About Us - StartEngine

About StartEngine

StartEngine enables everyday people to become angel investors by giving them access to startup investment opportunities.

OUR COMPANY MISSION

Help Entrepreneurs Achieve Their Dreams

At StartEngine, our mission is to help other entrepreneurs and founders just like us raise the funds they need to grow and achieve their dreams.

OUR VALUES

We have 6 core values at StartEngine. They are the standard that we hold ourselves to in how we interact with each other as well as with our community.

Own the Mission

We believe in StartEngine’s vision and are passionate about helping founders.

Exceed Expectations

We work hard, commit to deadlines, and are never satisfied.

Be a Team Player

We are selfless, collaborative and accountable.

Stay Curious

We think outside the box and question the status quo every day.

Do the Right Thing

We protect our reputation and do right by our customers and investors.

Care About Others

We show respect to each other and are considerate in how we treat others.

We’re in the business of helping other businesses raise capital from the crowd—their customers, friends, and the adventurous investors that are a part of the StartEngine community—and no one’s been doing this longer than we have.

STARTENGINE’S HISTORY

Launching Our First Campaign

We’ve been in the equity crowdfunding business since the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) enacted Title II of the JOBS Act in June 2015, which allowed everyday people from the US and around the world to invest in small US businesses through public crowdfunding campaigns. We launched our first equity crowdfunding campaign in 2015, and we specialize in Regulation Crowdfunding and Regulation A+.

PIONEERING THE FUTURE

Industry Leadership

Under the leadership of our co-founder & CEO Howard Marks, a co-founder of video-game giant Activision, we have established ourselves as industry leaders and a viable alternative source of capital for businesses. In fact, StartEngine is the 10th fastest-growing private company in California, according to the 2020 Inc. 5000 Series list. To date, we’ve raised over $450M on our platform from the 600,000+ StartEngine users.

STARTENGINE OWNERS

Strength in Numbers

We believe in what we do, and it’s why we use equity crowdfunding for our own business too. In fact, StartEngine itself has over 20,000 shareholders on our cap table, and those 20,000 StartEngine Owners are our most active users and strongest brand advocates.

A NEW AGE OF FUNDRAISING

Why Businesses Need the Crowd

Access to Capital

There are nearly 6 million businesses in the US that need capital to grow. A great idea shouldn’t fail because they can’t raise the money to develop into a profitable business.

Finance is Outdated

Existing financing options, such as private equity and venture capital, can’t fund all of these businesses. That’s where we come in.

Democratizing Funding

We believe that any driven entrepreneur with a great idea should be able to raise capital. We’ve built a platform where they can pitch their business directly to the crowd.

Our Team

Howard Marks

StartEngine Co-Founder & CEO

Before co-founding StartEngine, Howard co-founded Activision and was the Chairman of Activision Studios from 1991 until 1997. As a former Board Member and Executive Vice-President of video-game giant Activision, he and a partner took control in 1991 and turned the ailing company into the $37 billion market cap video game industry leader, selling millions of games.

Howard was also the founder and CEO of Acclaim Games, a publisher of online games that was later sold to The Walt Disney Company. Howard is the 2015 “Treasure of Los Angeles” recipient, awarded for his work to transform Los Angeles into a leading technology city, and a member of LA Mayor Eric Garcetti’s technology council. He is bilingual and a triple national of the United States, United Kingdom, and France.

Kevin O'Leary

Strategic Advisor

Kevin O’Leary is a renowned businessman and investor. He founded SoftKey, an educational software company, that he led to a $4B acquisition. After the acquisition, Kevin eventually found himself on television, quickly becoming a sought-after host and personality on a range of shows – including Discovery’s Project Earth, CNBC, and ABC’s Shark Tank.

Kevin has since launched O’Leary ETFs; O’Leary Fine Wines; and a best-selling book series on financial literacy. In 2014, Kevin founded O’Leary Financial Group – a group of brands and services that share Kevin’s guiding principles of honesty, directness, convenience, and above all, great value. Kevin has joined StartEngine as a Strategic Advisor. He is a StartEngine shareholder and a paid spokesperson to help bring awareness to equity crowdfunding and StartEngine’s platform.

Ron Miller

StartEngine Co-Founder & Chairman of the Board

Ron Miller is the Chairman of the Board of StartEngine. Ron facilitates financial ignition for innovative tech and media companies in order to help entrepreneurs achieve the American dream. Ron is a four-time Inc. 500/5000 Award recipient and an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year Award Finalist. He has visualized, founded, built and sold five companies through management buyouts, private equity firms, private investors and public markets.

Ron founded the San Diego Chapter of the Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) and is also a member of WPO/YPO where he has served on the executive committee. Ron is active in the LA Mayor’s Council on Technology and Innovation, the Advisory Council of USC Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and facilitating students at UCLA Anderson. He also sits on the board of West Coast Care and is active in helping homeless individuals get off the street.