The trigger
After nine months pitching angels and VCs, RecycleSmart had raised around $300k from angels and nothing from VCs. Growth was solid, but not at the pace venture funds require. We pivoted to equity crowdfunding and stuck with it.
What we did
Three rounds on Birchal: $1.0M (July 2023), $1.1M (May 2024) and $1.3M (July 2025), each backed by 900 to 1,000 investors.
The first round needed the groundwork. We terminated the shareholders' agreement and replaced it with a constitution built for hundreds of retail shareholders, converted the SAFE notes, and built financial models that could survive the platform's review.
CSF platforms are licensed gatekeepers, and their licence is on the line. Everything has to reconcile.
They challenge every inconsistency in the legal and financial material. It is a different standard from an angel writing a $100k cheque after a slick deck.
The real cost
- Platform fees of 6-8%, plus paid advertising of 5-10%, paid upfront with no guarantee. That's 11-18% of funds raised before anyone's time is counted.
- Legal costs of $5-10k in the first round.
- Time: CFO about 1 day a week for 3 months, CMO about 2 days a week for 3 months, one owner of the Offer Document at 2 days a week for a month, founders as the face of the raise, and anyone who can cold-call working to convert expressions of interest.
After the money lands
- An annual financial report lodged with ASIC from your first CSF shareholder.
- A mandatory audit once cumulative CSF funds reach $3M. We crossed that threshold with round 3.
- A professional share register (we used Cake).
- A steady stream of ASIC updates.
What I'd tell a founder
- Rounds 2 and 3 are much easier. The uncertainty isn't: you could raise $250k or $2M, depending on consumer mood, the economy and your company's recent performance.
- Retail investors back what resonates with them, not the valuation. Sustainability businesses do well.
- In my experience CSF is close to a one-way door. VCs want outsized returns, preference shares and control. An inflated valuation plus a 1,000-name cap table make that hard to give them.
- Don't run it without strong finance capability. The scrutiny is regulatory, not conversational.
- Don't underestimate the load on the rest of the team. This isn't a CFO-only job.