A Taxonomy of Equity Crowdfunding Startups in Brazil
Main Article Content
Abstract
Objective: this study addresses a gap in the literature by providing a taxonomy of startup profiles in the equity crowdfunding (ECF) market, analyzing their financial performance from an accounting perspective. Methods: using cluster analysis, t-SNE dimensionality reduction, cross-tabulations, and regression trees, we classified 37 equity offers from six platforms (2017–2020). The proposed taxonomy distinguishes two groups: operational performance, characterized by negative profitability but high fundraising values, and financial performance, marked by positive profitability but modest fundraising values. Results: we argue that startups’ financial goals, the amount raised in fundraising campaigns, the category of ventures, the type of business, and financial performance indicators are relevant KPIs for investors in the Brazilian ECF market. The taxonomy also identifies distinct entrepreneurial profiles, complementing the ex-ante analysis with an ex-post perspective. Conclusions: this approach offers a strategic tool for investors and managers to make informed decisions based on historical results, contributing to a refined understanding of the determinants of business success.
Downloads
Article Details

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Ahlers, G. K., Cumming, D., Günther, C., & Schweizer, D. (2015). Signaling in equity crowdfunding. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 39(4), 955-980. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12157
Alharbey, M., & Van Hemmen, S. (2021). Investor intention in equity crowdfunding. Does trust matter? Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 14(2), 53. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm14020053
Alamsyah, A., & Syahrir, S. (2024). A taxonomy on blockchain-based technology in the financial industry: Drivers, applications, benefits, and threats. In N. El Madhoun, I. Dionysiou, & E. Bertin, Blockchain and Smart-Contract Technologies for Innovative Applications (pp. 91-129). Springer.
Altman, E. I. (1968). Financial ratios, discriminate analysis, and the prediction of corporate bankruptcy. The Journal of Finance, 23(4), 589-609. https://doi.org/10.2307/2978933
Arruda, M. (2019). O atual estágio do equity crowdfunding no Brasil plataformas, startups e retorno sobre o investimento. CFA Society Brazil. https://cfasociety.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/PIF_mencao_honrosa_2_2019.pdf
Belleflamme, P., Omrani, N., & Peitz, M. (2015). The economics of crowdfunding platforms. Information Economics and Policy, 33(1), 11-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoecopol.2015.08.003
Berger, A. N., & Frame, W. S. (2007). Small business credit scoring and credit availability. Journal of Small Business Management, 45(1), 5-22. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-627X.2007.00195.x
Berger, A. N., & Udell, G. F. (1995). Relationship lending and lines of credit in small firm finance. Journal of Business, 68(3), 351-381. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2353332
Block, J. H., Colombo, M. G., Cumming, D. J., & Vismara, S. (2018). New players in entrepreneurial finance and why they are there. Small Business Economics, 50(2), 239-250. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-016-9826-6
Brenner, W., Karagiannis, D., Kolbe, L., Krüger, D. K. J., Leifer, L., Lamberti, H. J., ... & Schwabe, G. (2014). User, use & utility research. Business & Information Systems Engineering, 6(1), 55-61. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-013-0302-4
Cason, T., Tabarrok, A., & Zubrickas, R. (2024). Signaling quality: How refund bonuses can overcome information asymmetries in crowdfunding. Management Science, 71(7), 5419-6318. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.03923
Chit, M. M., & Rizov, M. (2024). Alternative financing strategies for startups: A comparative analysis of bootstrapping and crowdfunding. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 21, e00351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbvi.2024.e00351
Coakley, J., Cumming, D. J., Lazos, A., & Vismara, S. (2024). Syndicated equity crowdfunding and the collective action problem [Working Paper no 955/2024]. European Corporate Governance Institute–Finance. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4703001
Colombo, M. G., Franzoni, C., & Rossi‐Lamastra, C. (2015). Internal social capital and the attraction of early contributions in crowdfunding. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 39(1), 75-100. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12118
Comissão de Valores Mobiliários. (2019). Número de investidores em crowdfunding cresce após regulamentação. https://www.gov.br/cvm/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/numero-de-investidores-em-crowdfunding-cresce-apos-regulamentacao-27b58cd016fd487cbdb76dbdd3993c0f
Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (2021). Crowdfunding de investimento movimentou mais de R$ 84 milhões em 2020. https://www.gov.br/cvm/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/crowdfunding-de-investimento-movimentou-mais-de-r-84-milhoes-em-2020
Comissão de Valores Mobiliários. (2023). Plataformas eletrônicas de investimento participativo (crowdfunding) registrados na CVM. https://www.gov.br/cvm/pt-br/assuntos/regulados/consultas-por-participante/crowdfunding/plataformas-registradas-1/plataforma-de-crowdfunding-registradas-2022.pdf
Correia, S., Sousa, M., & Brandão, E. (2024). What do we know about the choices of entrepreneurs before the equity crowdfunding campaign? Small Business Economics, 63, 1-31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-023-00868-x
Cosh, A., Cumming, D., & Hughes, A. (2009). Outside entrepreneurial capital. Economic Journal, 119(540), 1494-1533. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2009.02270.x
Courtney, C., Dutta, S., & Li, Y. (2017). Resolving information asymmetry: Signaling, endorsement, and crowdfunding success. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 41(2), 265-290. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12267
Cumming, D., Johan, S., & Zhang, Y. (in press). Information asymmetry in entrepreneurial finance: The role of disclosure in equity crowdfunding. Journal of Corporate Finance. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102202
Damodaran, A. (2009a). Valuing young, start-up and growth companies: Estimation issues and valuation challenges. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1418687
Damodaran, A. (2009b). Damodaran on valuation: Security analysis for investment and corporate finance, Wiley Finance Book.
Damodaran, A. (2012). Investment valuation: Tools and techniques for determining the value of any asset, university (3rd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Denis, D. J. (2004). Entrepreneurial finance: An overview of the issues and evidence. Journal of Corporate Finance, 10(2), 301-326. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0929-1199(03)00059-2
Derave, T., Gailly, F., Sales, T. P., & Poels, G. (2024). A taxonomy and ontology for digital platforms. Information Systems, 120, 102293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.is.2023.102293
Di Pietro, F., Grilli, L., & Masciarelli, F. (2023). Talking about a revolution? Costly and costless signals and the role of innovativeness in equity crowdfunding. Journal of Small Business Management, 61(2), 831-862. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2020.1816435
Di Pietro, F., & Butticè, V. (2020). Institutional characteristics and the development of crowdfunding across countries. International Review of Financial Analysis, 71, 101543. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2020.101543
Ermawati, E. (2024). Crowdfunding as an entrepreneurial financing mechanism: A review of literature and policy implications. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 13(1), 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-024-00332-9
Fama, E. F. (1970). Efficient capital markets: A review of theory and empirical work. The Journal of Finance, 25(2), 383-417. https://doi.org/10.2307/2325486
Fama, E. F. (1991). Efficient capital markets II. The Journal of Finance, 46(5),1575-1617. https://doi.org/10.2307/2328565
Felipe, I. J. S., Mendes-da-Silva, W., Ali, I., & Francisco, E. R. (2023). Good news from mass media induces more investments in the equity crowdfunding market. Brazilian Administration Review, 20(1), e210083. https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-7692bar2023210083
Ferreira, B. C. F., & Felipe, I. J. S. (2020). Determinantes do sucesso de campanhas de equity crowdfunding. Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, 31(84), 560-573. https://doi.org/10.1590/1808-057x202010460
Geiger, D., Seedorf, S., Schulze, T., Nickerson, R. C., & Schader, M. (2011). Managing the crowd: Towards a taxonomy of crowdsourcing processes. AMCIS 2011 Proceedings. https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2011_submissions/430/
Gompers, P. A., Kovner, A., Lerner, J., & Scharfstein, D. (2010). Performance persistence in entrepreneurship. Journal of Financial Economics, 96(1), 18-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2009.11.001
Greengard, P., Liu, Y., Steinerberger, S., & Tsyvinski, A. (2020). Factor Clustering with t-SNE. S&P Global Market Intelligence Research Paper Series. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3696027
Harrison, R. (2013). Crowdfunding and the revitalisation of the early stage risk capital market: Catalyst or chimera? Venture Capital: An International Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, 15(4), 283-287. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691066.2013.852331
Hornuf, L., & Schwienbacher, A. (2018). Market mechanisms and funding dynamics in equity crowdfunding. Journal of Corporate Finance, 50, 556-574. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2017.08.009
Lupi, A. L. P. B., Séllos Knoerr, V. C., & Oliveira, J. S. (2019). Anotações acerca do sistema financeiro brasileiro, mercado de capitais e a regulamentação do invested-based crowdfunding no Brasil. Administração de Empresas em Revista, 4(18), 110-131. https://revista.unicuritiba.edu.br/index.php/admrevista/article/view/4043
Mahmood, A., Luffarelli, J., & Mukesh, M. (2019). What’s in a logo? The impact of complex visual cues in equity crowdfunding. Journal of Business Venturing, 34(1), 41-62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2018.09.006
Malmström, M. (2014). Typing fast and wrongly? A critique of the typology in bootstrapping research. Venture Capital, 16(3), 251–274. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691066.2014.902759
Malta, T. L., & Camargos, M. A. (2016). Variáveis da análise fundamentalista e dinâmica e o retorno acionário de empresas brasileiras entre 2007 e 2014. REGE-Revista de Gestão, 23(1), 52-62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rege.2015.09.001
McKelvey, B. (1982). Organizational systematics--taxonomy, evolution, classification. Univ of California Press.
Meoli, M., & Vismara, S. (2021). Information manipulation in equity crowdfunding markets. Journal of Corporate Finance, 67, 101866. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2020.101866
Miglo, A. (2021). Crowdfunding under market feedback, asymmetric information and overconfident entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship Research Journal, 11(4), 20190018. 1. https://doi.org/10.1515/erj-2019-0018
Mollick, E. (2014). The dynamics of crowdfunding: An exploratory study. Journal of Business Venturing, 29(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2013.06.005
Nossa, S. N., Lopes, A. B., & Teixeira, A. (2010). A recompra de ações e a análise fundamentalista: Um estudo empírico na Bovespa no período de 1994 a 2006. BBR-Brazilian Business Review, 7(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.15728/bbr.2010.7.1.1
Penman, S. H. (2010). Financial statement analysis and security valuation. McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Picken, J. C. (2017). From startup to scalable enterprise: Laying the foundation. Business Horizons, 60(5), 587-595. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.05.002
Piva, E., & Rossi-Lamastra, C. (2018). Human capital signals and entrepreneurs’ success in equity crowdfunding. Small Business Economics, 51(3), 667-686. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-017-9950-y
Ralcheva, A., & Roosenboom, P. (2019). Forecasting success in equity crowdfunding. Small Business Economics, 55, 39-56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-019-00144-x
Richardson, S., Tuna, I., & Wysocki, P. (2010). Accounting anomalies and fundamental analysis: A review of recent research advances. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 50(2-3), 410–454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacceco.2010.09.008
Ries, E. (2011). The lean startup: How today’s entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses. Crown Business.
Ryan, R. M., O’Toole, C.M., & McCann, F. (2014). Does bank market power affect SME financing constraints? Journal of Banking & Finance, 49, 495-505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2013.12.024
Ryu, S., & Kim, Y. G. (2018). A typology of crowdfunding sponsors: Birds of a feather flock together?. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 27, 31–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2017.12.003
Safitri, D. K., & Rita, M. R. (2022). The effects of equity crowdfunding and business partnership relationships on business performance: A study on MSMEs registered in Santara, 12(1), 259-272. https://doi.org/10.30588/jmp.v12i1.1169
Santos, R. F., & Cruz, V. D. S. N. (2020). O crime de insider trading nas operações de equity crowdfunding. Revista da Procuradoria-Geral do Banco Central, 14(1), 112-126. https://doi.org/10.58766/rpgbcb.v14i1.1050
Serviço Brasileiro de Apoio às Micro e Pequenas Empresas. (2023). Equity crowdfunding: Investimento para escalar sua startup. https://sebrae.com.br/sites/PortalSebrae/equity-crowdfunding-investimento-para-escalar-sua-startup,d56d404f0f257810VgnVCM1000001b00320aRCRD#:~:text=Os%20dados%20apontam%20ainda%20que,%2C%20um%20aumento%20de%20139%25
Schwienbacher, A., & Larralde, B. (2012). Crowdfunding of small entrepreneurial ventures. In D. Cumming, (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Entrepreneurial Finance. Oxford University Press.
Signori, A., & Vismara, S. (2016). Returns on investments in equity crowdfunding. https://ssrn.com/abstract=2765488
Signori, A., & Vismara, S. (2018). Does success bring success? The post-offering lives of equity-crowdfunded firms. Journal of Corporate Finance, 50(1), 575-591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2017.10.018
Siqueira, E. S., & Diniz, E. H. (2017). Equity crowdfunding no Brasil: Características dessa modalidade de investimentos, novos aspectos regulatórios e o perfil do investidor. XX SEMEAD. Novembro.
Tomczak, A., & Brem, A. (2013). A conceptualized investment model of crowdfunding. Venture Capital, 15(4), 335-359. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691066.2013.847614
Torabi, O., & Mirakhor, A. (2018). Controlling information asymmetry in equity crowdfunding. Journal of Economic and Social Thought, 5(1), 32-41. https://doi.org/10.1453/jest.v5i1.1610
Vismara, S. (2016). Equity retention and social network theory in equity crowdfunding. Small Business Economics, 46(4), 579-590. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-016-9710-4
Vismara, S. (2018). Signaling to overcome inefficiencies in crowdfunding markets. The Economics of Crowdfunding. In D. Cumming & L. Hornuf, The economics of crowdfunding (pp. 29-56). Palgrave McMillan.
Wooldridge, J. (2003). Cluster-sample methods in applied econometrics. The American Economic Review, 93(2), 133-138. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3132213
Yeh, J.-Y., & Chen, C.-H. (2020). A machine learning approach to predict the success of crowdfunding fintech projects. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 35(6), 1678-1696. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-01-2019-0017







