decisions.
7. Campaign Monitoring and Updates: Investors receive real-time kampanjuppdateringar via email and platform notifications outlining progress toward funding deadlines, funds raised against targets, and any modifications to the campaign timeline. An analytics dashboard offers additional visual insight to all backers, enabling effective goal tracking and engagemang för stödjande parter.

Investor Protections and Regulatory Safeguards under ECSPR Applicable to WeAreStarting

WeAreStarting complies fully with ECSPR provisions, establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework governing crowdfunding service providers. This includes:

• Faktablad med viktig information för investerare (KIIS): Mandatory disclosure documents standardized under ECSPR detail campaign structure, investment risks—including project-specific risk factors—and expected returns. These are prepared in plain language to enhance investor understanding prior to financial commitment.
• Test för icke-sofistiker: This test evaluates investor cognitive ability to comprehend crowdfunding risks, ensuring protective compliance by barring investments from unqualified individuals in higher-risk campaigns aligned with CONSOB standards.
• Fyra dagars reflektionsperiod: The legally-mandated 4-calendar-day withdrawal window encourages investor prudence and allows reconsideration without contractual penalty, enforcing consumer protection policies.
• Transparency and Fee Disclosure: Crowdfunding fees, which may include platform charges, payment gateway fees, and third-party service costs, are required to be disclosed upfront with numerical values or rates clearly indicated within campaign documentation and investor interfaces.
• Limitation of Campaign Types: The platform is prohibited from listing opaque or high-risk investment instruments such as derivatives or unregulated financial products, limiting offerings to real estate, SME financing, and consumer loans with verifiable business models and financial disclosures.
• Skattekonsekvenser: While investors receive generalized summaries of potential tax effects, including capital gains tax or dividend withholding considerations, specific liabilities depend on local tax regulations. Investors are advised to consult qualified tax professionals for jurisdiction-specific advice.

Typical Cost Structures and Funding Mechanisms on WeAreStarting

Participants should evaluate costs carefully to determine net investment outcomes.

• Plattformsavgifter: WeAreStarting’s fee model includes initiation fees typically capped at 2% of the invested amount, success fees aligned with raised capital (often 1-3%), and ongoing management charges where applicable for loan-based or revenue-sharing campaigns. Fee disclosures comply with CONSOB Directive No. 23097.
• Payment Processing Fees: Transaction processing fees range between 0.5% and 2%, depending on payment method and currency conversions, absorbed either by investors or campaign issuers as stated in advance.
• Funding Mechanism Types: Fundraising campaigns employ legal contracts for equity participation, loan issuance, or revenue sharing, each possessing defined fondfördelning schedules that specify disbursement timing post-campaign success. Campaigns clarify the financial instrument nature, underlying rights, and redemption terms.
• Tidslinjer för utdelning av medel: Following a successful fundraising campaign, disbursement of collected funds follows contractual terms, typically occurring within 30 days of funding deadline closure, subject to confirmation of regulatory compliance and fulfillment of payment clearance procedures.
• Differences from Solar Plus Garden Model: Unlike Solar Plus Garden, which implements escrow-controlled fund management linked with membership fees supporting agrivoltaic and samhällsbyggande activities, WeAreStarting handles fund collection and distribution within the platform without integrated community membership benefits or garden produce incentives.

Marketing, Campaign Management, and Backer Engagement on WeAreStarting

Campaign creators apply targeted marketing strategies to achieve fundraising success and maintain transparent communication.

• Campaign Promotion Strategies: Leveraging social media outreach platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, coupled with segmented email campaigns targeted at prospective backers based on demographics and behavioral profiles, are standard industry approaches encouraged by WeAreStarting.
• Campaign Analytics and Updates: The platform furnishes campaign managers with detailed analytics dashboards presenting donor profiles, goal tracking, donation flow rates, and projected timelines to optimize campaign progression and maximize crowdfunding-belöningar through effective kampanjuppdateringar.
• Backer Engagement Tools: Användning av belöningsnivåer—structured incentives scaled to contribution levels—enhance publikengagemang and incentivize incremental funding increases. Incentives may include branded merchandise, service discounts, or early product access as appropriate to the campaign.
• Peer-to-Peer Fundraising: Backers can participate in amplifying kampanjfrämjande via personal networks through referrals and social sharing functionalities built into the platform, fostering organic growth and broadening funding sources.
• Platform Security and Data Privacy: WeAreStarting maintains compliance with GDPR and PCI DSS standards, employing encryption protocols such as TLS 1.3 for data in transit, multifactor authentication for account access, and secure storage architectures to safeguard user data and ensure payment gateway security.
• Mobile Optimization: The platform is fully optimized for mobile devices, enabling backers to contribute funds, track kampanjuppdateringar, receive notifications, and engage in stödjarkommunikation from smartphones and tablets across Android and iOS operating systems.

Comparing WeAreStarting Crowdfunding Platform with Solar Plus Garden’s Community Solar Investment Model

Key distinctions arise in investment themes and structural design between WeAreStarting and Solar Plus Garden’s models.

• Investeringsfokus: WeAreStarting finances real estate projects, SME operations, and consumer lending, whereas Solar Plus Garden specializes in solar energy infrastructure and agrivoltaics projects combining renewable energy generation with local food production.
• Risk Profile Differences: WeAreStarting’s investments are exposed to market fluctuations, borrower credit risk, and real estate cycles, presenting higher liquidity risk and less predictable cash flows. Solar Plus Garden’s energy infrastructure investment aligns with regulated energy markets, often benefiting from feed-in tariffs and long-term purchase agreements, which emphasize stability.
• Legal Structures and Regulation: WeAreStarting operates as an ESMA-authorized crowdfunding platform under Italian jurisdiction compliant with ECSPR. Solar Plus Garden uses a dual legal entity structure—Estonian OÜ managing investment and Serbian DOO handling operations—with clearly defined escrow and fund control models enhancing investor protection.
• Investor Engagement Models: Solar Plus Garden integrates community membership fees funding garden activities alongside the solar plant, delivering tangible benefits such as fresh local produce and participatory events. WeAreStarting provides direct financial returns without a community-building component or agrivoltaic linkage.
• Fund Distribution and Transparency: Solar Plus Garden utilizes escrow accounts and transparent revenue reinvestment for community services, whereas WeAreStarting disburses funds directly to campaign issuers post-fundraising, with transparency provided through campaign analytics but no formal escrow for community activities.
• Environmental and Sustainability Implications: Solar Plus Garden projects demonstrate measurable environmental impact by reducing carbon emissions and supporting sustainable agriculture. In contrast, WeAreStarting’s portfolio currently excludes renewable energy investment, focusing on diverse sectors with varying sustainability profiles.

Vanliga frågor

Who is eligible to invest through the WeAreStarting crowdfunding platform?

Individuals and entities completing the mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) verification and passing the ECSPR non-sophisticated investor test are eligible. Jurisdictional compliance depends on local securities laws; non-EEA residents may face restrictions.

What are the typical minimum investment amounts on WeAreStarting campaigns?

Minimum online donations vary by campaign, typically between €200 and €5,000. Investors must consult each campaign’s documentation for precise minimum investment thresholds.

How does the 4-day reflection period work on WeAreStarting?

After committing funds, investors have a statutory 4-calendar-day period during which they may revoke their investment without fees or penalties, under the ECSPR framework. This reflection period begins at the moment of contract conclusion.

What types of projects does WeAreStarting typically finance?

The platform finances real estate developments, SME operational financing, and consumer lending projects. Renewable energy initiatives are not currently part of the platform’s campaign portfolio.

Slutsats

WeAreStarting operates under stringent European legal regulations, offering a structured, transparent crowdfunding platform for non-renewable investment sectors like real estate and SMEs. The investment process incorporates KYC compliance, mandatory non-sophisticated investor testing, Key Investor Information Sheets (KIIS), and a statutory four-day reflection period to ensure investor protections.

Campaigns feature variable minimum donations, clear avgifter för gräsrotsfinansiering, and several funding mechanisms including equity, loans, and revenue sharing. Fund distribution follows predetermined schedules post-campaign, facilitated by secure betalningshantering systems compliant with PSD2 and PCI DSS standards. Campaign creators employ targeted marknadsföringsstrategier leveraging social media outreach och email campaigns att förbättra engagemang för stödjande parter and maximize insamlingsframgång.

While WeAreStarting’s portfolio excludes renewable energy and lacks the integrated medlemskap i gemenskapen or agrivoltaic elements of Solar Plus Garden, it offers a compliant, transparent vehicle for online donations to projects in real estate and SMEs. Prospective investors should carefully review campaign-specific documents, assess related skattekonsekvenser, and evaluate their risk appetite relative to the sector and campaign terms before investing.

Future market developments may extend WeAreStarting’s scope towards renewable energy or community-oriented crowdfunding models; until then, it remains distinct from Solar Plus Garden’s combined investment and community framework integrating environmental impact and agricultural synergy.