Welcome!
In this user guide, you should have everything you need to launch and run your funding round on Odin.
On this page, we provide a top-line overview. You can also search the help centre for additional information on specific steps, the legal structure, FAQ's, etc.
If you can't find what you're looking for, just hit the chat logo and you can look up information, or drop us a message.
What is Odin?
We are building a better way to invest together in startups & VC funds.
Longer term, we want to radically improve the way that people connect, collaborate and create value more broadly, but we're starting small :-)
For founders, we offer the fastest, most seamless tool in the world to raise money from your community and keep your cap table clean. It works for companies and investors globally!
Unlike crowdfunding platforms, we do not introduce you to investors - we just provide a tool for you to raise money quickly, easily and cost-effectively from your own network. We'll be adding more social features soon so that you can discover and interact with investors on our platform, but you'll only have access if you've already raised a round with us.
Why use Odin?
As a founder, three key reasons:
Speed: secure investments from your angel investors instantly, as soon as they commit to your round (rather than waiting until everyone else, including VC's, are confirmed);
Simplicity: engage a larger community investors, without ending up with a messy cap table and complex governance processes as a result, by housing smaller cheques inside a single legal entity (an SPV);
Flexibility: raise money flexibly, at low cost, as and when you need to.
💡 With Odin, you can set up a deal page, start sending a link to investors, signing legals and collecting funds in 24 hours.
Money is held in our segregated account until you complete the round, although you have the option to do a rolling close and draw down funding in tranches.
Once the round closes, all the investors that came via Odin our housed in a single entity (an SPV - special purpose vehicle), and voting on matters requiring investor consent is handled by a single person - usually the founder or someone they nominate.
The Process
Launching a round and funding your company with Odin can be broken into three steps:
Round Creation;
Raising;
Completion
End to end, this process typically takes about 2 weeks.
However, it depends how quickly your investors complete KYC/AML checks, commit and wire funds. It also depends on your priorities - many founders leave a round live with us for several months, and draw down funds on a rolling basis (a rolling close). This is very convenient if you're regularly accepting new cheques from angel investors.
The fastest we can do a round is about 3 days, and we can typically get your deal page live in 24 - 72 hours.
1.Round Creation - 24 to 72 hours
To start, you just hit the "create deal" button, and then click "Raise funds for my company".
Next you'll need to submit all the information about your company, share all the materials you'd like investors to have access to, add the deal terms and upload the relevant legal documents.
If you want to raise via an Advanced Subscription Agreement (ASA, sort of like a UK version of a SAFE agreement), Odin has a free copy that you can fill as appropriate. You can also use a SAFE without paying for lawyers. Otherwise, we'll need the draft legal documents for the investment instrument you are issuing (eg. Ordinary shares via a Share Subscription Agreement).
The Odin entity is essentially buying this underlying instrument on behalf of the investor group - each of them will own a % beneficial interest in whatever shares, ASA or other instrument your company issues.
We automatically generate all the legal documents covering the creation of the SPV (special purpose vehicle), including the agreement between you, the Investors and Odin. We handle the creation and management of the SPV, and can guide you on how voting functions.
What happens next?
We’ll review your submission, handle any issues and also reach out to collect some basic KYB information & confirm your recipient bank account details.
Typically the deal review process takes no longer than 48 hours, but it can take longer if you do not provide us with all the information we need - so it's good to only hit "submit" once you're 100% ready to go!
If everything looks good to go, we’ll email you asking for confirmation to put the round live. At this point you’re able to share it via link and begin collecting investments.
2. Raising - at your own pace
Once your deal page is live, you can start collecting funds from investors immediately. It is very straightforwards.
You'll have access to a deal dashboard, which will look something like this:
You just hit "invite investors" and send them the link that the platform generates. Investors create an account (if they don’t have one), go through KYC/AML, sign and wire funds by bank transfer (global, multi-currency). All banking and payment flows are handled by Odin.
You can share the invite link however you prefer; by email, SMS, WhatsApp, whatever works. Your investors click the link and begin the investment process.
If it's their first time investing, they'll need to complete a few steps:
Account creation
KYC & AML checks
Investor appropriateness (sophistication) assessment
Commit to the deal
Wire funds by bank transfer to our account (global, multi-currency).
Depending on their location, the timeline will vary, but we expect 99% of funds to arrive within 5 days of the transfer being initiated.
Before they start investing, you can send them our investor guide, so that they can familiarise themselves with Odin and the process.
Each time an investment lands, you'll get an email notification. In your dashboard, you'll be able to track the total amount committed and the amount you've received. You can also nudge investors and email everyone if you need to.
3. Completion - within 72 hours
Once all the funds are in and you are ready to close your round, you notify your account manager by dropping us a message on Intercom. The closing process is as follows:
Reconcile
Investment amounts are verified and finalised in line with our fee calculation & billing process.
Sign
Once funds are reconciled, the Odin operations team review all documentation and sign the investment instrument for the funding round.
Wire Funds
Send funds to your company, net of any fees.
Complete
Investors are issued finalised investment documents, including a certificate of beneficial ownership showing the assets they hold via the SPV. S/EIS certificates (for UK investors) and Tax documentation (for US investors) are issued later on.S/EIS: We send you the details you need for your S/EIS 1 application with HMRC. Once we have received the S/EIS 2 UIR we generate S/EIS 3 forms and circulate these to the underlying investors.
US Tax Documents: Once per year, we provide FATCA and PFIC documentation to US investors, so that they may make a Qualified Electing Fund (QEF) election and report annual earnings under the QEF regime (versus being subject to the Excess Distribution Regime, which incurs additional taxation). More details here.
After the round is complete
Once your round is complete, you will be able to log in and see details on who invested, and send investor updates via the platform. Your investors, likewise, can log in, view their portfolio, download deal documents, etc.
Reporting
In line with whatever has been agreed during the syndication process, you will be expected to send regular updates (usually monthly or quarterly) to investors. This can be done quickly and easily in-platform, by sending an email to all investors in a deal.
Top Tips for Success
1. International investors? Ask Investors to set up a Wise or Revolut account:
If you are doing a round in a currency other than your investors’ home currency, we recommend asking your investors to open a Wise or Revolut account. International banking is tricky (US banks can be especially so).
Intermediaries can charge high fees. Payments can also be very slow. We’ve seen late payments result in investors missing deadlines and being unable to participate in a round.
If they wire using Wise or Revolut, funds will land in our account in 24 - 48 hours.
2. Nudge your investors
We send your investors automated reminders about where they are in the investment process and encourage them to complete their investment if they haven’t. But reminders work best coming from someone they know.
When your round is live, it’s your responsibility to follow up with investors regularly and chase them for their commitments.
3. If it is your first time using Odin, book in a call with us before you launch a deal
If you are using Odin for the first time, we strongly recommend having a call with us.
We’ll explain how we work, take you through the investor UX and answer any questions you may have. You can arrange a call by dropping us a message (chat button in the bottom right of your screen).