Be honest, who would ever invest in something that offered you a guaranteed loss. Such a statement is just back-covering. That would have to be the worst gamble ever, unless that was the intention for some arcane personal agenda.
Misanthropic contrarian trolls will always exercise their right to express an opinion, of course. In which case I will exercise my right to disagree.
So I guess you’ll never know now
I think the point is that there’s no guarantee either way. Nobody invests expecting to lose money, but equally there’s never a guarantee of making money or of a particular exit.
There’s no trolling on my part either - I’m an investor myself. I just think it’s sensible to view any investment with the understanding that there is always risk.
When the time comes, we’ll find out what Monzo decides to do. Until then, I think patience is the only realistic option.
The year is 2491, the AI janitor is about to turn out the lights at Monzo HQ forever, it notices an old paper file (didn’t they go out of production 400 years ago?). Carefully opening the file it see’s a list of names and personal details - at the top a title reads, “Monzo crowdfunders”. “Ah”, the janitor states in recognition, “I thought this thing was just a myth. oh well never mind, they’re all dead now” … the AI janitor throws the file into an old box, turns the lights out and shuts the door.
For what it’s worth, I personally think this is a completely reasonable post, probably felt by many.
It’s nothing to do with investors knowing they were investing in a high risk venture with an uncertain runway for liquidity. In the earliest funding round (which I participated in), 7 years was noted a potential timeframe for IPO. Monzo is ten years old now.
I’d personally like to hang on to my shares for as long as possible but I can understand others wanting the ability to sell, especially with secondary share sales taking place internally.
Clearly this would be a cost to Monzo, but one I think they should support given the early support by crowdfunding investors, if there is enough desire within the investor base.
Interesting prompt. Gemini came up with:
But when cash-in-time happens, and it will to all who are patient, I’ll be like:
I’ve zoomed in and Revels is on the list. 
I’m keen to liquidate my holding because I lost my job (again) this year, and my ongoing ill health has made my financial situation more difficult. Being able to sell the shares I purchased around ten years ago would provide some breathing space. That’s the context for why I’m engaged in this discussion.
I fully understand the risks of crowdfunding investment and I’m not suggesting Monzo guaranteed an exit or owes investors a particular outcome. My point is simply that the situation has changed, as I’ve already explained, and if a secondary raise is being considered, it would be helpful for long‑term crowdfunders to have clarity on whether an exit mechanism might also be offered.
It’s also worth noting that many early supporters — myself included — helped promote Monzo during the pre‑payment card and early banking license days. A significant part of that early growth came from crowdfunders sharing the product through genuine enthusiasm.
I’m outlining why this topic matters to me personally and why I’m actively participating in the discussion. Most contributors here have the crowdfunder Rocket icon, which makes their position clear, whereas Revel hasn’t elaborated on his own involvement.
I love this 
Totally understand; it is frustrating to see staff walk away with significant returns whilst we are ignored.
All I can say is previous senior management seemed very eager to IPO and then do a runner - so I don’t think they ever had crowdfunders interest at heart, maybe the new senior management will be better?
In 2017 & 2018 directors were given the opportunity to sell shares in 2 liquidity events, which Tom Blomfield, Paul Rippon, Gary Dolman and Jason Bates all took advantage of. That’s 8 / 9 years ago now.
In October 2024 Monzo employees benefitted from a liquidity event by selling £109 million of their shares.
And institutional investors have had opportunities to buy and sell with each other all along the way.
Everyone has had the opportunity to take money off the table except crowdfunding investors, so InvestorNo1 is right to point out that this is an injustice and it’s a bit harsh to say “well you knew the risks when you invested, so be quiet.”
I think most crowdfunding investors haven’t raised an issue because they invested a small amount and there’s always been an IPO carrot dangled.
Let’s be brutally honest though. Whilst they lapped up the ‘free’ word of mouth / viral marketing that crowdfunding brought them, ever since then we’ve been a liability to them and something for them to keep a distance from.
In 2017 or 2018 I remember having an exchange on here with Blomfield and Glaenzer from Passion Capital about opening up the next round to more crowdfunding investors. I suggested they should open it up to hundreds of thousands of crowdfunders and they had a whole bunch of reasons why that would be a headache for them. They still did it though because they realised how valuable the marketing was.
It became clear that crowdfunding was actually very expensive to manage and a serious hindrance to their ability to move freely in terms of having a messy cap table and more chefs in the kitchen.
So while the benefits of crowdfunding are huge in terms of building a community and getting ‘free’ marketing, the ongoing management was a pain in their ■■■■ to them and that’s why they’ve always had more important things to do than keep crowdfunding investors in the loop (lack of investor updates pun very much intended) or spend any time or money in looking into the possibility of a crowdfunder liquidity event.
By moving crowdfunders to crowdcube nominees they managed to annex tens of thousands of individual investors into a silent pool managed by somebody else and it enabled them to just forget about crowdfunders and simply say “one day there might be an IPO”.
If there is an IPO or inclusive liquidity event then there will be justice for the crowdfunders. But until that day there is an injustice.
I’m a crowdfunding investor. And I hope to be on that beach with @davidwalton.
That said, I’m now of a view that retail crowdfunding should not be permitted. It’s not appropriate for companies to use investment as a marketing tool. And the asymmetry between parties means that individuals investors have no power and can be - and often are - disadvantaged. There’s no suggestion that Monzo will do that, but I think, in the abstract, that it’s an experiment that’s failed.
That said, would I go back in time and do it again? Yes. (And also invest in Revolut - but that’s another story).
I am an early Crowdcube Investor. I do understand peoples frustrations, in terms of staff being able to sell that is very common and although frustrating to those of us who were early investors, often staff take lower salaries, with shares. So it is different to compare their situation to ours in my opinion and unfair to do so.
I am far from wealthy and there have been plenty of occasions where selling would have been beneficial However, I did understand what I was getting into.
I don’t believe that Monzo has broken any rules, I don’t think they did anything wrong. I also believe that when the IPO does come that my return investment will be well returned.
It It’s just a waiting game, though.
The silver lining to all this is that - at current trajectory - by the time an IPO comes along £4.5 billion valuation should be very much in the rear view mirror.
Preventing us from selling might actually be the single most valuable thing Monzo does for its crowd funders - though I empathise some are struggling and cash now would be very much appreciated.
If it makes you feel better I believe TS made £12 million with the last sale, so that should put a smile on all our faces, bless him.
What would happen to our shares if the nominee “Crowdcube” stopped trading would we lose everything?
The shares would be transferred to a successor nominee or directly to you. They hold the legal title to the shares but you are the beneficial owner so your shares are ring fenced and not their assets to lose.
Thanks, that’s helpful. Two follow-ups though.
If replacing the nominee took years, what happens if Monzo floats in the meantime? Are we simply frozen until the paperwork catches up?
And who actually drives that replacement? My assumption is it’s Crowdcube’s administrator rather than Monzo, but either way it’s someone with no particular reason to treat tens of thousands of small holdings as urgent.
Why would it take years?
I think you’d be correct, but I don’t get why you think administrators don’t have incentives to finish up their work? They don’t like to work for free via wasting time any more than you do.
Might help make up for all the monies I’ve withdrawn from my ISA to put into my startup which itslef will IPO in 2091 
