Invest with Uback

Strength in numbers. On their own, investors rarely get access to the best startups in a country. Together, Uback’s Backers form an investor pool these companies cannot ignore.

The principle

Uback works like group buying. You declare your intention to invest in a sector (worldwide ranking) or in a country. Your intention joins the matching pool. When a ranked company is open to Backers, because a shareholder is considering a sale or the company plans to raise, you can also join that company’s pool. When the pool’s combined amount reaches its critical mass, a floor amount estimated by the AI for each pool, the pool is passed to the licensed partner, who presents this demand to the company.

Uback does not sell securities and does not collect any funds. It brings intentions together. The investment itself, if it happens, is offered by the licensed partner, under its own responsibility.

Four steps

1. You declare an intention. On a sector or a country, with a ticket range, and if you wish a preferred company within it (your intention stays in the sector or country pool: the preference is a signal passed on with the pool). On a specific company, when it is open to Backers.
2. Critical mass is reached. Intentions add up in the pool. When its combined amount reaches critical mass, a floor amount estimated by the AI for each pool, the pool is passed to the licensed partner. The intentions it holds are then committed.
3. The licensed partner structures. It contacts the company, presents the Backers’ demand and checks whether expectations match: amount, valuation, rights.
4. Closing. If an agreement is possible, the partner presents the transaction directly to the Backers concerned. Each one freely decides whether to take part. Small tickets are pooled in a common vehicle set up by the partner.

Who can declare an intention

Declarations are reserved for:

• investors who declare themselves experienced: business angels, family offices, diaspora investors, who understand the risks of investing in non-listed companies;
• companies investing on their own account (corporate venture, industrial groups).

What you declare

• A target. A sector or a country; or a specific company, when it is open to Backers. For a sector or a country, the partner may present several companies to you.
• A ticket range, from $25k to $10M.
• An intention, not a commitment. Declaring does not oblige you to invest. The final decision is always yours. Once the pool is passed on, the intention can no longer be moved, but you remain free not to invest.

Why an intention is paid

A free intention means nothing to a startup. Payment proves the demand is serious, and that is what gives the partner weight when it approaches the company.

The price depends on the country and the ticket range. It will be shown when declarations open in each country. The amount paid covers the declaration: it is neither a deposit nor an investment, and it is non-refundable.

Companies open to Backers

Uback only shows an intention on a company when a transaction is possible: a shareholder, often a minority one, has told us they are considering selling some or all of their shares, or the company has told us it plans to raise funds soon. The company’s row then carries a badge. Other companies remain ranked, and the interest they attract is expressed through the pool of their sector or country.

Shareholder or founder? Contact us

An intention valid for life, movable until it is passed on

Your intention is valid for life, with no expiry date, as long as its pool has not been passed to the partner.

Until then, you can move it at any time to another sector, another country or another company open to Backers. It then leaves its pool and joins the new one. The partner may suggest a move; the decision remains yours.

Once its pool is passed on, your intention is committed. It has done its job: carrying the Backers’ demand to the company. It can no longer be moved, whatever the outcome, agreement or not. To join another pool afterwards, you declare a new intention.

Counters

Each company, sector and country shows the number of Backers and the combined amount of its pool. To protect confidentiality, these figures are rounded into ranges.

Why only companies that have already raised funds

Uback only ranks companies that have raised at least $1M, including one equity round. Professional investors are therefore already on the cap table and have negotiated a shareholders’ agreement. Backers who come in after them do not start from a blank page.

The licensed partner

In each country, Uback entrusts pools to a single partner: an M&A boutique or a fundraising firm, licensed by the local regulator. It is introduced on the country page.

The partner only receives your contact details with your consent, and only when your pool is passed on to it.

What Uback does not do

• Uback does not guarantee that a transaction will take place.
• Uback does not negotiate, advise or hold any mandate.
• Uback does not collect any funds intended for investment.
• Uback does not sell or pass your data to anyone other than the country’s partner.

Where are we?

Uback is in public beta. In each country, investment intentions will open as soon as the licensed partner is signed. In the meantime, write to contact@uback.com to be notified when they open.