Crowdinvesting in Russia in 2025: Practical Guide for Entrepreneurs on Capital Attraction

Practical Guide to Crowdinvesting in Russia: How Entrepreneurs Can Attract Investment Through Investment Platforms, Step-by-Step Plan, Mistakes, Features for IT Projects, and Market Analysis for 2025.

The development of any startup eventually depends on funding. Bank loans for young companies are almost always associated with stringent collateral requirements and refusals, while venture capital funds rarely consider projects in the earliest stages.

One way to attract investments is through crowdinvesting. For the Russian market, this is still a relatively new tool, but its popularity is growing rapidly. This article will explore how crowdinvesting works, its advantages and risks, the steps an entrepreneur should take from concept to successful campaign, and the specific features related to IT projects.

What is Crowdinvesting and How Does it Work?

Crowdinvesting is a form of collective investment where many individuals and companies invest relatively small amounts into a single project. In exchange, they receive a share in the business and may also be entitled to dividends.

The mechanics of crowdinvesting are as follows:

• The entrepreneur registers on an investment platform.
• Prepares a project description and investment terms: the required financing amount, minimum investment, funding timeline, expected returns, etc.
• The platform conducts a basic verification of the company and its documents.
• The project becomes accessible to platform users — potential investors.
• Investors make decisions on whether to invest and the amount.
• If the target amount is raised fully or partially, the funds are transferred to the company.
• Investors obtain rights outlined in contracts: a share, interest on the loan, dividends, or a combination of these.

Crowdinvesting transforms the search for one or two large investors into working with dozens or even hundreds of individuals willing to invest from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of rubles.

Benefits of Crowdinvesting for Entrepreneurs

One of the main advantages is accessibility and clear terms. Crowdinvesting gives a chance to those who do not have access to funds or business angels but have a clear business model and team.

Additionally, the entrepreneur retains control over the business. Large funds often demand significant shares or even control over key decisions. In crowdinvesting, the share is typically diluted among a large number of small investors.

Finally, crowdinvesting is not just about money; it also serves as marketing. Thousands of people from the platform's user base learn about the project, while the entrepreneur actively promotes the campaign on social media, in the media, and within thematic communities, with investors becoming "brand advocates" sharing information with friends and colleagues.

As a result, you simultaneously tackle two goals: attracting capital and increasing product awareness. Often, the first investors also become the initial users of the service or buyers of the product.

Is Crowdinvesting Legal in Russia?

Collecting investments through registered investment platforms in Russia is entirely legal. The operation of crowdinvesting is regulated by Federal Law No. 259-FZ "On Attracting Investments Using Investment Platforms," which came into effect on January 1, 2020.

Key provisions include:

• Platforms must be listed in the register of investment platform operators maintained by the Bank of Russia.
• Operators are subject to capital requirements, internal procedures, IT infrastructure standards, and investor protection measures.
• Relations on the platform between the entrepreneur, investors, and operator are formalized (through contracts, regulations, and offers).

As of the end of 2025, the Central Bank's register lists more than 70 investment platform operators. Working through these platforms reduces legal risks for both entrepreneurs and investors.

The law also regulates the volume of funds that users can invest. Thus, investors without "qualified" status can invest up to 600,000 rubles per year in all projects on investment platforms; there are no such limits for legal entities.

Investment platforms, in turn, are obliged to provide truthful and complete information about businesses, disclose key risks, and explain how raised funds will be utilized.

Distorting facts, concealing information, or providing deliberately false data may result in administrative and criminal liability.

Popular Crowdinvesting Platforms in Russia

Below are several significant market players through which entrepreneurs are already actively attracting capital.

Penenza. One of the leaders in terms of the volume of funded projects. Since 2020, Penenza has facilitated over 8 billion rubles in investments. The main focus is on technology companies and IT startups, as well as digital services. Strong analytical support for projects and well-established legal schemes.

StartTrack. Primarily oriented towards early-stage projects (pre-seed, seed). A significant number of projects in the IT and innovation sectors. A key feature is acceleration programs:

expertise on business models, assistance in product optimization, preparation for deals, and pitches to investors.

“Город Денег.” Works with a wide variety of sectors: IT, services, manufacturing, food & beverage, real estate. Frequently attracts entrepreneurs with favorable placement conditions.

The platform actively helps in project packaging before launch:

“Аврора.” A platform created by the "Voskhoд" team — one of the notable venture players in Russia. It focuses on technology companies with significant annual revenues of 300 million rubles or more. It is geared more towards later-stage firms than startups “from scratch.”

How to Attract Money Through Crowdinvesting: A Step-by-Step Plan

Step 1. Assess Project Readiness. Investors on crowd platforms want to see more than just an "on a napkin" idea. At minimum, they want to see a project presentation, financial model, and descriptions of the team and its achievements. Having an operational product or at least an MVP, initial users, and revenue significantly increases the chances of successful fundraising.

Step 2. Choose a Platform. The audience and likelihood of closing the round depend on where you list your project. Evaluate the minimum and maximum investments, average round sizes, specialization, requirements for the company's stage of development, and service costs.

It is helpful to study already funded projects on the platform within your niche. If the platform has successful cases similar to yours, that’s a significant advantage. Don’t hesitate to reach out to the platform managers for consultations and preliminary evaluations.

Step 3. Prepare Investment Proposal. How you “package” the project is often more important than its current metrics. Documents should clearly answer several questions:

• What problem are you solving?
• What does your solution look like, and how does it differ from competitors?
• Who is your customer, and how big is the market?
• How does the business earn — income sources, margin, economics?
• Who is the team, and why are you better suited to execute this project than others?
• How much money do you need and how will it be spent?
• How will the investor earn and in what timeframe?
  

Don’t inflate revenue and profitability expectations without justification. Unbelievable figures can immediately raise red flags for experienced investors.

Step 4. Create a Video Presentation. Videos increase trust and conversion rates: projects with quality videos typically raise significantly more funds. The video's purpose is to build trust and interest, not to "sell everything immediately." Details will be analyzed in the documents by investors.

Step 5. Launch and Actively Promote the Campaign. The first week after launch is critical. Statistics from similar markets show that if a project gathers about 30% of its goal in the first 7 days, the likelihood of closing the round is close to 90%.

The "first money" effect creates social proof: people are more likely to invest if they see that others have already committed their funds.

Features of Crowdinvesting for IT Projects

Technology projects often appear more attractive compared to traditional businesses. This is generally a product understandable to the mass investor with high scalability potential and rapid growth rates when success is achieved.

Practice shows that the average check size and overall volume of investments in IT projects are significantly higher than in classic "offline" niches, mainly due to expectations of high returns.

However, the requirements for IT startups are also higher. Investors expect that the project has an MVP or a working version, a clear development roadmap, and that the team has a background in IT. Without this, raising funds will be challenging.

Therefore, showcase metrics that reflect dynamics to investors:

• MAU (Monthly Active Users) — monthly active audience;
• CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) — cost of acquiring one customer;
• LTV (Lifetime Value) — total revenue from a customer over the duration of their interaction with the product;
• churn rate — share of users who left during the period;
• MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) — monthly recurring income;
• growth in revenue and user base;
• unit economics — profit/loss per product or user.
  

A clear demonstration of how you plan to reduce CAC, increase LTV, and enhance retention can help investors evaluate the scalability and profitability of the project.

Common Mistakes in Crowdinvesting and How to Avoid Them

Error 1. Over-valuation of the company. Business over-valuation is one of the main reasons why investors pass by. Analyze deals of comparable companies at your stage, consider real financial metrics, and the risk profile of the project. Furthermore, be ready for dialogue and argumentation of your valuation.

It's better to slightly concede on valuation and attract capital than to stick to an inflated figure and fail to close the round.

Error 2. Rushed campaign without preparation. Some entrepreneurs rush to the platform without well-prepared materials, promotion strategies, and preliminary agreements with initial investors. This is almost a guaranteed failure.

Error 3. Lack of communication with investors after collecting funds. Many founders view closing the round as the finish line. In reality, this is just the beginning. You will need to share news with investors, show dynamics on key metrics, report on fund usage plans, stay in touch, and respond to questions.

Openness and honesty strengthen trust and increase the chances of repeat investments in future rounds.

Alternative Ways to Seek Investments

Crowdinvesting is not the only way to attract funding. Venture funds may offer larger sums and expert support but require significant shares in the company and often insist on management involvement.

Business angels may be more flexible in their terms, but finding them is more challenging. They often invest in projects through personal recommendations and networking.

Additionally, various government support programs are available for innovative projects. For example, the Innovation Support Fund, the Russian Venture Company, and regional entrepreneurship support funds offer grants ranging from 500,000 to 20 million rubles.

The main advantage of grants is non-repayable funding. However, the application process can take months, and the reporting requirements are quite strict.

You can combine various funding sources. For instance, start with a grant for prototype development, then attract crowdinvestments for launching sales, and after reaching the break-even point, seek venture investments for scaling.

This approach minimizes the dilution of founders' shares and allows for optimal conditions at each stage of development.

What Does the Future Hold for Crowdinvesting in Russia

Overall, the future of crowdinvesting is tied with technology. The development of blockchain and smart contracts could revolutionize this sector. Tokenization of shares will create a secondary market where investors can sell their shares before the company goes public or is sold to a strategic investor.

Artificial intelligence is already being used to evaluate projects and forecast their success. In the future, AI systems may be able to automatically match projects to the risk profile of particular investors.

Key Takeaways

Crowdinvesting opens opportunities for Russian entrepreneurs. It is not just a way to raise funds — it is a chance to build a community of supporters around your project, gain market validation for your idea, and create a powerful PR effect.

Success in crowdinvesting requires thorough preparation, honesty, and active communication with investors. There is no magic formula that guarantees success, but following best practices and learning from the mistakes of others significantly increases your chances.

Start small: study successful cases in your industry, prepare a quality project presentation, and secure support from initial advocates. Remember that every successful business began with a first step, and crowdinvesting could be the very tool that turns your idea into a thriving business.

The crowdinvesting market in Russia is young and full of opportunities. Those who master this tool now will gain a competitive advantage in the future. Don't delay — start preparing to attract investment today. Your future investors are already awaiting interesting projects, and your startup could be the next success story in Russian crowdinvesting.