Investor perks - sketchy?

The only perks I could see were guaranteed early access to current account with exclusive debit card. Did I miss anything?

2 Likes

You didn’t miss anything. I think people are willing to invest for early access and perks, which I believe shouldn’t be the case.

They have had a year to consider their approach to investor perks in round 2 and this is what they’ve gone with - nothing :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

To be fair, they did ask the community for ideas and our responses were not exactly ground breaking - https://community.monzo.com/t/ideas-for-perks-for-investing-in-our-crowdfunding/7190/44

When the round is complete I think we should demand to Free Hat! :cop:

1 Like

I think it’s a bit much to ask for anything really.
If I went and bought shares in apple or Microsoft I wouldn’t get anything bar the shares.
So just be grateful you get anything.

3 Likes

My Android Monzo sticker is a bit faded now, wouldn’t mind another one of those :grin:

1 Like

Not strictly true, Josh. Many companies offer shareholder benefits. It was a big part of the hook when Eurotunnel was launched. Probably there is an inverse relationship between perks and investment performance. My vouchers from Thorntons had the same result.

1 Like

I think that they are giving perks is great but you should not invest only because of perks. You should invest because you belive in the company :wink:

3 Likes

Various companies give perks to their shareholders, using crowdfunding companies as examples they give things like a discount on a card charge/fee, discounted products, free branded clothing, discounted fx rates, etc

I certainly agree with that with regards to crowdfunded startups where you are not out for an annual dividend but there to support and nurture them while they find their feet and start to grow.

With huge multinationals etc it is a different case, there is less personal emotional connection and you are in it just for the profit

1 Like

The point I was really trying to make is that it seems like people aren’t investing to own shares or a piece of monzo, they seem to be doing it because of the benefits. Which I think is a little bit wrong really.

I’d like to think so! But there are no right or wrong reasons for choosing to invest. There are lots of exciting crowdfunding investment opportunities out there, and sometimes perks can be the deciding factor if you’re still deciding where to invest your money.

We wanted to offer something of true value to show our appreciation, but a big consideration when deciding perks was working out what we could offer and deliver reliably at scale? Early access and and investors card seemed to make sense :slightly_smiling_face:

5 Likes

Do people really invest for the perks? I’m due to receive a pack of beer sometime for investing in the Hop Stuff microbrewery, but I would never have put money in unless I believed in their product and plans for significant growth. A similar story is true of Monzo.

1 Like

I think what @Naji means is that both, perks and company, plays a role. There are so much different startups and sometimes it might be hard to decide in which startup to invest to.

Thanks for the feedback! I’d advise looking at the perks as ‘perks’ — what you’re buying is shares in Monzo and it just happens to come with some nice perks :slight_smile: (And we chose them based on your voting and feedback!)

8 Likes

What perks, do we get perks if we invest?

I didn’t know and I’m not fussed. I applied to and want to invest as I want to be part of something amazing.

2 Likes

I think that should answer your question :wink:

I’m attempting to invest because I think Monzo are doing something good and I want to be a part of it, where it’s 0.00000001% or whatever.
If there’s some cool perks then that’s ace but should someone investing £10 get the exact same perks as someone investing £1000?

If we take it everyone who wants to invest is only investing as much as they can afford to then, in reality, everyone is taking on the same level of risk, so should receive the same incentives.

The benefit of investing more is the potential for bigger returns.

3 Likes

Definitely yes. Not only we don’t want 1st and 2nd class investors (tiering), I’m also looking at accessability to whole thing in general. If someone wants to invest £10, rather than £1000, then more people would be able to invest (feel like they are part of Monzo).

2 Likes

Aren’t the shares for crowdfunding a different class of share anyway? That’s a tiering system.

Any perks for investors has to be of a value that’s economically sound at £10 and £1000. It’s the only way to be fair. They can’t send everyone a free t-shirt worth £18 for instance.
Early access to current accounts is the most fair way to give something to all investors.

2 Likes