Republic Review [2024]: Invest in Startups, Crypto, and Video Games

In recent years, several platforms have tried to make many investment opportunities and products available to a wider swath of the population. One of these, Republic, makes learning how to invest in startups — including crypto, real estate, and video game companies — exciting and potentially rewarding.

In this Republic platform review, we’ll cover the alternative investment options and types of investments you can make, as well as the fees you’ll pay and how to get started.

What is Republic?

Republic was founded in 2016 to provide more people with access to startup investments they’re interested in. Founders include Léo Galley, Peter Green, Kendrick Nguyen, and Paul Menchov. The New York-based company is also backed by The Motley Fool, Binance, Galaxy Interactive, and AngelList.

In addition to providing opportunities to smaller, non-accredited investors, Republic also has a special area where accredited investors can engage and find projects. Republic claims to have more than 1.5 million members investing more than $700 million.

Republic can be one way to learn how to make money through alternative investing. However, it’s important to note that, even though the company vets the projects on its platform, there is no guarantee you will earn any money.

How does Republic work?

Republic works by connecting investors with startup projects and private deals. Companies can list on the platform by following a vetting process (Republic claims a less than 5% acceptance rate) and investors can choose to invest in various projects.

In order to invest, you get on the Republic platform and choose a project or company that looks interesting to you. Companies and projects set their investment minimums, with the required minimum as low as $10.

Depending on the situation, you might receive equity or future equity in the company, digital assets, or some other type of remuneration. It’s important to carefully read the terms of the offering so you understand what you’re receiving, as well as when you could potentially receive a return on your investment.

Republic also has other opportunities for investing using different styles:

Autopilot investing

If you’re not interested in choosing your investments, you can use the autopilot investing feature. Republic will build you a startup portfolio using companies that have more than 100 investors and have reached twice their minimum fundraising goal. This can be one way to get access to startups without doing as much legwork.

Accredited Deal Room

Accredited investors (those who have a net worth of at least $1 million or earn $200,000 a year) can access special deals. Although you must be willing to invest at least $10,000, you might get access to projects and startups that aren’t available to non-accredited investors.

Featured investors

Interested in seeing what others are up to? You can see what well-known figures such as Chamillionaire and Randi Zuckerberg are investing in and follow them for alerts when they publicly invest in a company. This adds a bit of a social aspect to investing.

What types of investments does Republic offer?

Real estate

Republic offers access to various real estate projects, including rental portfolios, blockchain home equity, and interior design projects. If you're learning how to invest in real estate, the platform might help you generate some passive income from the investment using a relatively small amount of capital.

Startups

Entrepreneurs looking for investors can be listed as a startup and you can choose to invest in them. Listed companies are vetted by the Republic team before being listed, and you have the chance to get in on the ground floor with small businesses that have a purpose and mission.

Video games

Republic recently acquired video game publisher Fig, bringing with them a portfolio of game startups and legacy games. For those interested in investing in video games, it’s possible to find projects that could potentially take off and make money.

Crypto

Learning how to buy cryptocurrency can be overwhelming and confusing. Rather than investing in a specific token on an exchange, however, Republic allows you to invest in crypto projects, including those that issue tokens.

Music and the arts

Republic lets you get a financial stake when you fund musical and artistic projects from creators that you love.

Local business

Republic also supports investment in local businesses. In many cases, this is a debt investment that requires you to loan money to a local venture and then receive payment in return.

Litigation finance

You can provide money to someone who is suing a company or another person. You help fund the lawsuit. If they win, you receive a portion of the winnings.

What are Republic’s fees?

The Republic platform charges no fees for investors. However, companies that are listed on the platform pay fees based on whether they reach their funding goal.

Who can invest with Republic?

Both unaccredited and accredited investors can invest using the Republic platform. It’s important to note, however, that there are limits on how much you can invest if you’re an unaccredited investor.

Because Republic is considered a crowdfunding platform, you may be limited to investing $2,200 during a 12-month period. If you make more than $107,000 per year, you can invest the greater of 10% of your annual income or net worth, as long as the amount doesn’t exceed $107,000.

Limits apply to all equity crowdfunding investment campaigns across all platforms, so if you’re investing outside of Republic, all of your totals need to be figured.

For accredited investors, there’s no limit on how much can be invested each year. However, to access the special accredited deals, you need to invest at least $10,000.

How much can you earn with Republic?

As with any investment, you run the risk of loss when you put your money into any company. However, it could be possible to make money over time, especially if the projects on the Republic platform take off and become successful.

When you invest with a project on Republic, you might be required to keep your money in for a set period of time. Some projects make recurring payments, whereas others have a one-time payout. In general, startups are considered high-risk investments, so you might not get your money back at all.

Maximizing your earnings with Republic

Here are some due diligence tips to help you maximize your earning potential with Republic:

• Carefully consider your portfolio goals and risk tolerance
• Look for projects that have a potentially useful case or long-term viability
• Consider projects with recurring rather than one-time payouts
• Look for projects with shorter time frames and higher liquidity

FAQs

How to sign up for Republic

Signing up is fairly straightforward. You need to provide your name, address, phone number, email, and income information, just as you would with any other investment platform. You also need to connect a bank account or funding source so you can invest money.

Republic requires a minimum investment of $10, which makes it relatively accessible. However, minimums are set by the project owners themselves, so you might have a higher minimum to invest in a specific project or startup.

Alternatives to Republic

SeedInvest

SeedInvest gives you access to vetted startups heavily focused on robotics. The minimum investment is $500, though, so it requires more capital than Republic.

AngelList

Although AngelList is one of Republic’s backers, it has its own platform. However, it focuses largely on venture capital funds. You can subscribe to different funds, though there are some syndicate deals. In most cases, you will need at least $1,000 to invest through AngelList.

Bottom line

Although investing in startups can feel exciting, it’s not the only way to invest. Carefully consider your personal risk tolerance as well as your financial goals and portfolio strategy before you make any investment decisions.